O’FALLON, Mo. — City planners will consider three proposed subdivisions Thursday night that would add more than 600 homes to this fast-growing community.
The largest of the proposed developments, the Villages at Post Farms, is slated to go on farmland west of Hopewell and Duello roads and would add 307 single-family homes on 103 acres. It would be located just across Highway N from the 896-home Harvest at Hopewell development already under construction.
The second-largest proposed development, the Villages at Busch Wildlife, would be located about three miles southeast of the Villages at Post Farms. It would add 239 homes built in three “villages†on the west side of O’Fallon near the August A. Busch Wildlife Conservation Area along Highway DD.
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Strawberry Farms, a proposed in-fill development of 78 homes on 27 acres is planned for the east side of O’Fallon along Mexico Road.
The O’Fallon Planning and Zoning Commission meets at 7 p.m. to consider the projects. They would ultimately need approval from the City Council to get underway.
Residents critical of the proposed developments say the new homes would overburden the two-lane Highway N and some residential streets. Among them is the grassroots group, Citizens for Smart Growth in St. Charles County.
“We’re not against growth, because we know that growth is going to come,†said member Shawn Mann. “What we are opposed to is O’Fallon slamming nearly 1,500 homes into a three-mile area. The infrastructure isn’t ready for this. The roads aren’t ready. The schools aren’t ready. This is just poor planning and poor government from the city of O’Fallon.â€
A March 20 memo from former Wentzville School District Superintendent Dr. Danielle Tormala reiterated that point.
She said the district “does not currently have capacity to accommodate the number of students that may result from (Villages at Post Farms).†Students at Villages at Post Farms would go to either Boone Trail Elementary School, Wentzville South Middle School or Wentzville Timberland High School, according to the district’s school boundaries.
She said in March that the district was “actively taking steps†to expand capacity for additional students. Her memo did not address the proposed Villages at Busch Wildlife, which would send students to either Duello or Frontier Elementary Schools, depending on where they lived within the development, and to Frontier Middle School or Liberty High School.
Plans for the Villages at Post Farms are pending final approval from the commission. The commission can also give preliminary approval for plans for the Villages at Busch Wildlife on Thursday night. The third subdivision, Strawberry Farms, is still in the discussion stages, according to the meeting’s agenda.