ST. CHARLES COUNTY — Hundreds of residents showed up Wednesday evening to oppose the rezoning of a property that would allow developers to build more than 500 homes in rural St. Charles County.
The county's planning and zoning board recommended the St. Charles County Council reject the rezoning, which would allow developers to build a 356-acre, 556-home subdivision on largely rural, wooded land along the Highway DD corridor west of O'Fallon.
Neighbors complained that the development, known as "Tall Tree," would bring largely dense housing that takes away from the area's rural nature. They worried about traffic congestion, soil contamination and potential environmental impacts on the nearby August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area. The subdivision, which would include all single-family homes, would be the largest housing development built in unincorporated St. Charles County in recent years.Â
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The developer, KM Investment Group IV, pledged to keep 126 acres "untouched" as natural green space, including 84 acres of trees. Eleven acres of lakes will also be provided on the property.Â
More than 20 residents, many clad in red shirts opposing the development, spoke in opposition ahead of the commission's 5-2 vote to recommend the rezoning be denied.Â
Wednesday night's meeting was moved to Family Arena because of the expected response from neighbors on the Tall Tree development and the other items on the agenda.
Among the speakers was O'Fallon resident Tom Regan, who described the development as a "disaster in the making" in its current form. He and several other speakers said the development needed to be redesigned to have fewer houses on larger lots, as outlined in the county's 2030 master plan.Â
The master plan states that portions of the proposed Tall Tree property should be developed into low-density housing of one to four houses per acre and rural residential housing of one unit per 3 acres — less dense housing than sought by developers.Â
"Don't rezone it,"Â said Steven Farber, of New Melle. "Make them redo their plans to fit the plan that you created."
Brad Goss, a real estate attorney who spoke at the meeting on behalf of the developers, said the neighborhood has changed since the adoption of the county's 2030 master plan.Â
"The Duckett Creek Sanitary Sewer District building a new plant has opened this whole area up to development," Goss said. The new sanitary treatment plant, which is under construction, will be able to treat 2.5 million gallons of sewer waste per day when operational, which changes how much housing the area can support.Â
Goss said the treatment plant can provide sanitary sewer service to 18,000 acres, potentially opening vast swaths of rural St. Charles County to more dense housing developments.Â
Other critics noted that the development would have an adverse effect on wildlife and the environment.
"Most people want to see the moon, the stars, the planets, all the things in the night sky that you can't see in the city," said Amy White, who volunteers with the astronomy site at Broemmelsiek Park, which is next to the proposed development. "I realize that this is a tiny sliver in the grand scheme of things, but light pollution from this development will all but ruin what we have at the astronomy site."
The site, White said, is regularly visited by school classes, scouting troops, church groups, and others.
Goss pledged that developers would do a light study to ensure that as little light pollution as possible would spill over into Broemmelsiek Park.Â
Only one resident spoke in support of the project, saying that it would create employment opportunities in construction and building trades.
The homes would be built in phases, with the first phase beginning construction next year, and the homes ready for residents to move in sometime in 2025. The second phase would begin construction in 2026, and the third and fourth would begin the following two years.Â
Fischer Home Builders would construct the homes in the northern portions of the Tall Tree development, while Lombardo Homes of ºüÀêÊÓƵ would build the homes in the southern portions.
The homes would range from $375,000 to more than $1 million.Â
Voting in support of the rezoning request were Zoning Commission Chair Paul Ellis and Zoning Commissioner Tim Baker, who also serves on the St. Charles County Council.
The request now heads to the St. Charles County Council for its July 31 meeting. The council could approve the request despite the planning and zoning commission's recommendation.Â
The developer could also opt to pursue annexation into the city of O'Fallon to circumvent the county's zoning regulations that require less dense housing. But, Goss said, that is not the developers' preference.
"We do not want to put this development in O'Fallon. We want to be in the county with this development," Goss said. The earliest that annexation talks could occur is July 6, which is the tentative next meeting date of the O'Fallon Planning & Zoning Commission.
Rural St. Charles County residents opposed to the development pledged to be at the O'Fallon meeting and to urge O'Fallon residents to file a petition to block the annexation.Â
"This development has galvanized people in our neighborhood. We are coming together to fight this," said Farber, who explained that residents are not opposed to the property being developed, but rather the density of the proposed development.Â
Nate De Luca, the president of a nearby homeowners' association opposed to the proposed development's density, said he believes O'Fallon residents will be sympathetic to the neighbors' concerns.Â
"I have not spoken to a person who is in favor of this development, and I've already been to two homeowner association meetings," said De Luca, who added that he was excited to see the project get voted down Wednesday night.Â
Several residents said they would go door-to-door in O'Fallon to help collect signatures necessary to block the annexation.Â
Other housing developments on the agenda for Wednesday's meeting also sparked outcry from neighbors opposing the development.Â
For the second time in two years, the zoning commission recommended approval of a proposed zoning change that will make way for a 31-lot subdivision on South Point Prairie Road near New Melle.Â
The development, called "Saxony Ridge," was first proposed in 2022, but the St. Charles County Council rejected the rezoning request due to neighbor opposition and concerns over lot sizes.
The developer said Wednesday that they have not made "substantial changes" to this proposal, but they are confident that the rezoning request will be approved by the County Council on July 31 when the proposal is heard.Â
The zoning commission also recommended approval of a zoning change for the "Creekside at Sommers" development, which is directly across from Liberty High School in Lake Saint Louis. That zoning request now goes before the County Council on July 31.Â
Meanwhile, developers with the planned 10-lot development at 4639 Central School Road ran into significant opposition from neighbors. About 50 people filed letters with the commission expressing their displeasure with the project, which was described by officials as a "self-contained, pocket neighborhood."Â
When the zoning commission voted on that development, the number of county staff, county officials and building security outnumbered the seven members of the public who remained at the meeting. The rezoning request failed because the zoning commission was deadlocked 4-4.Â
When the zoning commission ultimately adjourned for the night, it was after 1 a.m. — more than six hours after the meeting had started.Â
Developers are seeking to build a 356-acre, 556-home subdivision known as "Tall Tree" on the largely rural, wooded land along the Highway DD corridor west of O'Fallon.