No Parking: Clayton Residents Want No Part of Parking Garage on North Central

Some Meramec and North Central avenue residents opposed to the Clayton Board of Aldermen renewing rezoning and planning designations for several development project.

 “This is my neighborhood,” said Suzanne Forsyth, a resident of the 100 block of South Central.

Forsyth said the commercial area is encroaching on the residential area.

“I am opposed to rezoning 119 North Central simply because they’ve now entered the residential area. I don’t care what they do with the rest of it, but not that one lot.”

The board voted 4-0 to extend the rezoning and planned unit development (PUD) designations for one year.

The original developer, RJ York SSG, had the lots at 25, 103, 111 and 119 North Central Ave. rezoned and designated as a planned unit development in 2008.

The plans were to develop a 225-room hotel with 40 condominiums, meeting and retail space, with a six-level parking garage across the street. The hotel would have been on the southwest corner of North Central and Maryland, with a parking lot near the intersection’s northwest corner.

However, RJ York filed for bankruptcy in February 2010. The property has been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). The FDIC now has a prospective buyer, the Q2 Hotel Group.

City Manager Craig Owens said the property has attracted several buyers’ attention.

The rezoning and planned unit development designation would have expired in July. The FDIC sought to extend the rezoning and PUD designation for one year.

“I know we went through an exhaustive study of this three years ago,” said Clayton Mayor Linda Goldstein. “I’m not sure what has changed now.”

Although no public hearing was scheduled on the rezoning or the PUD, Goldstein opened up the floor for public comment. Several residents took advantage of the opportunity.

“You are proposing to put a major parking lot on a residential street,” Andy Zinsmeyer said. He said if the garage was moved over one block to North Meramec, it would be in a commercial area.

After the meeting, Zinsmeyer said that putting a parking garage on North Central north of Maryland Avenue would bring lots of traffic on the residential street.

City Manager Craig Owens said York’s old plan still would comply with the city’s master plan for the downtown area.

He also said that there currently are no development plans in the works. He said a developer that purchases the property would submit new plans and might not adhere to the plans set forth by RJ York.

Goldstein said the board was considering a request to extend the rezoning and the planning designation, not a development proposal.

Before the vote, Ward 2 Alderwoman Michelle Harris and Goldstein questioned City Attorney Kevin O’Keefe about ramifications of their vote. Their questions centered around the possibilities that if the city treats these FDIC requests differently than the York request, if it would open up a lawsuit possibility.

O’Keefe said, “The city has already reached the view for years now that this proposed land use comports with its comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances.”

“If you deny the application, I suspect you would have someone running to the courthouse and saying that, in the absence of any material change in development circumstances, it would be allegedly not rational to not reach the same conclusion,” he said.

If there hasn’t been material change to the circumstances, it would be rational to reach the same conclusion and grant the application, O’Keefe told board members.

One resident, John Kerley, read a letter from Monsignor John Shamleffer, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church on North Meramec. In the letter, Shameleffer said the church is not interested in selling its parking lot, which is adjacent to the properties now owned by the FDIC.

Goldstein said, “It’s interesting to hear from St. Joseph Church that they would not be willing to sell their parking lot, as they were in the original development. That’s certainly something a potential developer would be interested in.”

Ward 3 Alderman Mark Winings recused himself during the discussion and the vote. He told a resident that the law firm he works for does business with a part involved with the properties.

Ward 3 Alderman Steven Lichtenfeld was absent for the meeting.

Flood buyout

Board of Aldermen also voted Tuesday to cover all of the matching funds required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to buy out 12 homes on Haddington Court. The homes have been plagued by flooding due to new development in the area, said Public Works Director Michael Pratt.

Previously, the city had agreed to provide half the matching funds for the buyout.