Central Presbyterian Church Withdraws Plan for 12-Space Parking Lot

An expansion proposal by the church drew about 20 Davis Place residents to a Clayton Architectural Review Board meeting, resident Jennie Jeffrey wrote in an email interview.

Central Presbyterian Church has withdrawn one component of its expansion plans: A 12-space surface parking lot. The building is located in Clayton's Davis Place neighborhood, where residents previously have expressed concern about people parking in front of their houses to attend various church functions. In an email interview, Davis Place resident Bob Kuehn provided a synopsis of  discussion about the plans. That conversation happened last week during a meeting of the Clayton Architectural Review Board (ARB). Fellow resident Jennie Jeffrey shared the attached document, which outlines Davis Place residents' concerns about the proposed expansion. How many Davis Place residents attended Tuesday's ARB meeting? I'd say about 20. What public …

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Controversial Parking Bill Approved in Clayton

Before aldermen unanimously adopted the measure, several Davis Place residents expressed continuing reservations about available on-street parking and home values.

An ordinance to update parking restrictions in Clayton's Davis Place neighborhood passed Tuesday night during a meeting of the Board of Aldermen. The ordinance won approval with a 7-0 vote. It marked the second reading of the ordinance. Earlier this month, aldermen agreed to postpone a decision on the measure after several residents said they hadn't had enough time to provide feedback.   Discussion about how to balance a request from Central Presbyterian Church for additional parking with residents' desire to preserve several church-owned houses and on-street parking has been underway for months. Under the agreement adopted Tuesday, the church will leave the homes in place for the foreseeable future and instead build a parking lot along …

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Aldermen Agenda: Davis Place Parking, Solar Devices, Niche Permit

The Clayton Board of Aldermen will meet beginning at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Members of the Clayton Board of Aldermen are expected to vote Tuesday on an amended Davis Place parking ordinance. Two weeks ago, aldermen postponed a vote so city officials could look into residents' concerns about restrictions on West Biltmore and Mohawk drives. Central Presbyterian Church has agreed to hold off on taking down three houses it owns in the neighborhood as long as the city relaxes on-street parking restrictions in the area. (Download a PDF of the complete Clayton Board of Aldermen agenda.) The amendment calls for no parking at any time on the north side of West Biltmore and two-hour parking on the south side from Monday through Saturday unless the driver has a residential permit. No such restrictions would be in place on …

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WATCH: Davis Place Parking Bill Takes Heat in Clayton

Members of the Clayton Board of Aldermen said they will review parking restrictions on Mohawk and West Biltmore drives before voting on the ordinance Feb. 28.

Officials agreed Tuesday to take a second look at Mohawk and West Biltmore drives before voting on a bill that would update parking restrictions in Clayton's Davis Place neighborhood. The decision came after three residents blasted the Clayton Board of Aldermen and Central Presbyterian Church in comments and expressed dismay that they didn't have more time to get input on the changes from neighbors. (Read the proposed Davis Place parking changes by downloading a PDF of the Clayton Board of Aldermen's Tuesday agenda.) Discussion has been underway for months about how to balance a request for additional parking by the church with neighbors' request for the preservation of three residential buildings that the church owns. Robert Kuehn said …

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Where Would Jesus Park? Davis Place Survey Respondent Asks

It's among the comments offered to trustees of the Clayton neighborhood as part of a survey about on-street parking, the preservation of three houses and a local church.

Davis Place trustees received 61 written comments in response to an online survey about parking distributed earlier this summer. Some people wrote a sentence or two, while others wrote paragraphs. A full copy of the report is expected to be published on the Davis Place News website Wednesday night. An overview of the survey's findings is available in this Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch article. The following is a look at 10 comments that caught our attention. They have been printed as they appear in the report. "I live near Brentwood, so this issue clearly affects others more than me. That said, the long-term viability of Central Pres is important to this neighborhood. Ease of parking for new members will support the church. If the church …

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Parking Compromise Finds Support in Davis Place Survey

But a majority of respondents also said there should be no connection between parking restrictions in the Clayton neighborhood and a Central Presbyterian Church proposal to tear down three of its buildings.

While residents surveyed in Clayton's Davis Place neighborhood place a priority on saving three buildings at risk of being razed, a majority don't think their preservation should be tied to parking restrictions in the area. That's the conclusion of a report the neighborhood's trustees plan to release Wednesday night. The survey also allowed respondents to write out their thoughts on the issue. Comments ranged from one-sentence answers to paragraphs. (Also on Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch: Where Would Jesus Park? Davis Place Survey Respondent Asks) Trustees now plan to convene a meeting next Monday or Tuesday between residents and Clayton Board of Aldermen representatives Mark Winings and Steve Lichtenfeld. "Any decision will be in the …

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Trustee: Davis Place Parking Survey Results Being Reviewed

Patricia Johnson, who owns a house in the neighborhood with her husband, recently expressed her concerns about the survey in an email to Ward III aldermen Mark Winings and Steve Lichtenfeld.

The results of a parking survey conducted earlier this month in Clayton's Davis Place neighborhood are being processed, trustee Debra Rabinovich said Monday. No additional information about the outcome of the survey was immediately available. On Wednesday, Clayton Board of Aldermen member Steve Lichtenfeld said he and fellow member Mark Winings had not yet seen the survey results. Responses to the online questions were due Tuesday. "This is a process driven by the Davis Place trustees, and the leadership of it is by the trustees themselves," said Lichtenfeld, who along with Winings is a Ward 3 representative. The recent survey asked whether people in the neighborhood would be willing to relax on-street parking restrictions in exchange for …

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Clayton Police Blotter: Davis Place Fraud Calls Reported

The Clayton Police Department reported the following incidents on its website.

The Clayton Police Department reported the following incidents on its website. Aug. 21 Aug. 25 Aug. 26   Aug. 29 Editor's note: Clayton-Richmond Heights Patch publishes blotter information for both Clayton and Richmond Heights. Richmond Heights provides blotter updates on its website, as does Clayton. The Clayton Police Department directory listing may be viewed here. For questions about this blotter, email nate.birt@patch.com.

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Patch Quiz

Patch Quiz: Parking Survey, Cardinals Baseball, Special Session

It’s your chance to show your savvy about news and information from Clayton and Richmond Heights.

Our weekly quiz features questions from stories that we posted Monday through Thursday, as well as a trivia question about our community. Starting this week, we've changed the rules slightly to encourage more participation. Here's what we've changed: KEEP IN MIND: Quiz

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Resident Sees 'Coercion' in Church-Parking Survey

Davis Place resident Ed Rader said parishioners at Central Presbyterian Church aren't using space available to them in two parking lots. Meanwhile, resident Margaret Murphy said she would favor looser parking restrictions.

Ed Rader opposes the idea of relaxing on-street parking restrictions in Clayton's Davis Place neighborhood in exchange for keeping three houses owned by Central Presbyterian Church. "It's a coercion," Rader said. He is against both the loosening of parking restrictions and the demolition of the buildings, even though he thinks the latter is inevitable. His comments come following the issuance of a neighborhood survey last week by the Davis Place trustees. It asks residents for their thoughts about the idea of saving the buildings in exchange for looser parking rules. It also allows them to say that the two issues shouldn't be linked. That is the option Rader chose. Parking at the church has been on Rader's mind for a long time. Since …

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