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Envision 2020 Master Plan proposals discussed at County Council public hearing

By Jeannie Seibert

For the past year, St. Charles County Director of Community Development Wayne Anthony has shepherded an extensive effort to update the county’s Master Plan.

After giving the County Council an overview of progress to date on Envision 2020, councilmen heard from a packed chamber the pros and cons of proposed higher density development zones along the north Hwy. 79 corridor.

The year-long process that went into Envision 2020 was extensive and involved the efforts of numerous county officials and volunteers. The group gathered input on all aspects from experts in a particular field to the general public to state and local officials.

The goal is to update the map which is used as a guide for the development of the county through the year 2020.

“It’s not the Bible,” said County Council Chair Dan Foust (Dist. 6). “It’s a guide.”

Anthony said projects would continue to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

County Charter mandates the Master Plan be updated every five years and the council must sign off on the current update by June 30.

While numerous public hearings, work sessions and focus groups were convened for various aspects of information and feed-back gathering, the June 16 public hearing was the first for the full County Council to see the full presentation and hear back from the public.

For the benefit of all, Anthony described the process and previewed the two proposals the Master Plan Steering Committee and the Community Development Department produced.

For full details, go to St. Charles County’s Web site at sccmo.org and click on the Community Development Department. A separate Envision 2020 button provides links to the Master Plan from its history up to the two current proposals.

Some of the notable trends the Envision 2020 projects include the prediction that growth will continue albeit slower than in the last couple of five-year Master Plan update periods and it will be of a slightly different nature.

Anthony said that while currently housing permits were dropping, enough information had been gathered to predict that trend wouldn’t hold.

“It’s probably going to come back up and level off,” Anthony said. “Maybe not to 5,000 a year, maybe more the 2,300 to 3,000 housing units a year (level).”

In general, the primary growth areas appear to be in the vicinities primarily within District 1 and District 2. Those two districts also have large swaths of rural land.

The Golden Triangle, the area inside the Hwy. 94 to I-70 to Hwy. 40/61 to Hwy. 94, will see more in-fill development, Anthony said. But that area is largely the domain of the municipalities.

Councilman Joe Brazil (Dist. 2) warned against the county’s supporting too many higher density developments in rural areas saying that the infrastructure wasn’t in place to support that.

Conversely, Councilman Cheryl Hibbeler (Dist. 1) would prefer to see development in rural area done in a more clustered approach since it requires less infrastructure if sanitary sewer systems are included, making less of an impact on the water table and the environment in general which occurs when individual septic tanks and wells are installed to service each household.

Discussion illustrated a trend emerging in the planning industry that mixes multiple uses in one development with residential and commercial uses in close proximity with open undeveloped areas preserved.

Councilman Paul Wynn (Dist. 4) requested more information about the consideration given to the future of mass transportation.

Anthony reported that many feel mass transportation is a good idea but are perplexed about how to implement a plan in St. Charles County.

“The market may create more potential,” Anthony said. “But there’s no specific recommendation.”

At this stage, the Master Plan will continue to focus on a well-maintained and efficient network of roads and bridges, said Councilman Nancy Matheny (Dist. 3).

As it was a public hearing, a standing-room only audience gathered during Anthony’s presentation – most from the area north of O’Fallon via Hwy. 79 in Hibbeler’s District 1.

St. Paul Mayor Lloyd Reebs and Alderman Anna White both spoke during the work session public hearing and again during the regular session public comment period.

Numerous speakers joined the city officials in expressing various arguments against any type of development plan of the area that would feature any density higher than one house per 3-acre lot.

The opposition was also joined by Great Rivers Habitat Alliance founder and President Adolphus Busch, who owns a farm on Hwy. 79 and frequently opposes developments north of I-70.

Following the session, Hibbeler met with the St. Paul city leaders on June 17 to go over a compromise amendment she will present to the County Council. Her proposal would lessen the density parameters proposed in the 2020 Master Plan in the middle ground between those concerned about adding more individual septic tanks.

Because of its juxtaposition locating it close to city shopping and services along the I-70 corridor, the Hwy. 79 corridor is considered to be a prime development area because property is still relatively inexpensive.

Hibbeler explained that since that area is in the Whites Branch water shed, she approached her compromise proposal on the basis of the entire Whites Branch planning district.

Hibbeler said it is better to make provisions before development begins rather than trying to fix problems that arise from a lack of realistic planning.

The County Council is expected to reconvene on Monday, June 30 to finalize the Master Plan update.