In April 2023, I wrote a piece titled "Meacham Park is an Island: Part 1" that described the ways in which the historically Black neighborhood in the southeast corner of Kirkwood remained physically isolated from the rest of the community. The article seemed to resonate, and I even got a lot of comments from Meacham… Continue reading Meacham Park is an Island: Part 2
Update 01/13/2025: Kirkwood City Council failed to reach the supermajority required to amend the zoning code at last Thursday's meeting. The council-initiated amendment to reduce sidewalk infill requirements for large additions needed five votes in the affirmative to gain approval since the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended against the proposal. Ultimately, it received only four… Continue reading Foregoing Sidewalks Won’t Make Kirkwood Affordable
Over a year after Kirkwood published its Attainable Housing Study, the city took its first cautious steps toward implementing some of its recommended solutions at last Thursday's City Council Work Session. But as Director of Planning Jonathan Raiche began presenting the study's findings, some council members appeared skeptical of its underlying premise. Council Member Jaksetic,… Continue reading Housing Reform on the Horizon?
When voters head to the ballot box on Tuesday, they will face many contentious questions that have been dissected 100 different ways: Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, Lucas Kunce or Josh Hawley, should abortion be legal or illegal? I don't think I'm very likely to sway anyone one way or another on any of these.… Continue reading Election Day 2024: A Voter’s Guide
Last Friday, I wrote a piece explaining Prop T and why I don't think it's the right solution for improving Kirkwood's roads. In the week since, I've got a lot of responses folks stating that, while they agree that a Transportation Development District might not be the ideal solution, they weren't sure what the alternatives… Continue reading Three Alternatives To New Transportation Tax
On November 5th, Kirkwood voters will head to the polls to make an incredibly important choice. I speak, of course, of the question of whether or not the city should institute Prop T, a city-wide Transportation Development District (TDD) that would fund street improvements through a new city-wide half-cent sales tax levy. While the condition… Continue reading Four Reasons I’m Against Prop T
Update 9/30/2024: I made a mistake in estimating the tax revenue impact of this project. While I originally estimated the city would have brought in $900k in annual tax revenue from the project, upon further review, the impact would have likely been closer to $300k annually. For transparency's sake, I would like to thoroughly explain… Continue reading HDA Plan Rejected; City Loses $300k a Year
A few weeks back I began my exploration of the proposals that had been submitted to Kirkwood City Council in response to the RFP the city issued on the two city owned surface parking lots on Jefferson Ave. We first looked at IPG's proposal for a mixed-use boutique hotel and parking structure on the East… Continue reading PJ’s Rejected Proposal Shows the High Price of NIMBYism
Imagine we made housing free in Kirkwood for everyone. Kirkwood has good schools, low crime, and a quaint Downtown with lots of good restaurants and shops, so I imagine our free homes would be quite popular. Actually, even if it didn't have all those things, it'd be quite popular; where the hell else are you… Continue reading What If We Made Housing Free
The natural way neighborhoods have traditionally developed was as follows: People decide to live in an area and then a smattering of businesses that cater to those people open up shop nearby. Or perhaps the opposite happens: Some place is well-suited for business (maybe a canal is built, or gold is discovered, or, as in… Continue reading Urban Villages: A Vision for a Quainter Kirkwood
