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Tons of interesting tidbits this week, so we'll jump straight into some quick hits!
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- Session Taco (formerly Mission Taco) announced that it will permanently close its Kirkwood location on January 25th. I can't tell you how excited I was when Mission first announced they were coming to town, but unfortunately, the space never felt quite right. It always felt too big or too cold or unsure if it wanted to be a bar or a family restaurant. In any case, attention will now turn to the lot itself. It's mid-sized (about half as big as the lot Pitman Place will be developed on just up the street), but also underdeveloped at just one story, and zoned B-2, the same as other lots that have seen large-scale development in recent years. Keep an eye out and let me know if you hear anything!
- Speaking of Pitman Place and struggling Downtown businesses, Channel 4 did a story on the Council's final approval of the project last week, and I was glad to see Mayor Gibbons quoted as saying, "It's important to have more people living downtown to support our business." That's true! She and the Council should be a legend and take the kinds of actions that will back it up. The city and its people would both be materially better off if we did.
- A few highlights from last week's Webster-Kirkwood Times:
- On pg. 1, a recap of Kirkwood's credit downgrade
- On pg. 4, a nice write-up of Kirkwood's next big looming expenditure: the rehab of the aquatic center that is estimated to cost between $8-$20 million depending on the direction the city goes in
- In the mailbag, a guy confusing development in Kirkwood as a cause of higher demand to live here rather than a symptom of higher demand to live here. What do we need additional tax revenue for? he asks. Well, a higher credit rating for one, and a new pool for two.
- Glad to see Brentwood join The Quad: the new brand of the Webster, Shrewsbury, and Rock Hill Chamber of Commerce. I'd love to see The Quad exert some pressure to get these communities to act as one when it comes to housing policy. Housing has a free-rider / collective action problem, but if everyone takes the plunge together, no one has to bear too much of the burden.
- The December 11th Council Work Session minutes had an interesting update on Great Rivers Greenway's effort to build a bridge over the Meramec to connect Unger Park in Fenton to Greentree Park next to Marshall Rd (you can orient yourself with this interactive map). I was against the city spending any money on this as I thought it was a relatively low priority, but GRG now says they'll pay for the whole thing themselves, so I'll take it! (I'd still prioritize something like my idea for the Frisco Trail instead if I were them though).
- The December 18th Council work session minutes had some more updates on the stormwater ordinance update. Again, the changes here are pretty minimal, and these are still going to increase the cost of housing in Kirkwood.
- 1 - Lower the threshold for requiring stormwater mitigation from 1,000 sf to 500 square feet. Maintenance projects, the removal and replacement of site features in need of repair in their current footprint and elevations, such as driveways or dilapidated garages, are not subject to this threshold.
- This will make accessory dwelling units even more expensive than they already are and thus be a de facto ban on the Accessory Dwelling Units that were ostensibly legalized in 2021. Raising the threshold to 750 sq ft (the maximum size allowed for ADUs) or exempting ADUs would be a firm statement from the Council that, while stormwater management is important (hence the lowering of the threshold), the cost of living in Kirkwood is a more pressing issue and should be prioritized.
- 2 - The maximum impervious coverage on single-family lots shall be 55%: This applies only to single-family lots as a result of a study showing the majority of multifamily and commercial projects exceed 55% impervious coverage, so this would not be reasonably applicable; one desire of this Code change is to encourage multifamily homes. This does not change stormwater requirements... Non-compliant homes currently consist of only 5% of all single-family lots within Kirkwood.
- Townhomes and small missing middle housing are banned in most of Kirkwood's land, so even if this incentivizes things like townhomes, we won't see any more without a corresponding zoning change. This will increase the cost of single-family homes and reduce housing options such as Accessory Dwelling Units. That means prices will go up.
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That's it for this week! Have a great weekend, everyone!
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