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Loaded newsletter today so I want to hit some things at the top just so they don't get lost in the shuffle. First, there is a public input session on the Parks & Rec master plan today in the City Council chamber at City Hall from 4-7pm, show up and offer your suggestions! Second, next Tuesday (11/19), The Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association will be hosting an open house for the Southeast Kirkwood Connectivity Plan. The event is from 6-8pm at 1001 S. Kirkwood Road, Suite 330. Show up, learn what are currently being considered for the new pedestrian path, and offer your suggestions! Finally, the Mayor has announced that City Planner Jonathan Raiche will offer his recommendations for implementing reforms suggested by last Summer's Attainable Housing Study at the Council's work session on Thursday, November 21st, at 5pm. I offered my take on the study's 19 recommendations here, but in short, this is a massive opportunity for the City to implement some common sense solution and improve affordability for its residents.
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- Last Thursday's City Council meeting (agenda here, video recording here) had a ton of split votes and procedural maneuvering:
- The council did indeed move to reconsider the proposal to rezone 430 S. Clay to facilitate the construction of 8 townhomes on the site. The proposal had originally been rejected by a 3-2 vote, with council members Jaksetic, Rheinnecker, and Schaefer opposed; members Zimmer and Luetzow in favor, and member McLean and Mayor Gibbons absent. The motion to reconsider has to be made by someone on the winning side of the original vote, so it wasn't enough to just have the previously absent members and do a revote, we needed one of the three to actually change their minds. Luckily, Mr. Rheinnecker and Mr. Schaefer did, the rezoning was reconsidered, and ultimately passed first reading. That's great news, but I think the whole affair does reveal quite a bit. Here are a few takeaways;
- CM Rheinnecker said that he had originally voted against the proposal because he did not think that the 1.5 parking spaces-per-unit that are required by the R-5 zoning code were insufficient, but that he spent the rest of the meeting regretting his decision, ultimately concluding that if someone wants to live there with that much parking, that should be their decision, not his, and that we should let the market decide. That line of thinking is spot on in my view, and if applied broadly, it could be an incredibly potent antidote to our affordability problem. Why should Kirkwood be in the business of deciding how much off-street parking is required at all in any district? Developers who don't include enough parking won't be able to sell/rent their units will lose money and the problem would self correct very quickly even without the city's intervention.
- CM Luetzow spoke eloquently about how this project was a small step towards adding more affordable attainable housing and deserves real praise. Housing desperately needs a champion on the Council and maybe Luetzow can be it.
- CM Jaksetic and Mayor Gibbons remained deeply skeptical of adding new housing anywhere, asking how many people could we add until our police and fire departments were over-worked and our parks at capacity. I would argue that this is what taxes are for. More people living near Downtown Kirkwood means more money spent locally, which more sales taxes for city services. Allowing this property to be be put to a higher use means that the Hancock Amendment property tax cap is raised and we get more property tax revenue for the city and its school district. And more housing means more affordability. Everyone wins.
- CM Jaksetic and Rheinnecker tried to also reconsider a Kirkwood Electric solar power capacity agreement the council had previously approved, citing a lack of understanding as to what they voted on, but were reproached by the director of Kirkwood Electric, Mark Petty since reneging on the agreement now would greatly diminish Kirkwood's standing with our negotiating partners. They backed off their opposition and the original agreement was reaffirmed
- Later in the meeting, CM Luetzow-spearheaded proposal to ban the intentional feeding of deer somehow went down by a 3-4 vote (Luetzow, Gibbons, Jaksetic in favor; Rheinnecker, Zimmer, McLean, and Schaefer opposed). Those opposed said that they worried it would be hard to enforce and that there was nothing we could do about the deer problem... I guess they mean besides the rule change Luetzow offered here? The exact rule change that both Des Peres and Chesterfield recently implemented? I actually have no idea why they would vote this down. Intentionally attracting deer with feeding troughs is bad for deer, it's bad for drivers, it's bad for gardeners, it's bad for everyone. God forbid we try to do anything to chip away at the problem.
- Here's last week's Webster-Kirkwood Times:
- On page 4-A, I'm happy to see Webster's planning commission recommended approval of the KVC mental health facility and I hope their City Council will follow through and do the same. NIMBYism is NIMBYism.
- On page 14-A, there was a nice write-up of the David Sanborn tribute concert that KPAC is hosting tonight, tickets are available here and all proceeds will go to the Kirkwood Arts Foundation
- You can drop off your political yard signs for recycling at the Grant's Trail trailheads on either side of I-44 (Holmes or Melshire) from dawn until dusk
- A reminder to fill out the Safe Routes to Schools survey and the Southeast Kirkwood Connectivity Study survey if you haven't already!
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That's it for today! One more event to note before you get out of here: Next Tuesday, Mayor Gibbons will host her first "Grounds for Discussion" at KPAC at 9am, where people can introduce themselves and ask questions, etc. The KPAC Coffee Concert will follow directly after at 10:30. It seems like a great time and an excellent opportunity to tell the Mayor that allowing more housing to be built is important to you! That and the rest of the events calendar here! Have a great weekend everyone!
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