ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – A re-zoning proposal has people petitioning their elected officials in St. Charles County.
“At some point, you have to stop putting the cart before the horse,” Nicole Perkins, a St. Charles County resident, said.
Living in the Riverdale subdivision north of O’Fallon, Perkins recounted the legacy of the area and its farm community.
“You could still get that small-town feel, and that is what attracted me,” she said.
Perkins is one of nearly 50 people, including State Representative Deanna Self, who has written the county zoning commission against a rezoning proposal that would make way for 109 homes to be added to 38 acres of land along Highway 79 near St. Paul.
“It’s not a safe road and we’re talking about another 109 homes and those vehicles in and out (of) our main road right here,” Perkins said.
The proposal from Charlestown Crossing, LLC, would build close to 2.9 homes per acre in an area currently zoned for agricultural use.
“We were pretty shocked to see potentially three homes per acre,” Perkins said.
County staff recommended approval of the rezoning request. Zoning Commission member Tim Baker voted for it at a meeting Wednesday night.
“I think there is a need for more affordable housing in our county but I want to make sure we do it right,” Baker said.
The board as a whole, however, voted not to make the recommendation. The zoning request can still go to the full county council on March 10.
St. Charles County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state.
Currently, there are two other subdivisions in the area: Riverdale and The Grove at Riverdale, with close to 800 lots combined.
Other homes are still being built, and those subdivisions have between 1.7 and 2.4 dwellings per acre.
The St. Charles County 203 Master Plan recommends 1 dwelling per acre in that part of the county.