Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Minutes

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN – 300 PARK DRIVE

May 1, 2006

The meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman Michael Boland at 7:01 p.m.  Members in attendance were:

PRESENT                                                                      ABSENT 
Chairman Michael Boland                        Commissioner Frank Karr 
Commissioner Sue Heath 
Commissioner Anna Hunter 
Commissioner Ron Kadane 
Commissioner Jim Keefe 
Commissioner Jeff Medler 
Commissioner Don Walters 
Commissioner Michael Wind 
Alderman Jimmy Terbrock 
Mayor Walt Young 
Assistant City Administrator Tom Aiken
City Engineer Gary Kramer
City Attorney Lou Lucchesi
 
Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Commissioner Wind and seconded by Commissioner Heath to approve the minutes of the April 3, 2006 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission as submitted.  The motion received unanimous approval from the members present.

SUE 06-5 – Special Use Exception Petition – Xenon International School of Hair Design – 15031 Manchester Road – Mr. Michael Burgess

Ms. Kim McIntosh, Director of the Wichita, Kansas Xenon School of Hair Design, addressed the Commission.  She distributed folders and brochures with information about the school.  This will be the fifth branch of the school.  Other campuses are located in Denver, Omaha, Grand Island, and Wichita.  Ms. McIntosh said that they expect to have full enrollment of 150 students.  She said that the school will provide hair, skin and nail beauty services to the public, which will be performed by students and supervised by instructors. 

Ms. McIntosh said that three programs of study will be offered:  cosmetology, which enables the student to be licensed in hair, skin, and nails; manicuring (nail technology); and esthetics (facials, body treatments, make-up, and temporary hair removal).  Students will be able to apply for financial aid after the first 90 days.  

Mayor Young asked why they chose Ballwin.  Ms. McIntosh said that there are 8-10 similar schools in the St. Louis area.  Wichita is half the size and there are 5 such schools there.  She said that there is room for growth in this industry in the St. Louis area.  Mr. Michael Burgess of Xenon said that Ballwin was chosen because it is an established community that provided easy access to the school.

Commissioner Keefe asked if there would be retail sales.  Mr. Burgess said there will be a 3600 sq. ft. retail section at the front of the school that will sell beauty products.  Commissioner Wind asked about the hours of operation.  Ms. McIntosh said that the first two months would consist of programs in class, as the students must have 340 hours of classroom instruction before working with clients.  Those hours will be Tuesday through Saturday, from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.  When the guest service area opens and they start offering services to customers, the schedule will change to six days a week (Monday–Saturday), and will be open until 8:00 p.m. a couple nights a week.

Mayor Young asked where the petitioner expected to draw students from.  Ms. McIntosh said that she has visited almost every high school in the St. Louis area recruiting students, and they have gotten a very strong response.  She said that they expect to draw students from a 100-mile radius.  Mayor Young said that he did not feel that the school would generate much income for the City.  Ms. McIntosh disagreed, stating that the 150 students enrolled would eat at the area restaurants and shop in the local stores such as Target.  She said that clients would also make purchases in the retail section of their facility. 

Chairman Boland opened the public hearing and asked if there were any proponents to speak in favor of petition SUE 06-5.  There were none.  Chairman Boland then asked if there were any opponents to speak against the petition.  There were none, and Chairman Boland declared the public hearing closed.

Commissioner Kadane made a motion to recommend to the Board of Aldermen that Petition SUE 06-5 be approved.  Commissioner Heath seconded the motion.  A voice vote was taken with the following results:  Yea: Wind, Kadane, Heath, Hunter, Boland, Medler, Keefe, Walters, and Terbrock.  Nay:  Young.  The motion passed 9-1.

SUE 06-6 – Special Use Exception Petition – Ahmed Catering (preparation and sale of foodstuffs to be consumed in a place other than on the premises where prepared) – 15212-C Manchester Road, Ballwin Oaks Center – Mr. Riaz Ahmed

Mr. Rashid Ali and Mr. Wajid Ali, of 278 Windy Acres Estates Drive, addressed the Commission on behalf of their brother, who is requesting approval of a petition to open a catering business at 15212-C Manchester Road in the Ballwin Oaks Center.

Mr. Ali stated that the petitioner already runs an Indian restaurant in Des Peres.  He said it is difficult to manage both the restaurant and the catering in one location, so they would like to move the catering business to the new location closer to their home.  All catering food preparation will be done from the Ballwin location.  The hours of operation would be 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.

Commissioner Wind asked if the catering revenues would be recorded in Ballwin or in the city of the catering job.  Mr. Ali said all revenues would be based in Ballwin.

Chairman Boland opened the public hearing and asked if there were any proponents to speak in favor of petition SUE 06-6.  There were none.  Chairman Boland then asked if there were any opponents to speak against the petition.  There were none, and Chairman Boland declared the public hearing closed.

Commissioner Heath made a motion to recommend to the Board of Aldermen that Petition SUE 06-6 be approved.  Commissioner Kadane seconded the motion.  The motion received unanimous approval from the members present.

Z 06-3 – Development Plan Approval Petition – Halcyon Place, 310 Hill Trail Drive – Metropolitan Design Group LLC, 7174 Manchester Avenue, St. Louis MO 63143

Mr. Jay Simon addressed the Commission, requesting approval for the final site development plan for Halcyon Place at 310 Hill Trail Drive.

Mr. Simon said that documents are being prepared by an attorney to facilitate the annexation of Halcyon Place into the Wildwood subdivision.  Wildwood Trustee Jim Leahy has provided the petitioner with preliminary approval for the annexation, pending a special subdivision meeting.  Mr. Simon described the improvements that are planned for the common ground, and distributed a budget sheet for those improvements to the Commission.  The scope of work is consistent with the $100,000 pledge that the petitioner made to the City and the Wildwood Subdivision community to provide the improvements. 

Mr. Simon addressed the sidewalk issue on the north side of Halcyon Place Drive.  The sidewalk has been omitted because the installation would almost certainly kill the two adjacent mature pin oak trees on the site.  The petitioner is willing to make a contribution to the sidewalk fund in lieu of the building the sidewalk in order to preserve the trees.  He would like to offset this cost with the cost of any needed retaining wall in this area.

Mr. Simon said that rather than hauling away debris such as concrete and granular materials, they would like to recycle these materials on site as proper backfill.  Commissioner Kadane said that this is not a zoning issue, but would require approval from the City Engineer.

Commissioner Medler asked if the petitioner has a plan if the Wildwood subdivision decided against the annexation.  Mr. Simon said that he does not have a back-up plan because he is confident that the annexation will proceed; however, if the annexation were turned down, he would pursue a right-of-use agreement and continue with the improvement plan.  Chairman Boland asked what percentage of the Wildwood subdivision residents is required for approval.  Mr. Simon said he understood that two-thirds would be required.  Mr. Leahy said that 101 households would be required for the approval.

Commissioner Hunter stated her concern about the sidewalk omission on the north side, and asked if there is some means of connecting it to the sidewalk on the other side of the trees, possibly via a walking path.  Mr. Simon said that where the sidewalk ends, there is a crosswalk situation to the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

Mr. Leahy addressed the Commission.  He believes that the subdivision is in full support of the petitioner’s proposal and wants to be one community.  Mr. Leahy said the subdivision meeting will be held as soon as their attorney signs off on the annexation documents, and he does not foresee the annexation being voted down.

Chairman Boland opened the public hearing and asked if there were any proponents to speak in favor of petition Z 06-3.  There were none. 

            Mr. Patrick O’Driscol asked who will be responsible for liability insurance for the improved common ground area.  Mr. Leahy said that this would be covered by the subdivision insurance currently in force.

Chairman Boland then asked if there were any opponents to speak against the petition.  There were none, and Chairman Boland declared the public hearing closed.

Commissioner Keefe asked why a sidewalk would damage the trees, since it’s only 4 inches deep.  Mr. Simon said there is an additional four inches of rock under the concrete, and the roots to an oak tree are typically within that zone.   He said his arborist said that installing a sidewalk would kill the trees.  Commissioner Wind asked about the retaining wall that is proposed for the area on the north side.  Mr. Simon said that it is necessary to keep excessive amounts of dirt from being piled onto the feeder roots. 

Commissioner Medler made a motion to recommend to the Board of Aldermen that Petition Z 06-3 be approved.  Commissioner Wind seconded the motion.  The motion received unanimous approval from the members present.

Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee Update

Commissioner Hunter noted that the charrettes held on April 20 and 27 were well attended.  The next meeting will be held on May 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the golf course clubhouse, and is open to the public. 

Adjournment 

A motion was made by Commissioner Medler and seconded by Commissioner Kadane to adjourn the meeting.  The motion received unanimous approval from the members present.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

Michael Boland, Chairman
Planning & Zoning Commission