Maryland School property is on agenda for Architectural Review Board meeting at 5:30 p.m. today

Shared from Jennifer Taussig.....

Dear Neighbors and Friends, 

A friendly reminder that the Architectural Review Board is meeting at 5:30 p.m. today (Monday, October 20) on the 2nd floor of City Hall to discuss the proposal for multi-family units on the Maryland School property among several other items.  This item is third on the agenda but we are not sure of the exact time. 

We need everyone's help to stop this potential arbitrary rezoning proposal that -- if approved -- will allow multi-family dwellings in an area surrounded on all four sides by single-family residences.  

We hope to see you tonight. 

Best regards,

Jennifer Taussig, "Protect Clayton Neighborhoods"

Acknowledgement of attendance prize sponsors

The Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Association is grateful for the generous support of our Annual Meeting with residents and city officials by the following sponsors. Thank you for making this event so successful!  Residents are encouraged to patronize them in return.

2014 Annual Meeting Sponsors

 

Touchstones Jewelry

Red Key Realty Leaders

Almond's Restaurant

The Crossing Restaurant

Niche Restaurant

Libertine Restaurant

Cafe Napoli Restaurant

Straub's Market

Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Aquarius Wellness Center for Healing Arts

Avani Day Spa

SAVE THE DATE! September 17th - Annual Old Town Clayton Neighborhood Meeting

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Statement to the BOA/BOE Joint Meeting 9/9/14 on behalf of “Protect Clayton Neighborhoods” citizens group

The following post represents a public statement made by Steven Rosenblum, Old Town resident, who has requested that it be shared  with the Old Town Clayton community:

"I want to commend the board of Aldermen and the Board of Education for this joint meeting. It is wonderful to see the bonds between these two important political boards being strengthened. First, I want to offer genuine thanks for use of the community garden which continues to be an incredibly successful effort and one that many residents would like to see become permanent.

As most of you know, the Maryland School remains a very popular green space—on any given day you will find some of the following activities going on: fitness boot camps, gardening, basketball, bike riding, dogs and owners enjoying the open space and kids playing on what is left of the play structures. This constant use underscores the need for such an area in this part of the City We have recently heard and will hear more tonight about numerous new multifamily housing projects that are proposed or ready to be proposed within the city of Clayton. My informal calculations total approximately 950 units that will be before the city in the coming months. Within a block of the Maryland School there are plans afoot for more than 500 units all of which are zoned for such use.

For many years, concerned citizens from throughout Clayton have expressed their hope that the City will follow its land use plans, Clayton Century Foundation priorities, and C the Future goals, Parks and Recreation recommendations and zoning ordinances to keep this area green. Unwanted, unlawful, and unneeded construction on this property would be a terrible precedent to set and would result in much unrest throughout the community.

We all need to work together to create great things and the opportunity to do this has never been more pressing than now. We urge both boards to work together to ensure that an equitable solution for this space be put in place and that it be done in a timely and open manner.

Thanks for your time and I hope that we can see some positive results for all involved soon." - Steven Rosenblum

26 Reasons St. Louis Is America's Hidden Gem

26 Reasons St. Louis Is America's Hidden Gem - Article from Huffington Post about St. Louis and the "other downtown" - Clayton! A must-read!

Public Forums Notice - Wednesday, July 23

Time:  Noon and at 6 p.m.
Location: Clayton City Hall (second floor Council Chambers),  10 N. Bemiston 

Clayton Mayor Harold Sanger and the Board of Aldermen cordially invite/encourage you to attend public forums to discuss the City of Clayton’s FY2015 Operating and Capital Improvements Budget. Although you may attend both, the noon forum is meant for the corporate community and the forum at 6 p.m. for residents.

Free Clayton History Lecture this evening

Join us at the free Clayton History Lecture this evening!

http://claytonhistorysociety.org/pdfs/05152014_history_lecture.pdf

Information shared from citizens group, Protect Clayton Neighborhoods (PCN)

Any residents interested in finding out more should contact Paul Taghert, Treasurer of PCN at taghertp@pcg.wustl.edu or Laura Bryant at 202 N Brentwood Blvd Apt 1B Saint Louis, MO 63105-3903 or visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/KeepClaytonGreen/ or http://keepclaytongreen.webs.com/ 

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Press Release from Citizen’s group, ” Protect Clayton Neighborhoods” 

For Immediate Release 

Clayton, MO, January 30, 2014—A group of concerned citizens has established a grassroots coalition, “Protect Clayton Neighborhoods” (PCN) in response to threats of property rezoning and higher density development in their community’s single-family neighborhoods. 

PCN supports healthy development of commercial and residential properties in Clayton, but strongly opposes the inappropriate or arbitrary rezoning of residential neighborhoods. For example, the Clayton School District (the District) has just announced that it intends to sell the Maryland School property to the highest bidder, a developer that proposes to rezone the entire parcel and build 48 condominiums surrounded by single-family homes. 

In fact, the proposed development by Love Investment Company would require rezoning to a 400 percent increase in density. Furthermore, the City of Clayton’s current Land Use Plan recognizes the parcel as green space and anticipates it to be used as "Public or Quasi-Public" green space for the long term. 

The City of Clayton’s Master Plan, zoning ordinances, and land use plans have all been carefully researched and adopted over time to ensure proper and fair land-use decision-making -- and to prevent inappropriate and/or arbitrary proposals like this one. Unfortunately, the Clayton School District has placed the City of Clayton in a position whereby it must spend time, money and effort to review an unacceptable proposal that is not in accordance with the City's land-use plan, the neighbors' wishes or the community's well-documented needs.

In an attempt to validate its actions, the Clayton School District has stated that “Love’s proposal was selected because it provides both the highest and best use for the property as well as a long-term revenue stream of additional property taxes." It is not clear why the School District is touting a revenue-stream argument, since the City of Clayton never allows "economic concerns" to justify even small property variances, much less residential rezoning. 

As a result, members of the PCN coalition are publicly and adamantly opposing any such effort to arbitrarily alter or revise current zoning and land-use plans.

Letter from Maryland School Town Home Developers

Susan Ryan, on behalf of the Maryland School Town Home Developers, requested the opportunity to share the following open letter with the neighborhood to help keep us informed.

April 25, 2014
Dear Neighbors:
 
Recently, several Hanley Place neighbors met with the Maryland School Town Home development team of Clayton resident Larry Schiffer, architect Gyo Obata and me so we could debut information about the new neighborhood proposed for the Clayton area.
 
If you haven’t already visited the Maryland School Town Homes website at www.marylandschooltownhomes.com, we encourage you to do so. Members of our team will be available in the coming months to talk with folks about the Maryland School Town Homes and its progress. It is our goal to provide the community with valuable information as we work through the zoning process that we are required to follow by City of Clayton. This process includes several opportunities for public hearings and community feedback, in addition to the meeting we held in late March.
 
We are encouraged by the strong interest in these new homes, and we have received both support and constructive feedback from Clayton residents and those who wish to live in this beautiful community.
 
A neighbor recently emailed us some questions, and we wanted to share following information in response.
We believe these homes will be most attractive to empty nesters and professionals, although they will certainly be welcoming to families.
 
We have been working with a few members of the City of Clayton staff to ensure we are properly moving through the established city process. No assurances have been given to us by any staff member or elected official regarding the future of this project. As residents and fans of the Clayton community, we believe this project would be good for the city, for the people who desire to live in Clayton, and for future property values in the area.
 
The City of Clayton requires developers to conduct a traffic study. Once that study is completed, it will be available to the public through the city. Parking for residents will be underground, which will free up parking for guests and workmen. Any additional guests and workmen will have access to the streets just as current neighbors do when guests and workmen visit. While we are pleased to have the support of many former elected and city officials, none of them is working on behalf of the development team.
 
The average roof height of the Maryland School Town Homes is 32 feet, which is consistent with many of the homes in the neighborhood. The Westmoreland setback is 20 feet; the Jackson setback is 10-12 feet; and the Maryland setback is 17 feet and 10 feet. These setbacks have been designed to blend into the current look and feel of the neighborhood.
 
New drawings of the development including driveway, garage, trash and utilities will be available on the website when they are completed. The City of Clayton requires developers to conduct an environmental impact study, tree replacement plan and storm water study as part of the established process. Once those are completed, they will be available through the city.
 
We understand that landscaping is important to the charm of the neighborhood. The trees that are on city or city-maintained property can only be removed with city approval. Trees on the property dedicated for the development will be removed only as needed. Landscaping will be designed to blend into the established trees and plantings of the current neighborhood. All of the landscaping requires the approval of the City of Clayton. We will keep the community informed of our plans as we move through the City of Clayton approval process.
 
For more information, please visit the website or email us with your questions.
 
Regards,
Bruce Korn
Co-Developer Bruce Korn and the Maryland School Town Homes, LLC Team
www.marylandschooltownhomes.com
info@marylandschooltownhomes.com

If you have questions, please contact Susan C. Ryan of SC Ryan Consulting, LLC at 314-304-6800 (phone) or 314-983-0998 (fax) or susan.c.ryan@att.net (email)

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