UPDATE AS OF JuLY 17th 2024
On June 24th, St. Charles County Council VOTED 5-2 Approving BuschhighlanDs
Disappointing yet the fight will continue to protect Rural St. Charles.
See below for more information.
OUR COUNTY DESERVES SMART GROWTH. JOIN US TO ENSURE THIS.
UPDATE ON TALL TREE FARMS (TTF 2.0) AS OF June 26th 2024:
ON JUNE 24th: The St. Charles County Council Approved by a 5-2 vote, the the Southern Section of TTF (Canine Country: Hwy DD south of Dardenne Creek to Schwede Rd). Note that a super majority was required to pass this measure. A 4-3 result in favor would have meant the measure failed.
Lombardo will now likely propose 270+ homes north of Dardenne Creek to Sommers when that section is brought to O'Fallon . This will result in ~400+ tract homes on Hwy DD destroying the rural landscape of Hwy DD and St. Charles County.
The vote on June 24th by the St. Charles County Council was deflating but we will continue to fight.
Here are CSGSCC Next Steps.
1. CSGSCC continues to monitor O'Fallon City's actions, if O'Fallon attempts to annex the property on Hwy DD from Sommers to Dardenne Creek, CSGSCC will bring our legal case against the City of O'Fallon.
2. CSGSCC will support political candidates that support Rural St. Charles and work against those who seek the destruction of Rural St. Charles. There are concerns of ulterior motives by some politicians based on them receiving campaign donations from special and conflicts of interest. For example, is the community aware that Nathan Bibb, is the VP of a Construction Company that benefits from building new schools? Bibb's company built new schools for Wentzville and Wright city when student populations exploded. Bibb served on O'Fallon City Council making the decisions to continually increase density and new developments that directly benefit the company he worked for and his own income. That is a true conflict of interest. Voting to increase density which increases student population which creates the need for more schools which Bibb is paid to build is a CONFLICT OF INTEREST on a basic level and can well be interpreted as outright CORRUPTION. Remember August 6th to not vote Bibb as to protect Rural St. Charles County.
3. Lombardo has chosen to become a persona non grata of the Rural St. Charles community. Lombardo has shown they value profits over the local community. Lombardo is very capable of successfully building 3+Acre homesites in St. Charles but has chosen profit over community for Busch Highlands. Share your opinion with Lombardo at info@lombardohomes.com
4. We will continue to fight in all ways for preservation of Rural St. Charles County
St. Charles County Gov't is currently reviewing its new Masterplan which will guide development growth in the county for the next 10-20 years. We need our rural citizens to show up and demand that Rural St. Charles is protected. More to come.
https://www.sccmo.org/2009/Master-Plan-Envision-2030
We need everyone's support and action.
Please do the following:
- Show up to the County Council meetings and upcoming O'Fallon City PNZ Meetings.
- Voice your opinions
- Tell your Friends and Neighbors what is happening.
- Donate to our Legal Fund (See below)
- Communicate your stance/beliefs to the St. Charles County Council:
The first 5 members below voted to approve this development disaster. (Elam, Baker, Hollander, Schneider, Swanson)
• Councilmember Mike Elam: Melam@sccmo.org (314) 440-1445
• Councilmember Tim Baker: Tbaker@sccmo.org (314) 698-6692
• Councilmember Terry Hollander: Thollander@sccmo.org (636)233-2347
• Councilmember Nancy Schneider: Nschneider@sccmo.org (636)233-4190
• Councilmember Matt Swanson: Mswanson@sccmo.org (636)288-6479
• Councilmember Joe Brazil: Jbrazil@sccmo.org (636)399-2975
• Councilmember Dave Hammond: Dhammond@sccmo.org (314)581-5954
Note that both Councilmembers Brazil and Hammond Voted to Defend Rural St. Charles against this reckless and shortsighted development.
- Communicate your stance/beliefs on directly to the following O'Fallon Reps from Ward #3 that Northern Tall Tree section (north of Dardenne Creek) abide by the 7 principals noted below. The proposed Northern Tall Tree Section will be dense development unsuitable for the area.
Nathan Bibb: 636-379-5585 nbibb@ofallon.mo.us
Steve Koskela: 636-379-5586 skoskela@ofallon.mo.us
- The Lombardo Proposal & Development design plans for the Southern Section (Hwy DD south of Dardenne Creek to Schwede Rd) DOES NOT MEET CSGSCC's requested seven (7) Principals noted below.
- Lombardo has approached the City of O'Fallon to develop for the North Section of TTF (Hwy DD From Sommers to Diehr Rd). No date available yet on Submission for North to OFallon PNZ. Lombardo Proposal & Development design plans for the North Section are unclear but Lombardo will present formally to O'Fallon PNZ/City soon. The Northern Section will bring dense development (>270+Homes). Lombardo will not release detailed plans due to concerns regarding its own dense housing plans. This is not acceptable for our community nor from a professional level at Lombardo.
- CSGSCC has clearly communicated Lombardo, City of O'Fallon, and St. Charles County that the expectations that this new TTF proposal will follow the seven (7) principals for the TTF development outlined below.
Please check back for regular updates. We will share as soon as available.
Please stay vigilant as O'Fallon City will begin to review Tall Tree Farms (Area Hwy DD between Sommers Road to Dardenne Creek) We need to show up again to make sure the O'Fallon City Council understands the requirements for Rural St. Charles County and preserving our vast vanishing green space.
For the Northern section of Tall Tree Farm 2.0, please note that Lombardo has not shared their design for the northern, “Tall Tree Farms” between Sommers and Diehr Roads is not yet complete and will be submitted to the city of O’Fallon for approval. The northern development being pursued via O'Fallon jurisdiction is an issue, given their track record of approving annexations for dense residential developments despite their city plan’s cautions against such actions. We continue to consider all our strategies and plans for potential litigation against a non-compliant annexation.
Your voice, whether you live in St. Charles County or O’Fallon, remains critical to
guiding local governments and Lombardo in agreeing on a development design that
integrates well with our local community and does not create an undue financial and
infrastructure service burden on existing residents.
Please continue to stay current on these proposals via this Facebook group and our
Website here. We also appreciate your continued participation
in St. Charles County and City of O’Fallon Planning and Zoning and Council Meetings.
WHO WE ARE:
Citizens for Smart Growth in St. Charles County (CSGSCC), representing thousands of residents within our local community, seeks to ensure development is consistent with the surrounding land uses, rural value of our community, and are fully compliant with formal community development plans of both St. Charles County and surrounding municipalities.
All general donations to CSGSCC are used to fund our legal support and public outreach on local over-development issues. Some individuals have made in-kind donations of products and services and/or monetary donations for the specific purpose of supporting or opposing local political candidates. Those donations are only used for signs and flyers. CSGSCC does not make monetary donations to any political candidates." Members of CSGSCC are volunteers and receive no compensation.
Thanks to concerns citizens like you, we have now achieved more than 2,000 CSGSCC members!
CSGSCC is not opposed to development of this area per se, but we do object to developments that don’t respect the rural nature of the area and make a mockery of established community development strategies and requirements. Furthermore CSGSCC believes that wildlife corridors and natural watershed protection are critical for future development in St. Charles County.
Our organization is focused on;
(1) ensuring public awareness of and engagement in proposed development projects,
(2) coordination with local government officials and developers to ensure our objectives and inputs are considered, and
(3) developing the legal and financial resources required to litigate against adverse projects if required
Thanks to community support to oppose high-density development along Highway DD, our efforts helped St. Charles County Council unanimously reject the Tall Tree Farm Development in August 2023. The Citizens for Smart Growth in St. Charles County, LLC has a similar plan to fight any proposed annexation efforts the developer may take with O'Fallon.
Thank you for your support. HERE IS HOW TO CONTINUE TO HELP.
1. **Stay Vigilant & Be Vocal:** As O'Fallon City evaluates annexation on the Tall Tree Hwy DD Development and other ill-proposed projects that threaten rural St. Charles County, communicate your opposition to city officials and Planning & Zoning Commission. Show up to City & PNZ monthly meetings.
2. **Spread the Word:** - Encourage friends, neighbors, and your HOA to join the cause and this group.
3. **Volunteer:** - Become a neighborhood representative by reaching out through the website.
4. **Financial Contributions:** -
Fundraising efforts are needed to cover legal expenses incurred to date and those needed for a potential legal challenge to annexation.
With your support, we can ensure this western portion of St. Charles County remains rural and preserves the area we all love. (See support ways below) Support the critical legal battle against ill-design project & annexations by contributing:
GoFundme
VENMO @smartgrowthSCC
- Alternatively, checks can be made payable to "Citizens for Smart Growth in St. Charles County, LLC"
Citizens for Smart Growth in St. Charles County, LLC
Box 42
7827 Town Square Avenue, Suite 104
O'Fallon, MO 63368
We'll post as soon as we have information from O'Fallon on timing.
O'Fallon PNZ and City Council Agenda Link:
https://www.ofallon.mo.us/meeting-agendas
For O'Fallon Residents your opposition signature is key to keep your tax dollars from being misused on new expansive development. Tall Tree was unanimously voted down by Saint Charles County.
Why should the citizens of O'Fallon pay for a development that the County doesn't want? All the negative points noted below would occur should O'Fallon approve this development as proposed.
O'Fallon Residents Please sign here at annexopposition.com .
Note each registered O'Fallon voter in household is eligible to sign.
Please share with your O'Fallon Neighbors.
CSGSCC requests that any development of the Tall Tree & Canine Country Parcels adheres to these Seven (7) Principles below. These 7 Principles are required to mitigate all severely negative impacts for local residents, taxpayers, and the community at large.
1. **Topography Preservation:** The neighborhood design should retain as much of the existing topography as possible, avoiding the typical flattening of landscapes seen in dense developments.
2. **Minimum Lot Size:** Implementation of 3-acre lot size minimum for all lots is a necessity in line with rural residential requirements. Furthermore for clarity it is expected that all buffers/frontage requirement be excluded from these lots size minimums noted.
3. **Highway & Existing Neighborhood Buffers:** Establish tree and frontage buffers along Hwy DD at a minimum distance of 100 feet from the existing road. Provide 100-foot buffers and maintain the existing
tree line intact along the borders of existing neighborhoods of Fox Wood Estates, Wild Turkey Run, as well as Busch Wildlife Conservation Area.
4. **Transitional Design:** Adopt a "transitional" design that larger lots on the periphery (next to the tree buffers) and small lots on the inside.
5. **Tree Preservation:** In addition to full compliance with SCC 410.145 Tree Preservation Program, require that 50% of existing mature trees greater than 8 inches in trunk diameter remain, and ensure that 20% are replanted if removed.
6. **Street Lights:** Street lights only permitted in the development if the associated light pollution can be negated to avoid impact to the Broemmelsiek Park Astronomy Viewing Area.
7. **Cul-de-sacs:** Prohibit the construction of cul-de-sacs directly off of Hwy DD. If allowed, this would bring exceptional road danger to the citizens.
Please see our informative video which is helpful to understand the project and what our group is requesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wO6bhUvNs0
For those concerned with how this ill designed proposal would impact O'Fallon city's development guidelines please see this link.
For more info Facebook Group: “Citizens for Smart Growth in St. Charles County - Discussion Group”:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/584675397081687/
PRIMARY CONCERNED DEVELOPMENT
TALL TREE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL AT HWY DD Between Sommers Rd. & Schwede Rd.
PREVENT MORE ILL-DESIGNED HIGH DENSITY HOUSING IN ST. CHARLES COUNTY & O'FALLON
A developer wants to put ~400 residences on both sides of Hwy DD for 3 miles from Sommers Rd to Schwede Rd.
Impacts are following IF Approved as proposed:
1. Increased Property Taxes for ALL St. Charles County and O'Fallon to pay the developer’s cost
2. Overcrowded schools, negatively impacting learning environments & safety
3. Environmental Destruction right next to Busch Wildlife and Broemmelsiek park. Wildlife corridors and natural watershed need to be preserved.
4. Increased Traffic and no significant improvements w/ Add’l 1,500 cars daily to Hwy DD
5. Decreased property values due to high-density housing & natural setting destruction
6. Strained public services like emergency, water, etc. resulting in higher fees/taxes for ALL
Demand Rural Residential Zoning be required for this development.
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Citizens for Smart Growth in St. Charles County
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