Kirkwood rallies to save Meramec’s surroundings
Eric Aikin
– Staff Writer –
Kirkwood’s Dec. 3 city council meeting began with a crowd that completely filled the council’s chambers and left dozens of citizens standing, waiting for their voices to be heard. However, the first person that Arthur McDonnell, Kirkwood mayor, handed the microphone off to was not a disenchanted citizen, but Santa Claus.
“I have plenty of coal for those of you with arguments that are too angry,” Santa Claus said.
Many citizens in the crowd that night were gathered to hear and argue against Landco Development Co.’s proposed commercial development of five residential properties located from 11204 to 11224 Big Bend road. This area lies directly across Big Bend road from STLCC-Meramec, between a Phillips 66 gas station and the Kirkwood Children’s House child care center.
The meeting marked the final discussion of the issue after its proposal to the city council more than four years ago. Despite the duration of legislation, many citizens followed the issue closely and spoke at meetings multiple times throughout the proposal’s lifespan.
“This is the third time I’ve been here, and I’m not going to go away,” Mary Ann Rea, citizen, said. “[The people of Kirkwood] are not going to go away.”
One of the most argued points of the evening was the increase in traffic a commercial property would create. Although Lee Cannon, traffic operations engineer hired by Landco Development Co., projected that the building would only add 610 cars to Big Bend each day, citizens argued that any traffic increase would negatively affect other roads in the area.
“Anything that this council does, any variance, any change, affects everything around it,” Rea said. “You cannot add more traffic off of Big Bend. If a commercial property is put in that section, [drivers] will exit 44 and 270 onto Watson and come across Geyer to get there. They will, additionally, come from Meramec because of the increased traffic from the filling station. Instead of coming out of Big Bend, they’re coming out on Geyer and coming across. I live there, I see it every day.”
Kirkwood’s environmental sustainability was another issue brought up by citizen Maggie Dewe while arguing against the proposal.
“[Taking care of the environment] is left to us Kirkwoodians, not the out-of-city developers, whose only investment is to make money. It’s left to us to protect and preserve our neighborhoods, our natural surroundings, and our large canopy trees,” Dewe said. “I urge you: Please do not destroy this large Kirkwood canopy so valued by us Kirkwoodians.”
In defense of his proposition, Steve Leathers, owner of Landco Development Co., argued that if his project, a medical office building, were built, it would provide jobs, income for the city of Kirkwood through business licenses and a medical resource to the community.
“You may roll your eyes at this, but this a medical building, and I believe that there’s more than a possibility that there will be lives saved in that building,” Leathers said. “It’s a medical building; it’s there for the medical needs of our community, and I say our community because I own building property on Big Bend by 270.”
After more than an hour of arguments on both sides, the proposition was unanimously voted down by the city council, ensuring that properties 11204 to 11224 Big Bend road would remain residential. As the vote was counted, the city council was met with applause from the citizens attending.
