Sprawl & Eminent Domain Alert in St. Louis County

It doesn’t seem to end. Big boxes have saturated the blighted corn fields of St. Peters so now they are moving toward the core – taking people’s homes in the path of “progress.”

Back in November I commented on the new Walmart, Sam’s Club & Lowe’s abomination on Hanley Road. Also in November I shared my viewson the proposed Schnuck’s & Lowe’s at I-55 & Loughborough. The RFT did a story on this a few weeks later. Just a couple weeks later I talked about a proposed Home Depot at Goodfellow and I-70. This is a lot of big box stores for a region that is not greatly expanding its population.

Well, add another to the ever expanding list. This morning I learned of a proposed Walmart at I-55 & Weber road in South St. Louis County. According to Yahoo Maps this is only 1.3 miles from the I-55 & Loughborough Schnuck’s grocery/Lowe’s. Both involve eminent domain – the taking of people’s homes for the greater public good. Of course, greater public good means a developer think the houses are in the way of their generic box stores and massive and barren parking lots. We can’t let people’s homes get in the way of progress can we? Let’s ask the folks over in McRee town shall we???

Oh that is right – we can’t ask the folks in McRee town because their homes have already been razed. How silly of me to forget. After all, I can clearly see the fact McRee town is missing when I drive by on I-44. Some of the destruction is still on-going but they are making quick headway of erasing decades of history. Reminds me of the wreck-less destruction for housing projects in the 1950s. Displace the poor so we can remove from our sight reminders that people are poor. I’d better stop now – this post is supposed to be about big box stores not the systematic displacement of people.

So, just over a mile from one abuse of eminent domain is another abuse of eminent domain. Since they go hand in hand with each other why not have public hearings on both projects on the same day? That way the big wigs from Walmart only have to come into town to threaten and intimidate for a day. No point dragging things out right?

Tuesday January 25th at 9am will be a public information meeting on the I-55 & Weber project. The meeting will be held at Stupp Brothers – the proposed site. At 7pm that same day will be a public information meeting on the I-55 & Loughborough project. That meeting will be held at the Carondelet Athletic Club which is next door to Schnucks.

One of the key phrases you’ll hear now is “county buyout.” That is the new kindler, gentler politically correct phrase for using tax money to take people’s homes through eminent domain. I’m not sure what the new phrase is for when the tax payers also rebuild the highway interchanges at Loughborough & Weber to handle the additional traffic demanded by these regional big box eyesores. Any thoughts?

– Steve

A Sunday Drive in St. Charles County

Sunday I was out in the municipality of Dardenne Prairie located in St. Charles County. A friend is one of their six aldermen. He and his wife were sharing their experiences from campaigning last year. I like that their municipal elections are non-partisan. Are parties even relevant at a municipal level?

On the way to their home (with the obligatory front facing 3-car garage) I had to stop and snap the picture to the right. This photo is completely untouched – I did not digitally add the ‘Dardene Prairie City Hall’ sign in front of a trailer. No, this is the Dardene Prairie City Hall. Tragic huh?

During my visit our conversation turned from campaigning to city planning. Well, after a short discussion of Macs vs. Windows and how her team (USC) kicked my Alma Mater (University of Oklahoma) in the Orange Bowl. I started hearing about some of the issues they face. O’Fallon is next to them and wants to overtake them. Prior administrations let their city limits shrink because they wanted to remain a bedroom community. Without commercial development it is hard to provide city services – much less build a real city hall.

Soon Dardene Prairie will have one of those multi-screen theaters that has enough screens to show every movie currently out. But what I learned is that their Mayor, Pam Fogarty, wanted the theatre and other developments to be a bit more connected. She wanted to be able to go to dinner and then walk to the movie without having to get back into her car. Guess what? She is getting what she wanted. Granted, she’ll be walking in a strip mall but it is a start.

The three of us got in their SUV (ownership of at least one SUV is required in St. Charles County) and headed over to Winghaven. For those of you that don’t know, Winghaven was the region’s first attempt at New Urbanism. I hadn’t seen it in years – it was barely started last time I was there. In August 2001 the RFT did a story about the development. Some took exception with the characterization that Winghaven was New Urbanism. Todd Antoine, an urban planner currently with Great Rivers Greenway, green Architect John Hoag and yours truly authored a letter to the editor in response.

From our letter:

The following week was 9-11 which made our concerns of defining New Urbanism immediately insignificant.

OK, so we are in the SUV heading to Winghaven. I learn more. As we head out of their subdivision I note that the main feeder road in the subdivision only has sidewalks on one side. When they go for a walk in their subdivision they have to walk across the street and across grass to get to a sidewalk. Sad. We pull onto the two lane country road that was probably charming at one time. It will soon be widened by the county – it will still be two lanes but it will gain curbs, a center turn lane and a sidewalk on one side. The county only pays for one sidewalk. The much older subdivision across the street and to the north will not have a sidewalk on its side of the main street. Just as well, they have no sidewalks within their subdivision.

Now we are on Bryan Road which becomes Winghaven Blvd when we cross highway N. The first thing I notice is the blank land before we get to highway N. “Oh, that will be where Page Ave extends.” Page Avenue will continue through the middle of Dardene Prairie and connect with highway 40.

On the drive past little “villages” of mostly suburban housing on our way to the Boardwalk – their commercial town center. They explain how their Mayor, the aforementioned Pam Fogerty, bicycles from her house to this commercial area. Wow, cool. First she wants crazy things like being able to walk from dinner to a movie without driving to the next parking lot and now she bicycles from point A to point B in suburbia rather than drive an SUV. I’m really starting to like Mayor Fogerty. I look forward to meeting her.

Then I learn that my friends don’t do their grocery shopping at a massive Shnuck’s or Dierberg’s. They go to Dave’s on the Boardwalk in Winghaven. Earlier in the day, Dave himself took out their groceries to their SUV. Who knew such friendly neighborhood markets existed – much less in a new area in St. Charles County. This is not some glorified convenience store – they have a full selection of groceries including fresh produce and a deli. Plus, the store was very attractive in a smart way – much like our small Straub’s chain. I had low expectations and was immediately surprised.

The ice creme shop across the street from the grocery store includes a great feature – a pedestrian walk-up window. Again, I’m totally shocked. Someone had to actually assume they’d have enough walk-up traffic to justify the cost of the window.

In terms of ADA accessibility they did a pretty bad job. Flagstone steps through mulched beds to get from SUV to sidewalk, lots of steps and narrow sidewalk widths.

A couple of bike racks are located on the two short blocks at the center. Unfortunately, this one is located on the side of a building in a less than visible location. Also, it is a bit too close to the building to make access comfortable. But, I’m always glad to see bike racks at commercial areas.

The adjacent townhouses are a mockery of real urban townhouses. The alleys are wider than lots of streets I know. The single family detached housing, also adjacent to the commercial area, is a little better. My friends observed, correctly, that the houses felt too close to the street not because of the actual distance but because of the bright white vinyl siding which jumps out at you. Again, these alleys are really wide and the houses have driveways and attached garages. One had a 3-car garage off the alley and no backyard. Lame.

Winghaven is not New Urbanism. It is better than typical suburban sprawl but it is a far cry from the City of St. Louis or even old town St. Charles. One could wonder if Winghaven was necessary to get to New Town at St. Charles – a genuine example of flood field New Urbanism. Maybe, but don’t pass it off as New Urbanism.

My friend reads Urban Review – St. Louis on a daily basis. Issues I raise about connecting people and places are being discussed with their Mayor and other Aldermen. I’m flattered. Dardene Prairie recently approved TND (Traditional Neighborhood Design) zoning for a couple of parcels of land within their city. I’ve yet to see the specifics of the ordinance but I’m encouraged the city is taking pro-active steps to mold the way it develops rather than just approving whatever a developer proposes.

I lent them my copies of David Sucher’s book City Comforts as well as the recent issue of New Urban News. I haven’t even been elected to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen yet and I am already working on improving the whole region. The power of sharing ones views & knowledge – I love it.

– Steve

Don’t Even Think of Interacting with this Family!

One of the most obnoxious things about suburbia is the sea of garage doors facing the street. Many people falsely think the objection to the garage doors is simply an aesthetic decision. While looking at a metal door stamped to look like a wood panel door with fake wood grain is certainly offensive to my sense of aesthetics it is not the primary reason I object to such design.

The primary reason is the message it sends. The car is more important to people. My garage is more important than my front porch & front door. Most suburban houses have little or no front porch. The ones that do are often so small it is impossible to sit down with a neighbor and have a conversation. The following is a very personal tale about my childhood in suburbia.

I grew up in a 1960s suburban subdivision in Oklahoma City – my parents were building their home while my mom was pregnant with me. The streets in the former farm field were still being paved when they moved in with my two older brothers. Many of the houses on the street have pretty flat facades – the garage in line with most of the front of the house. Others have the garage more prominent. My parent’s house is an L-shape house with the bedroom wing closer to the street and the garage set back. While this reduces the impact of the garage is certainly creates more driveway. My dad wanted to build the house with a 3-car garage which was a bit unusual at the time but the subdivision rules said no – two car garage only. One car garages & carports, fairly common at the time, were also prohibited.

So we ended up with a two-car garage but a driveway that could hold nine cars. You read it right – nine cars. We could fit three cars deep from garage door to curb and three cars wide since we had extra width. At various times we had quite a few cars so you can imagine how it looked – like a used car lot.

The builder of the house next door did a sidewalk which still looks silly since no other house on the street has a sidewalk. My grade school was within the subdivision and just over a half mile walking distance or biking distance. I think my mom dropped me off & picked me up when I was in kindergarden and the first few years but I recall walking & biking to school in the 4th grade. But, the subdivision had no sidewalks except in the newest areas which were built in the late 70s. Walking and interacting was very limited in the subdivision.

Back to the next door neighbor with the lone sidewalk in the first area of the subdivision. The wife worked downtown. She’d pull her Continental out of her garage and drive to the parking garage at her office. After work she’d return and pull back in the garage. Interaction on the street was usually limited to times when mowing grass, pulling weeds, retrieving trash cans or getting the paper. I’d see her mostly when I was next door visiting my friend who was a year younger than me.

I do have some very positive memories of my early childhood days in the suburbs of Oklahoma City. Four neighbors had in-ground pools and another had a nice above ground pool. I was always a prune in the summer months. Unfortunately, I never learned to swim properly. Before I started biking I had a big wheel which I rode up and down are quiet street. I’d turn around on neighbor’s driveways. Frank & Maxine about six houses up the street were retired and often sitting in chairs in front of their garage. Across the street was Jewel and her husband. She was always running around in her Seville (the latest thing at the time) but her husband was always sitting in a chair smoking a cigar. He was one of the first people that I recall passing away. Their son and his wife lived directly across the street. I thought they were really cool – she was about ten years his junior, they had modern furniture and despite not having any kids they were one of the in-ground pool owners. She drove a Mercury Cougar – the one with the nifty turn signals that flashed progressively in the direction you were turning. He retired while I was in high school but as a fireman he was often off work for a week at a time and you guess it, he was often sitting in a chair in front of his garage door. You see the garage as porch pattern here?

When I turned 16 and got my license I was excited to take the Doge Duster to the older neighborhoods. I’d spend hours exploring some of the great old neighborhoods which are filled with frame craftsman bungalows of the 20s. It was very exciting to see places with large front porches and detached garages accessed by narrow little driveways – Oklahoma City has no alleys.

Over the years when I’d go back home for a visit and the neighbor across the street would talk to me about St. Louis – he recalled visiting St. Louis in the heyday of Gaslight Square. I could put his stories together with old pictures and feel like I was there.

I returned home the Tuesday before Christmas this year to visit my parents. I was eager to see my father who is recovering from a heart attack in October. He was still in the hospital when I last saw him. My oldest brother, 17 years my senior, and his wife were at my parents when I got there – they had arrived the day before from California. My adorable great-niece was with them. The joy of seeing my family was soon saddened. My mom told me the neighbor across the street – a man I had known my entire life – passed away the day before at age 72 – three years younger than my father. His mom, the Seville driving woman is now in her 90s and living in a home. I saw her after the funeral – I helped lift her wheelchair into the house via the garage of course. She looked the same as a remember from my childhood. No parent should ever have to attend the funeral of their child. I’m crying now as I write this – clearly I had developed a bond with neighbors in our less than ideal suburban world.

The suburban garage used as a front porch and the driveway as a wide sidewalk can work provided the owners raise the garage door and put out their chair. Seldom does that happen. Real front porches and streets with sidewalks going to real places is the best way to create community. The garage is a poor substitute.

Cartoonist Derf was gracious enough to grant me permission to publish the following installment of ‘White Middle Class Suburban Man.’

For more of Derf’s work check out his site at Derfcity.com.

Unfortunately, as suburbia evolves from the mid 60s of my childhood to today the prominence of garage doors have increased – as 3-car garages become more of the norm. With people working even more and parents afraid to let their kids walk to school even in the posh suburbs our human interaction is at an all-time low. Email and the web, like garage porches, are no substitute for genuine meetings.

We must build cities for human interaction to build upon our society.

– Steve

The City in Winter & Taco Bell?

An urban city like St. Louis is beautiful in winter. Mt. Pleasant Park, adjacent to my block, was very tranquil Saturday morning. The blocks of beautiful brick houses with snow covering the branches of the street trees were also very beautiful. Those winding cul-de-sac streets with front-facing garages and no street trees can’t hold a candle to our streets – in any season.

But the picture to the right was taken by me Friday night on the way home – not exactly serene huh? I try to avoid fast food but I was still hungry after a party on Flora Place so a quick stop at Taco Bell on Grand seemed like a good idea. The normally ugly back of the Taco Bell with its hideous lighting, bright menu and waiting cars spewing toxins in the air actually looked interesting to me with the snow coming down.

In cities with more urban-friendly zoning & building ordinances drive-thru restaurants are not banned but altered. The buildings are built closer to the street with entrances facing onto the sidewalks. Parking is relegated to the back of the building and drive-thru lanes and driveways are kept minimal.

David Sucher, an urban developer in Seattle, has great information on this and other good ideas in his excellent book, City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village. You can order his book through a local bookstore (such as Left Bank) or through his website (which includes an index of the book and a sample chapter). Be sure to check out his City Comforts Blog which is linked from his site.

Fast food, bank & pharmacy drive-thru lanes are not going to disappear anytime soon but we need to look at creative ways to lessen their negative impacts on the urban environment. If we take the time to really think about the problems and possible solutions we can have our cake and eat it too!

UPDATE 10:45AM 1/9/05: I’m told the AIA Bookstore on Washington Avenue has Sucher’s book, City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village, in stock. Click here for AIA St. Louis website.

– Steve

The City in Winter & Taco Bell?

An urban city like St. Louis is beautiful in winter. Mt. Pleasant Park, adjacent to my block, was very tranquil Saturday morning. The blocks of beautiful brick houses with snow covering the branches of the street trees were also very beautiful. Those winding cul-de-sac streets with front-facing garages and no street trees can’t hold a candle to our streets – in any season.

But the picture to the right was taken by me Friday night on the way home – not exactly serene huh? I try to avoid fast food but I was still hungry after a party on Flora Place so a quick stop at Taco Bell on Grand seemed like a good idea. The normally ugly back of the Taco Bell with its hideous lighting, bright menu and waiting cars spewing toxins in the air actually looked interesting to me with the snow coming down.

In cities with more urban-friendly zoning & building ordinances drive-thru restaurants are not banned but altered. The buildings are built closer to the street with entrances facing onto the sidewalks. Parking is relegated to the back of the building and drive-thru lanes and driveways are kept minimal.

David Sucher, an urban developer in Seattle, has great information on this and other good ideas in his excellent book, City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village. You can order his book through a local bookstore (such as Left Bank) or through his website (which includes an index of the book and a sample chapter). Be sure to check out his City Comforts Blog which is linked from his site.

Fast food, bank & pharmacy drive-thru lanes are not going to disappear anytime soon but we need to look at creative ways to lessen their negative impacts on the urban environment. If we take the time to really think about the problems and possible solutions we can have our cake and eat it too!

UPDATE 10:45AM 1/9/05: I’m told the AIA Bookstore on Washington Avenue has Sucher’s book, City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village, in stock. Click here for AIA St. Louis website.

– Steve