Recall Florida Effort Adds Phone Hotline

I received an email informing me that a voice mail box has been set up for the Recall Florida effort, 314-995-2047. The recorded message has 15th Ward resident Mary Ann Lawrence introducing herself and mentioning they’ll have petitions in Tower Grove Park this coming Saturday and at Hardford & Roger the following Saturday, both from 9am to 11am. The message is also asking for volunteers to help go from door to door gathering signatures.

I met Rev. Mary Ann Lawrence briefly on Tuesday. As the voice mail says, she is a 15th Ward resident but she is also the pastor of the St. Matthew United Church of Christ at 2613 Potomac St. where the Gravois Park Neighborhood Association holds their meetings. As a 15th Ward resident and as a spiritual leader in the neighborhood where the McDonald’s is proposed I can see why she is so involved in this effort.

[UPDATE 5/12/06 – Looks like they’ve also added a website although it is quite sparse right now.]

– Steve

Board of Adjustment To Render Decision Regardless of New Design

On April 19, 2006 the Board of Adjustment tabled a decision on the citizen appeal of a drive-thru variance for a proposed McDonald’s on South Grand. At that hearing Ald. Jennifer Florida stated “they” would be revising the McDonald’s plan to reflect the Toronto standards that I first suggested on March 20, 2006. Funny, but it almost sounded like Florida considered herself part of the development team rather than the people’s representative. But, I digress…

A May 4, 2006 , letter from the Board of Adjustment states:

“If plans are not received within 2 weeks of the date of this letter, the Board will deliberate upon this matter with evidence already received. If revised plans are timely received, this appeal will be rescheduled for a later date.”

So is the wonder team of Pyramid, McDonald’s, Core States Engineering and spokeswoman Jennifer Florida working on a revised site plan? Probably, because it did not seem like the Board of Adjustment was impressed with the standard menu of small building, tons of parking and excessive curb cuts.

I just called the city’s zoning department to inquire if any new plans have been submitted, I am awaiting a return phone call. Meanwhile the deadline is a week from today.

I have re-read Toronto’s “Urban Design Guidelines for Site with Drive-Through Facilities” and I must say it is quite complete (4.9mb PDF file). The document covers the history of drive-thrus, problems associated with them and reasons for seeking to control where and how they are built. The document should be adopted by every other city in North America, including St. Louis.

Any facility with a drive-thru that is being touted as applying these guidelines needs to front on all public streets. So, a business such that is not on a corner should have its building up to the single street it faces. Those located on corners, however, should have their structures up to the public sidewalk on both streets. Anything less is simply lip service.

The original site plan of the proposed McDonald’s had three curb cuts, two on Grand and one on Winnebego. Way too many for a single business. Anything they submit needs to have no more than two curb cuts. Lighting should also be carefully designed to minimize glare on neighboring properties. But as I’ve said before, this really shouldn’t matter. The McDonald’s could & should just rebuild on their current site and Pyramid should build a mixed use project on the old Sears site.

– Steve

Can Mr. Smith get to Washington Anymore?

Jeff Smith is more than a candidate for the Missouri State Senate, he is also the focus of a new documentary film:

This documentary is the story of a 2004 Democratic congressional primary race for the U.S. Congress—a race to replace Congressman Dick Gephardt of St. Louis who had held the seat for 28 years. It’s told from inside the campaign of Jeff Smith, 30-year old part-time political science instructor at Washington University.

Though this was Jeff’s first bid for office, he had worked on several races including Bill Bradley’s presidential run.

A total of ten people entered the race, but his chief opponent was the man whose name is associated with the biggest dynasty in Missouri politics: Russ Carnahan. Carnahan, a Missouri state representative, is the grandson of a former U.S. Congressman. His father was a former Governor; his mother was a former U.S. Senator.

In addition to his name recognition, Carnanhan had state legislative experience, strong ties to the political establishment and an ability to raise lots of money locally and from around the country.

The odds for Jeff were overwhelming. But he had political savvy, charisma, and an ability to lead an insurgent, youth-oriented grassroots campaign of over 300 volunteers.

This is a David and Goliath story. One that shows what confronts fresh political faces with new ideas and passionate supporters when they go head-to-head against the corporate establishment, name recognition, and a population of voters that, for the most part, don’t pay attention.

The documentary has been accepted to the Silverdocs documentary film festival in Washington D.C. next month. The film makers are planning screenings at the Tivoli and will allow me to view the film before it is publicly shown.

– Steve

Think Twice Before Writing Off an Ugly Building

I hear it often, “that building is not worth saving.” Indeed, many of our buildings have been so poorly remodeled over the decades that it is hard to imagine them as anything but an eyesore. Such is the case with the building shown at right.

If you’ve been to the awesome Iron Barley restaurant on Virginia in Dutchtown then you’ve probably seen this building at the corner of Virginia and Fassen (map). To most eyes it is not worthy anything except the wrecking ball.

But what did it once look like?

… Continue Reading

Sign the Recall Florida Petition at Tower Grove Park on Saturday

Volunteers will be taking signatures from folks wanting to sign the Recall Florida petition this Saturday from 9am to 11am near the new Tower Grove Farmer’s Market. Look for volunteers in Recall Florida t-shirts near the new Tower Grove Farmer’s Market opening this Saturday just West of the Pool Pavilion. This is just West of the main traffic circle, see #20 on this map.

Be sure to check out the market but it looks quite promising with some great vendors lined up. It will run every Saturday into October.

[UPDATE 5/11/06 @ 11:45am. I revised the headline to remove the Farmer’s Market reference. I also made it clear the volunteers with the petition will not be in the market but near the market. As people have commented, this market is a great thing for the city and has absolutely zero involvement with the recall effort.]

– Steve