Paul McKee, Board Member of St. Charles-Based Pro-Sprawl “Urban Choice Coalition”

Paul McKee, the St. Charles developer and land baron behind the “Blairmont” project has continued to remain in the news of late. I ran across his name while researching the board members of a pro-sprawl, anti-city group based in St. Charles County. Mr. McKee is a board member of a group that interestingly is anti government intervention out in the virgin farmlands but is all in favor of intervention in the city.

The following is the mission statement for the Urban Choice Coalition in its entirety:

WE BELIEVE in the right of individuals to live wherever they choose and can afford. We reject the blanket condemnation of growth in suburban counties as being a root cause of urban decay and further reject the pejorative term “urban sprawl” to describe the healthy expansion of new communities.

WE BELIEVE that it is the right of individuals to select the state, city, county, neighborhood or development of their choice to call home and not be denied governmental services, grants or benefits, otherwise available on a national or statewide basis, because of their choice of residence.

It should not be the role of government to deny services to anyone based on their choices of where to live.

It should not be the role of government to set up artificial growth boundaries, outside of which citizens or communities receive any less governmental benefits.

It should not be the role of state or regional government planning agencies to erect growth boundaries and attempt to dictate or dissuade anyone from living where they choose.

WE FURTHER BELIEVE certain public policy issues should be resolved on a statewide or regional basis, but that those decisions concerning who and where to extend local utilities and roads, or to build new schools and local government facilities are, for the most part, best left to local decision makers elected by the people they represent and that these local decisions should not be turned over to or subject to, further review by statewide or regional planning commissions not elected by the people.

WE FAVOR enhancing the quality of life in the urban core and positive inducements to promote “city living” as the best means of attracting new residents and stabilizing older neighborhoods.

But presumably it should be the role of the state governent to enact massive tax breaks for one person, say Paul McKee, so that he may assemble large areas of land within a single municipality within the state. Of couse the legislation passed by the Missouri legislature isn’t limited to McKee’s well-known but unannounced housing project but the various requirements pretty much make it tailor made just for him.

It would seem to be that an individual property rights type person, one who opposes big government intervention in land planning matters, would also oppose such intervention everywhere. But to McKee and his co-sprawlers they want it all — the ability to rape open farmland with single-use projects which are auto dependent as well as receive huge tax breaks for assembling land (which happens to contain people & buildings) on the scale of urban renewal projects like Pruitt-Igoe.

Oh yes, I see, they believe we need to have “positive inducements” in order to attract people to this idea of “city living.” Why the quotes on city living McKee & Co? I know why, you don’t really understand city living. Or maybe you do? You are likely afraid of the whole idea of people enjoying dense and walkable mixed-use neighborhoods. Sure, you talk a nice game about the “rights of indiviuals” to live where they like but you are all afraid they will stop picking the auto-centric housing subdivisions you call “communities.” And face it boys, the sprawl neighorhoods you’ve littered on the landscape for years has absolutely nothing to do with free choice — government planning has created the zoning codes that mandate everything from the lot size to the street width.

Pro-sprawl zoning in the suburbs has limited choices  — you can’t just build a corner storefront with your living space above anywhere you think their might be demand.  Oh no, in their world we must divide everything up — no mixing of residential, retail and office.  They  don’t really support individualism or free thinking about land use, they like what exists and simply want nobody to stop them until they’ve managed to merge St. Louis with Columbia MO.

The only way New Town at St. Charles got built in the urban manner that it did (urban relative to lot sizes, setbacks, street widths, etc…) is that the City of St. Charles agreed to adopt DPZ’s smart code for New Town.  Without this new zoning, what we see in New Town would not have been legally allowed as the area was zoned for industrial uses.  So where are McKee & Co when it comes to the sprawl-mandated zoning that predominates St. Charles County?  Right behind it 100%!

Another section above is how they like decisions left to local decision makers.  I’m just guessing because that is cheaper for them than having to contribute to a bunch of regional and state officials.  This weekend’s Post-Dispatch story on McKee pointed out his contributions to Aldermanic President Lewis Reed and Mayor Francis Slay.  Of course, to get that new tax bill passed he had to drop some money around the state as well.

To see the list of directors for the Urban Choice Coalition don’t look for it on their website.  You might even get the impression from their anonymous site that they are ashamed of their views — not wanting to be associated with it.  I can’t say that I blame them really, I would not want to put my name on that BS either.  So for the board list I had to go to the Secretary of State’s records, click here for their last report.  Basically it is all the people that financially benefit from the planned sprawl of the countryside in St. Charles County, including engineers, road builders, and the Executive Director of the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis.

Everyone agrees that North St. Louis needs major new investment and infill construction.  I just don’t think McKee and his anti-city, pro-sprawl buddies are the right people for the job.

Saint Louis’ Former Pruitt-Igoe Site Should Be Developed as a Green Neighborhood

The long abandonded site of the former Pruitt-Igoe urban renewal project, imploded in the early 1970s, should be redeveloped into a LEED-Certified green neighborhood. Yes, 35 years after being vacated and imploded, the majority of the site remains vacant (excluding weeds and trash).

For those not familiar with the new green lingo, LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” and is part of a rating system created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Originally started as a means for rating new buildings, the USGBC (in conjunction with others) is developing a program known as LEED for Neigborhood Development.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Many, if not most, of the readers here have seen the above image, the classic symbol used to argue the failure of modern architecture and of high-rise public housing. To me it is more importantly a symbol of the failure of modern urban planning where compact, connected, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods were replaced with disconnected superblocks, unpleasant to those who traversed the area. This post is not about debating the design or causes of failure of the Pruitt-Igoe complex that once occupied nearly 60 acres on St. Louis’ near north side (google map), this is about what should happen on the site now.

As the headline indicates, I want to see the now overgrown site developed into a “green” neighborhood, following the USGBC’s LEED for Neighborhood Development Rating System, still in a pilot stage at this writing (download 157-page PDF here). In these rating systems they have required items for all projects and then a point system to determine at which level the project is certified. Here are some highlights (various terms quoted from full document):

In the area of Smart Location & Linkage points can be earned through brownfields redevelopment, reduction in auto dependence, bicycle networks, proximity of housing to jobs and schools. Under the area of Neighborhood Pattern & Design prerequisits include open community (no gates) and compact development. Points can be earned through diversity of uses, diversity of housing types, a portion of the project as affordable housing (rental and for sale), a reduced parking footprint, walkable streets, access to public spaces, universal access, and even local food production. Additional points can be earned by having certified green buildings, building reuse and adaptive reuse, minimal site disturbance in both site design and construction. Points can also be given for the solar orientation and advanced technologies such as district heating & cooling. These are all explained in great detail in the full document.

In each of these areas they outline the number of possible points that can be earned toward certification and at what level. In each area they spell out an intent, the requirements and the various submittals necessary to obtain certification. As an example, under ‘Walkable Streets’ within Neighborhood Pattern & Design the intent is to,

Provide appealing and comfortable pedestrian street environments in order to promote pedestrian activity. Promote public health through increased physical activity.

The intent is straightforward but the requirements are lengthy and include many project-specific calculations. However, a few of the requirements among this list are pretty logical:

a) A principal functional entry of each building has a front facade that faces a public space such as a street, square, park, paseo, or plaza.

c) Continuous sidewalks or equivalent provisions for walking are provided along both sides of all streets within the project. New sidewalks must be at least 4 feet wide. Equivalent provisions for walking include woonerfs and footpaths.

d) All streets along non-residential or mixed use blocks within the project, whether new or existing, are designed for a maximum speed of 25 mph.

St. Louis’ Mayor Slay should take a bold step by sending out a RFP (Request for Proposals) to develop this embarrassing site into a mixed-use LEED-certified neighborhood. In a somewhat related matter, the Missouri legislature recently passed legislation aimed at large scale redevelopment of areas in need (75 acre minimums) without any real development criteria other than the minimum size. The state needs to revisit this issue, incorporating many of the guidlines for development encouraged by the drafters of this rating system.

Click here to visit the USBGC’s website on LEED for Neighborhood Development.

Mayor Slay Opens EcoUrban’s LEED-Registered Modular Home (w/video)

For a few hours yesterday afternoon and evening the crowds of people toured EcoUrban’s first project, a modular construction green home located at 3140 Pennsylvania in the City of Saint Louis.

Mayor Slay and 9th Ward Alderman Ken Ortmann helped with the grand opening festivities.

… Continue Reading

Why That Delivered Pizza Costs More

As summer approaches so do escalating gasoline prices. My car gets over 30mpg in the city and I use my 85+mpg scooter whenever I can. Many of you may be thinking you can handle the gas prices too. But what about the cost of getting a pizza delivered? From KSDK:

Adam Soiab, a delivery driver for Joanie’s Pizza in the Soulard area of St. Louis, said the price hike is unsettling, considering he spends most of his time on the road.

“That’s the main thing I do. I get in my car and drive. So needless to say, I use a lot of gasoline.”

The company includes a $1.50 delivery surcharge to help offset soaring prices.

Wait, another buck fifty? This is simply the tip of the iceburg salad! Look for more fuel charges from other fuel intensive businesses. I can’t really blame them, the restuarants and their delivery folks are just trying to earn a living. Remember, those pizza delivery guys can’t afford a new hybrid Prius. But maybe, for close deliveries, businesses can look to more efficient modes such as bicycles and scooters.

I’d much rather pay the extra $1.50 so they can buy a scooter for deliveries.

So now is a good time for some predictions. I think, come this Fall, we will not see the gas prices dip back below $3/gallon for extended periods. The demand is too high, the supply to scarce, the extraction of more too costly. Get used to paying at least $3/gallon for gas and extra to have that pizza delivered.

Or is this simply my own wishful thinking as sweet justice to all those Hummer drivers living in exurban ranch houses an hour from the CBD? Maybe… Refineries are down at the moment but they could be back up by fall. Cost of exploration and drilling is certainly up but with increased prices for a barrel of oil it makes it more fiscally worth while to use various extraction methods. The incentives to create new more efficient technologies will increase.

I certainly do hope, along the way, people will think maybe a walk or bike ride to the store (or local pizza place) would be kinda nice.

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is getting criticized by environmentalists for trying to bring solar, geothermal and nuclear power from other areas to LA. The rub is the impact of an 85-mile corridor of high power lines going through forests and other areas.

Many preservation and community groups have condemned the mayor for a plan that they say would destroy priceless vistas, natural areas and wildlife corridors. Justin Augustine of the Center for Biological Diversity recently wrote Villaraigosa a letter saying that not only was such energy consumption not ‘green,’ but unacceptable under any name. The ends cannot justify the means, he said.

Further, the anger over the proposed route underscores challenges nationwide over how to ship wind, sun and steam power from remote rural reaches to booming urban centers. (Source w/links to LA Times and other sites)

Wow, tough crowd.

Sunday the CBS News program 60 Minutes had a feature on the return of nuclear plants as a source of green energy — the power plants do not create the greenhouse gases that we get from coal-fired plants. Much of France is powered by nuclear energy. They currently recycle spent rods rather than bury them as we’ve done in the US for decades. The downside is the recycling creates plutonium which can be used for bomb making. Apparently the US Government is researching new methods of recycling the waste without creating plutonium as a by-product. We may well see more nuclear power plants in our future.

Meanwhile back in St. Louis, the Ameren “fact sheet” shows a major reliance on coal & natural gas. Out of a capacity of 16,200 megawatts (mw) only 1,190mw of that is from their single nuclear plant located in Callaway County, MO. Three hydroelectric plants, including the non-functioning Taum Sauk, total 800mw. The remaining 87% of their capacity relies on coal or natural gas. Not exactly green. What are the alternatives for Missouri and Illinois customers of Ameren?

Well, one option is net metering. Per Sustainablog, the Missouri Senate is considering such a bill:

Missouri is one of a handful of states that don’t have a net metering law. In other words, if you install a grid-tied renewable system on your home or business, utilities in the state are not required to credit your electric bill at the retail rate for excess energy produced — the current system that the state government calls net metering only requires utilities to credit energy-producing customers at the avoided-cost rate. That could change as early as this year, as Missouri Senate bill 674, the Easy Connection act, has been introduced, and is now under consideration by the Senate’s Commerce, Energy and Environment committee.

One thing is certain, I don’t hear our regional elected officials speaking on the topic of future energy sources. The LA Mayor may be getting a bad rap over his proposal but at least he is looking for solutions beyond his term in office.