Ellisville Planning and Zoning Recommends Walmart Plats, Moratorium

A temporary moratorium halting redevelopment on the lot neighboring a potential Walmart development, as well as a preliminary plat and final plat for the Walmart, received unanimous positive recommendations from the Ellisville Planning and Zoning Commission.

The items were  Aug. 29, highlighting a public hearing on the moratorium.

The temporary, 180-day moratorium would mark RPA2 -- a lot of land at the southwestern corner of Manchester and Kiefer Creek Roads -- without the ability to redevelop without approval via a request for proposal (RFP) process during that time.

Ada Hood, Ellisville director of planning and community development, said an RFP for the area was in the draft process, adding that the action for a moratorium was to find a developer with intentions to comply with the city's comprehensive plan and Great Streets Initiative for the area. 

Hood said the development, in accordance with the comprehensive plan, would need to be "high intensity...mixed use and town center style."

Arguments from the public against the moratorium included the inability to develop the site over the six month RFP period. Resident Liz Schmidt said the moratorium would be "time wasted," theorizing a potential developer could create jobs and provide sales tax without a TIF during the moratorium period.

"The intention here is the city would prefer not to develop this piecemeal until there is a vision for the whole piece," said P & Z Commissioner Charles Pavlack, referring to the disputed RPA2. 

Hood said the moratorium timeline could be extended or shortened with city council approval.

The preliminary and final plats for a Walmart development plan -- slated as RPA1 -- were also granted positive recommendation.

City Attorney Paul Martin said, according to Missouri state law, "The only way the plats can be denied a positive recommendation is failure to comply with city codes."

Hood affirmed the plats met city code requirements.

"The way state law is written (for subdivision plats) there is no discretion unless it fails to comply," Hood said.

Martin also said, since the plats weren't included in the conditional use permit legislation, the final plat "only goes into effect in contingency with the conditional use permit."

The conditional use permit for the Sansone Group-proposed Walmart is at the Sept. 5 city council meeting. With the positive recommendation, the public hearing for the plats would be at the same meeting.