All Clayton voters and property owners need to be aware of the recent action of their Board of Aldermen (BOA). The BOA voted 7-0 to establish an Urban Design District (UDD) on Clayton Road from the St. Louis City Limits to Big Bend Blvd. Members of the Board hailed this UDD process as a prototype for use in addressing zoning issues in commercial areas that abut residential neighborhoods throughout the City. All property owners in Clayton should recognize this a threat for the following reasons.

1. The UDD process was used to override the legal balance of interests provided by the zoning code. It rewards developers by allowing them to build mixed-use structures by right that are one-third larger than the limit set by the existing zoning, at the expense of neighboring property owners.

2. The BOA and Mayor failed to fulfill their obligations as elected officials to represent the interests of their constituents.

--a. Only two percent (4 of 199) residential property owners adjacent to the district support the provisions of their UDD. (Three percent if one subtracts Hi-Pointe Addition residents.)

--b. Seventy-six percent directly oppose the UDD provisions. (60% if one includes the Hi-Pointe Addition.

--c. Sixty percent of the residential property owners (120 of 199), by petition asked the City to respect their legal rights under the existing zoning and to maintain the size and conditional use controls over mixed-use development.

--d. On the south side of the 6300 block of Alamo, 86% (18 of 21) of the single-family property owners asked to have their property rights protected.

Our Revised and Restated Clayton Road Urban Design Statement document (55 MB PDF).
--One page executive summary of our UDD draft differences.
--October 2005 Flyer.
--RECENT MANIPULATIONS AND DELAY TACTICS FROM CITY HALL