Southview Gardens residents in O’Fallon get Whitehall dropped as project thoroughfare

Whitehall Drive has been removed as a thoroughfare from the Brandywine Garden Villas development after a public outcry from Southview Gardens residents in O’Fallon regarding traffic impact.

An amendment to the mixed-use rezoning proposal was unanimously approved 10-0 during the Monday, June 20, meeting of the O’Fallon City Council.

Aldermen in support included Jerry Albrecht, Roy Carney, Jim Campbell, Andrea Fohne, Jessica Lotz, Chris Monroe, Dennis Muyleart, Ross Rosenberg, Stephanie Smallheer and Tom Vorce.

Absent were Nathan Parchman, whose father recently died in Kentucky; Gwen Randolph and Todd Roach, away for work; and alderman Dan Witt, who died June 12.

Mayor Herb Roach thanked the residents for their feedback and the council for listening to residents.

“We ended up with a better resolution. We had meaningful discussions,” he said.

Opponents had voiced safety concerns over traffic flow in their neighborhood at the June 6 council meeting. Action was stalled on final approval until the Community Development Committee could recommend a compromise.

The project, to be located on the northeast corner of South Lincoln Avenue and Interstate 64 on 53 acres of an undeveloped agricultural site, will include 174 attached single-story villas, a 50-unit memory care facility, a 12,600-square foot retail building and an 11,400-square-foot office building.

Steve Valentine of Lombardo Homes sought approval for a planned use and preliminary plat that would divide the property into four lots:

• Lot 1: Memory care facility on 3.65 acres
• Lot 2A: Retail building (12,600 square feet) with drive-thru on 1.80 acres
• Lot 2B: Office building (11,400 square feet) on 1.11 acres
• Lot 3: Townhome/villa residences on 26.37 acres. Estimated rent for a 2-bedroom is $1,900 to $2,100 a month.

Lots 2A and 2B are approved for retail, restaurant (drive-thru) and office uses. On-site liquor consumption is approved for restaurant use on Lot 2A.

After residents objected, Valentine informed the city Whitehall wasn’t necessary as a connection, and they could remove it from the plat and plans.

Valentine said they could extend the current stub street from Lincoln far enough to provide entrances for both the retail/memory care facilities and the Brandywine Garden Villas.

And in their cooperative approach, he said they could dedicate property sufficient to create a 50 foot right of way from the end of the extended roadway to the northern property line.

“Thus, creating a full path for a future connection to Whitehall should the local sentiment and political desire change at a future time. We feel this solution provides the flexibility the city and the residents would want at this time and allows our team to receive the re-zoning we need to move this project forward,” Valentine wrote in a June 8 letter.

The project had moved through city channels, from the April 26 Planning Commission (6-0 vote), with statements from several residents regarding their concerns, to the May 9 Community Development Committee (5-0 vote), to approval on first reading at the May 16 City Council meeting (14-0 vote), back to the Community Development Committee meeting May 23 (3-3), where more residents expressed concern, then the June 6 Council meeting (7-7, mayor broke tie vote, sending it back to CDC on June 13).

A groundswell of vocal residents started showing up at meetings the past month, with about 60 at the June 6 council meeting.

Homeowner said they were worried about traffic that darts through their narrow streets to avoid Highway 50 to get to South Lincoln Avenue. The lack of people stopping at stop signs and drivers speeding on Whitehall Drive, Dartmouth Drive and DeSoto were mentioned several times.

More on Southview Gardens

People talked about being afraid to let their children and grandchildren play in the neighborhood because of fast cars and drivers ignoring the stop signs.

Southview Gardens, a subdivision annexed to the city in 1957, was developed from farmland to meet the growing demand for housing from Scott Air Force Base, starting out with 29 homes and eventually building 90 in the early phase (it was added to 14 times). It was during the city’s growth spurt during the 1950s. O’Fallon Township High School opened at Smiley in 1958 and the Southview Plaza opened a year later.

Most of the homes were built with one-car garages, and now, families often have more than one vehicle, so residents park on the street.

Alderman Todd Roach, who represents Ward 4 and grew up in Southview Gardens, had previously communicated with residents, as did the mayor, who stopped by the neighborhood last week to talk. The mayor had lived in the vicinity for 40 years.

“I am pleased to know a compromise was reached and that both addresses the residents’ concerns and the city’s potential future concerns, and ultimately allows the planned development to continue,” Todd Roach said when contacted Tuesday.

‘He was very helpful’

Thirty-five acres had been previously zoned planned office, and two proposals in 2007 and 2010 did not happen. Todd Roach had said the developer could return to those higher-density office plans if this project was not approved.

At the June 20 meeting, several residents singled out Rosenberg, who represents Ward 1, for his interest.

“He was very helpful,” said Mike Skrabacz, who spoke up at the past few meetings.

On Monday, Skrabacz suggested the council consider an amendment that would give residents more time to look at proposals affecting their neighborhoods.

Keeping the neighborhood intact was important, he said.

“We showed up. We’re here,” he said.

St. Clair County Jurisdiction

Numerous times, residents said they feared an influx of traffic darting through their narrow streets to avoid Highway 50 to get to South Lincoln Avenue. Lincoln is a county road, therefore under St. Clair County jurisdiction.

In comments over Zoom, Matthew Gilreath, a former alderman in Ward 3 who currently resides in Southview Gardens, said he contacted St. Clair County, and some representatives seemed to indicate they were amenable to O’Fallon taking over the right-of-way.

Several residents had said working on Lincoln’s traffic woes was a logical solution.

The mayor noted Matt Smallheer, a former O’Fallon alderman who now represents the city on the St. Clair County Board, attended the meeting. He did not speak. His wife, Stephanie, is currently an alderman representing Ward 4.

Frustrated Residents

Several residents thanked the mayor and council for listening to them.

But also, as in previous conversations, residents cited concerns about the future as well as confusing signals and communication from the city. They are hoping transparency will improve.

Skrabacz and his wife, Julia, parents of children ages 2 and 4, helped organize neighbors to share information. Julia had started a Southview Garden Subdivision closed group on Facebook five weeks ago, and it had grown from 30 people to 133. There is also a Southview Garden Neighborhood Page.

People wanted to be heard, she said. They wanted to work out a solution because people were not opposed to the project, just the street access.

Moving forward

Hazardous traffic conditions could only get worse with increased development, several residents noted.

The Laverna Evans Elementary School is in that neighborhood, but school is out for the summer, so the traffic problems during the school year could not be witnessed now.

Mike Skrabacz said they plan to be vigilant. They are worried about being able to trust city leaders, and keep the needs of the neighborhood in focus, he said.

“We want to be able to make sure they have the best intentions for us 5-10-15 years down the road,” he said.

This story was originally published June 20, 2022 at 12:00 AM.