O’Fallon City Council moves forward with multi-family development — with some pushback

A multi-family development at South Lawn Avenue and State Street advanced for final approval at the next O’Fallon City Council meeting, but it did not receive total support.

The next action for The Enclaves at Lawn Avenue, which is proposed as two-family residents on eight lots, will be at the Community Development Committee meeting Oct. 24, and then the council meeting Nov. 7.

At Monday’s meeting, four aldermen opposed the planned use — Jerry Albrecht, Roy Carney, Andrea Fohne and Ross Rosenberg — in an 8-4 vote, with Aldermen Chris Monroe and Gwen Randolph absent. Aldermen Jim Campbell, Jessica Lotz, Dennis Muyleart, Nathan Parchman, Todd Roach, Stephanie Smallheer, Eric Van Hook and Tom Vorce were in favor.

Nearby residents have expressed concerns about increased traffic and drainage.

The 16 dwelling units will be leased to tenants. Each unit will be about 1,200 square feet and contain a private two-car garage.

The Enclaves will be located at 104-112 South Lawn Avenue, just south of the intersection at State Street. It is near Dollar General and the Hi-Pointe restaurant.

A new street, Lawn Meadows Lane, will provide access to the residences and will end in a cul-de-sac. Two residences face South Lawn, and the rest will be served by the new one.

New owner Tom McMillin of Home Run Properties 618 is developing the property that had seven existing lots and was previously platted as Wallace Woods subdivision, which was intended for single-family homes, Community Development Director Justin Randall said.

That didn’t happen and the property was sold.

The entire site is to be rezoned to multi-family, in a planned two, three and four-family residence dwelling district, on 3.25 acres. Single-family homes surround the property on the north, south and east.

The development staff recommended approval and specified the property must be held in single ownership. And no variances were requested. Structural buffers are required at the north and south property lines, where it will abut single-family zoning.

The preliminary plat can be acted upon as a resolution at the Nov. 7 meeting.

Homeowners Jared and Stephanie Kraft Sheley, who live at State Street and Douglas, said their backyard faces the proposed development. In a letter, they stated: “Our chief concern is increased traffic on both Lawn and Douglas. These roads are already in heavy use as a cut-through between State Street and Highway 50, with cars often traveling at unsafe speeds. We wonder whether there is a plan to monitor and remediate any additional traffic issues to both Lawn and Douglas caused by the significant influx in residents.”

Their second concern is rainwater runoff.

“This area already has substantial issues with water pooling over the road during hard rains. We are concerned that this proposed development will exacerbate those issues. Having had our house flooded as the result of a city contractor’s negligence just a few years ago, we are particularly sensitive to this issue, and expect that the city will take all steps necessary to ensure that nearby residences will not be affected by additional flooding or drainage issues,” they wrote.

“We are additionally concerned that two-story structures will be out of character with an older neighborhood populated exclusively with one-story homes,” the Sheleys said.

“Finally, we would like to register our desire to live in a community that prioritizes middle- and low-income families by promoting the availability of modest, affordable homes intended for owner occupation. Recent years have seen many smaller existing homes converted to rental properties, with new development focused on large, high-end single-family housing and multifamily rentals. Families in our city deserve access to home ownership on an affordable basis, and this rental development will be a missed opportunity to offer that access,” they concluded.

Another resident appeared before the council to express his concerns as well.

Randall said the portion of South Lawn Avenue that abuts the subject property was widened in 2021 to improve safety along the existing public street in association with the original development of Wallace Woods.

Additional improvements are planned for sections of the roadway north and south of the site, so that the width and design standards are consistent along South Lawn Avenue, he said.

Central Park Plaza Development

In other action, the council OK’d the proposed final plat for Central Park Plaza, a 28-acre development from Darrell Shelton of Commercial Property Investors that was approved in March.

Randall said construction on the apartments in Lot 1 is first — four apartment buildings with 36 units each for a total of 144.

Lot 2 will have a 96-room hotel and a commercial/retail/entertainment development. Lot 3 will have a 240-unit apartment building.

He said the final plat has changed from the preliminary, with three lots and not four. The hotel had been on a separate lot and now will be included in the second lot.

Rick Reckamp Remembered

Mayor Herb Roach noted that longtime alderman in Ward 3, former police commissioner, and active city volunteer Rick Reckamp died Oct. 11.

He was 81, and his obituary stated COVID-19 as the cause of death. His funeral services were Oct. 14. Memorials may be made to the O’Fallon Public Library or St. Vincent de Paul Society.

From his obituary on the Wolfersberger Funeral Home website:

“(He) served the City of O’Fallon for over 24 years, the city’s longest serving alderman. His dedication to his city and his constituents were some of the proudest accomplishments of his professional career. He would take any call at any time; he worked tirelessly for the city; he took some unpopular stands even if he knew his vote would not matter because he was a man of his convictions. After serving as an alderman, he took an appointed position to the Police Commission. One of his proudest days was when O’Fallon dedicated a day in his name in 2007 upon his retirement from the City Council. When Rick first moved to O’Fallon on the corner of Route 50 and Hartman Lane (in 1964), it had a population of 7,000. He leaves it with a population of 32,000 and as a major hub in the Metro East. He participated in bringing major infrastructure upgrade and improvements, major commercial projects and improving schools all over O’Fallon.”

Halloween Activities

Trick-or-treating is set for 6-9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, in O’Fallon. Mayor Roach urged families to follow the porch light code, and approach only well-lit homes.

The O’Fallon Rotary Parade will be Saturday, Oct. 29, with line-up at noon at State and Vine streets. The parade begins at 12:30 p.m. and will end at East First and Vine streets. The costume contest starts at 1:15 p.m. in the O’Fallon Station. Participating merchants (look for the pumpkin sticker) will have trick-or-treating following the contest.

In the Downtown District, the second annual Halloween Pub Crawl will take place beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29. Businesses participating include: Boarding House Bistro, 1st Street Lounge, Gears, Gia’s, Hemingway’s, Mandy’s, Peel, The Legion, Shooters and VFW. There is a team costume contest that people can register for — check out the Facebook page for more information.

This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 12:30 PM.