About 20 residents donned face masks and showed up at the July Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to oppose plans to build an apartment complex and duplexes at Vogel and Miller roads just west of Arnold.
Lorenzo LLC of St. Louis is proposing to build three apartment buildings on the north side of Vogel west of Miller and five villa-style duplexes on the south side of Vogel.
The 7.5-acre property, which is near the Fox C-6 School District’s Simpson Elementary School, formerly was a farm and has been vacant for years, said Dan Govero of Govero Land Services of Imperial. Govero represented the developer at the public hearing.
The project, to be called Miller Crossing, will include three apartment buildings, two with 36 units each and a third with 12 units, along with a gym and fitness building and pool, on the north side of Vogel. Five duplexes would be built on the south side, just east of the elementary school.
The P and Z board voted 3-2 to recommend approval of a rezoning request and development plan for the project. Lorenzo LLC is asking the county to rezone the lot, currently zoned single-family residential, to planned mixed residential.
Govero said the projected rent for Miller Crossing will be $1,200 to $1,300 a month, which is similar to the Turtle Creek apartment complex the developer built in Fenton.
“That’s a quality development, and he plans the same thing here,” Govero said. “This will be a good use of the property.”
Govero pointed out that the project would fit in with the area, as the Highland House Villa development of duplexes is just to the north of the apartment complex and the duplexes on the south side of Vogel would provide a transition into the single-family homes there.
“This will be an asset to the community,” he said. “This piece of property has been on sale for quite some time.”
In addition, he said, Lorenzo has purchased a 60-foot-wide strip of land from the Fox district and will build an improved school entrance that will be shared by the dwellers of the duplexes.
Fox C-6 officials said the district’s Board of Education voted unanimously June 16 to sell the strip to Lorenzo for $20,000.
James Osia, who lives near the Richardson Crossing shopping center in Arnold east of the site, said the residential development would be dangerous.
“There are no sidewalks,” he said. “It would be bogus to think that nobody’s going to walk on the shoulders (to shop at Target, Home Depot, Schnucks and other stores on Vogel Road east of Miller). And the residents (of the duplexes) are not going to walk down to the corner (of Miller and Vogel) to use the pool and gym. They’ll cross right there. We’re losing our green space.”
He also said the developer should install a traffic light at the new shared entrance to allow a protected left turn into Simpson Elementary.
Ron Hagan, who lives just south of the site, agreed.
“I’m also concerned about traffic,” he said. “Kids use the shoulder of Vogel to go back and forth to Target and Schnucks. I think our property values will go down with apartments going up. I don’t feel this will be a good fit for the area.”
Lisa Neis, who lives on the opposite side of Miller Road, said she was concerned about possible overcrowding of schools with the influx of new students.
“I don’t think they’ve considered how many more children would be here and going to our schools. Where are these children going to go to school?”
Nicholas Davis, who lives in the duplexes north of the site, said he doesn’t want to see more traffic in the area.
“There already is a lot of traffic congestion,” he said. “It’s not all the time; it’s off and on, and not only when school is in session.”
Christopher Johnson, an attorney for the developer, said historically, such multi-family developments don’t attract families with school-age children.
“What we’re finding is that we’re attracting, to a large extent, couples whose children are grown and moved out and they don’t want the problems of home maintenance anymore,” he said. “These are high-end units, and the people who live there will spend money at the stores and generate tax money, which will benefit the schools.”
Govero said the occupants of Turtle Creek have largely fit in the older demographic.
“They’ve sold their homes so they can be free to travel,” he said.
Planning commissioners Gene Barbagallo and Mike Huskey cast dissenting votes.
“I’m concerned about the shared entranceway with the school,” Huskey said. “I think that’s a little too dangerous.”
Barbagallo agreed and said he shared residents’ concerns with possible foot traffic.
The County Council likely will consider the request at a meeting this month.