The outlook may not be bullish for a proposed subdivision on Bear Creek Road in House Springs.
The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously Feb. 11 to recommend denial of Bear Ridge, a proposed 263-home subdivision on 84.2 acres in the 5600 block of Bear Creek Road in House Springs.
The P and Z board advises the Jefferson County Council, which has the sole authority on land-use issues in unincorporated areas of the county. The council ultimately will decide whether to pass an ordinance allowing the rezoning request from large-lot residential to planned single-family residential or pass a resolution denying it.
McBride Berra Land Co. LLC of Chesterfield asked for the rezoning request.
Jeannie Aumiller of McBride said the development would include 178 lots of 5,000 square feet or larger, with the remaining 85 homes on lots as small as 4,000 square feet.
The site currently has a single house on the property.
Aumiller said her company agreed with a request by the planning staff to include a walking trail throughout the development.
She pointed out the plans include 41 percent open space and common ground (with 22 acres of preserved trees), only eight homes backing up to adjoining homes outside the subdivision and few lots within the development backing up to each other.
“We’re purposely not slamming every lot we can onto the site,” Aumiller said, noting that the requested zone allows as many as six homes per acre, or about 440 lots.
The 10 people who emailed comments opposing the plans were not convinced.
Because the meeting was held via the Zoom videoconferencing app, only public responses emailed in advance were allowed. Assistant county services director Dennis Kehm Jr. read each submission into the record of the meeting.
Ron Colatskie wrote that he was concerned about possible sinkholes and caves in the area, as well as the effect of groundwater on private wells on neighboring properties.
Aumiller said a study of the geology of the area did not turn up any problems with potential sinkholes or caves.
“We also won’t affect any wells in the area,” she said.
Cathy Willis wrote that she had issues with increased traffic on Bear Creek and Carol Park roads.
“I don’t see how it can accommodate any more traffic,” she said. “These roads cannot be made any wider.”
Kim Vance agreed.
“Carol Park and Bear Creek are already not suitable to handle the amount of traffic we are seeing daily,” she said.
Shawn White, senior traffic engineer of CBB Transportation Engineers and Planning of St. Louis, said she conducted a traffic study that concluded the roads at present can accommodate more traffic.
She said if built as planned, the Bear Creek Road would carry an average of 5,000 cars a day.
“It can average as high as 8,000 cars a day,” she said. “There is plenty of capacity to handle the new traffic.”
The original plans called for 26-foot-wide streets throughout the subdivision, and McBride asked the county to waive its standards to allow parking on one side of the street. After the county planning staff had recommended denial of the modification, McBride offered to widen the streets to 28 feet in front of the smaller homes, which would have a one-car garage and enough space on the driveway for another car.
The rest of the streets through the subdivision would remain at 26 feet, but Aumiller pointed out that those homes would have two-car garages and two parking spaces in the driveways.
Planning commissioners Larry Adkins, Gene Barbagallo, Mike Huskey, Tim Dugan and Danny Tuggle all voted to recommend denial of the rezoning request. Jessie Scherrer and Greg Bowers were absent.