The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 10 approved a rezoning request for a 49-acre property just south of the Festus and Crystal City limits. The land was rezoned from large lot residential to the non-planned industrial zone district.
The petition to the county was made by Kenneth Gielow and Larry Goodwin, both from the Festus area, who own Strawbridge Investments LLC. Goodwin said he’s had a lot of interest from developers for the property, which lies along Hwy. 61 south of Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City.
The property currently has a home built on it, which county staff said would need to be removed if the property is developed for industrial use. Since the rezoning request was for non-planned industrial, Goodwin and Gielow will be required to petition the county again with development plan proposals before anything new can be built on the property.
“We (Gielow and Goodwin) were both wondering what we might do with the property, but there’s a strong interest out there, and we do have some people who have contacted us directly about the property,” Goodwin said on Sept. 10. “People are looking for light industrial usage property, or they’re looking for warehouse space.”
The commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the rezoning request. Chairman Jessie Scherrer and Commissioner Chris Moenster were both absent from the meeting.
The County Council, which has the sole authority over rezoning in unincorporated areas, will consider a bill to approve the request at a future meeting.
County Services Director Mitch Bair cleared up rumors spreading on social media that the property may be the home of a future data center. He said, in compliance with county regulations approved in April, a data center would not be allowed to be built on the property; data centers are only permitted with an approved development plan in planned business park and planned industrial zone districts.