Council Takes Up Parking Changes, A Sports Bar & Deer Issues

Creve Coeur's City Council gave first reading to ordinances tied to a proposed Post II Sports Bar & Grill earlier this week. The owners of the Maplewood-based restaurant are looking to occupy the former Growlers Pub space located at 763 Old Ballas Road and has petitioned the city for a conditional use permit.

The owners are also seeking a change in city code to allow for restaurants to occupy as much as 40 percent of space in certain zoned areas under 2 acres. Exisiting city code calls for a 25 percent ceiling. Growlers actually grew beyond that amount during the pub's time there before closing roughly two years ago. A Post II request to remove any limit was adjusted at the Planning and Zoning Commission to be at 40 percent. Post II would take up 32 percent of the space.

If all goes as planned, the eatery could be open by June 15. 

PARKING

Council also heard first reading of a text amendment that would reduce the required number of parking spaces in shopping centers by 15 percent. Two large shopping centers (West Oak & Bellerive) have received variances around the existing requirement that says shopping centers "must provide four (4) parking spaces per one thousand (1,000) square feet of floor area unless the proposed mix of land uses in the shopping center require a higher number, in which case the higher number shall be required."

According to a city staff report:  

While these standards may be appropriate for stand-alone locations, they fail to recognize that consumers tend to “self-regulate” when it comes to parking in shopping centers. That is, the average consumer will assess the availability of parking when arriving at a center and, if the lot is full, go to another location or wait for another opportunity. Certain shopping days (especially around Thanksgiving) may be the exception to the rule, but designing for one or two days of the year leads to sites that have undesirably large and expensive to maintain expanses of asphalt for the other 360+ days of the year.  

Paul Langdon, Creve Coeur's Director of Planning and Community Development, said the move could also "help less successful properties" in Creve Coeur which have been unable to fill vacancies, partly because of the requirement.

DEER

Police Chief Glenn Eidman briefed councilmembers on the just-completed deerhunting season in Creve Coeur. This was the city's first full season since beginning a program aimed at mitigating the nuisance deer population. A total of 17 deer were taken (4 male/13 female), primarily in the area near Ladue Road and Interstate 270. A total of 18 were harvested last year.