ST. CHARLES COUNTY — The largest housing development in years may be coming to unincorporated St. Charles County — but neighbors and wildlife advocates are worried about traffic effects and the development’s location near a popular conservation area.
Developers are seeking to build a 356-acre, 556-home subdivision known as “Tall Tree” on the largely rural, wooded land along the Highway DD corridor west of O’Fallon. Officials expect so many neighbors to be affected by that project and others that Wednesday’s planning and zoning commission meeting has been moved to the St. Charles Family Arena to accommodate public comment.
The developer, KM Investment Group IV, is asking the commission to approve changing the zoning from agriculture usage to single-family residential, a preliminary plat, and a conditional use permit that would allow for smaller lot sizes. Twenty-five of the planned homes would be on 1-acre lots, and the remaining 531 would be on lots of less than one-sixth of an acre apiece.
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Price tags on the homes would range from $375,000 to more than $1 million, said Robert Myers, the county’s zoning division director. He described Tall Tree as the largest residential development to come to unincorporated St. Charles County during his almost decade-long tenure.
Neighbors expressed concern about the project for several reasons ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, including increased traffic on the two-lane, rural highway and the impact on wildlife at the nearby August Busch Conservation Area.
Among those planning to attend Wednesday’s meeting at the 10,400-plus-seat Family Arena is Therese Laposa, who moved to rural Defiance 33 years ago.
“It makes me cringe. It makes me disgusted and just makes my heart ache to hear what they are wanting to do out here,” Laposa said. “I’m hoping for a miracle. I feel like we are being invaded from all sides, and I’m just hoping that someone hears us and stops this.”
Officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation said there’s little question the development would affect the nearly 7,000-acre conservation area, which sits directly to the east of the proposed development.
The area, a popular spot for fishing, bird-watching and hiking, saw more than 306,000 visitors from July 2020 to June 2021, the most recent data available. Potential effects of the development, which would run from Wild Turkey Run south toward Schwede Road, include loss of habitat for animals and the introduction of invasive species such as bush honeysuckle, officials said.
“It is not really our call to get involved in these issues,” said Dan Zarlenga, an MDC media specialist. “All we can do is hope that the developer will follow best practices and do their research before deciding what kind of landscaping to have with the development.”
Myers said developers are planning to leave roughly one-third of the property as undeveloped green space, including groves of mature trees, Myers said. They are not planning to build in the Dardenne Creek floodplain.
Myers said the infrastructure is largely in place already.
A new sewage treatment plant that is under construction in the Duckett Creek Sanitary District on Hopewell Road will have the treatment capacity of 2.5 million gallons per day once construction is complete. The public water district is also in talks with the developer about adding water lines to the area.
A traffic study has been completed, and some existing roads will be extended to accommodate the expected increased traffic. According to 2022 traffic data from the Missouri Department of Transportation, more than 9,300 vehicles traveled Highway DD daily.
The developer is also planning six access points to the subdivision along Highway DD, Myers said.
Timothy Hennessey, a neighbor who has built homes for more than 40 years, said he knew developers were bound to build up the rural area eventually. He just wishes they’d reconfigure the project to include properties of only 1 or 1½ acres.
“In reality, we know the day is going to come that the city creeps into the neighborhood,” Hennessey said. “We just want to keep that country feeling, if at all possible.”
Several housing developments are on the agenda for Wednesday’s planning and zoning meeting at Family Arena. Myers said the county mailed 3,000 letters to property owners near the various developments.
“We don’t know what the response will be, but we want to be prepared for a crowd,” Myers said. Doors to the Family Arena, 2002 Arena Parkway, will open at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. Those wanting to comment on any of the proposed developments will need to sign up at the meeting. Each speaker will be granted three minutes.
Also on the agenda are a requested zoning change and preliminary plat map for a proposed 28-home residential development known as “Saxony Ridge” on Highway Z, north of New Melle.
The zoning commission will also hear a zoning change and preliminary plat request for a “Creekside at Sommers,” development. The 14-acre project includes 45 lots on Sommers Road directly across the street from Liberty High School in O’Fallon.
Developers are also requesting a zoning change for 4639 Central School Road, where they want to see the zoning changed to allow for medium-density residential housing.
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