Chief Mokwa, Lyda Krewson and Political Activity?

This is not, in my view, a big deal. Still it is an issue worthy of exposure and discussion. It appears that St. Louis Chief Joe Mokwa may have inadvertently violated an internal police rule prohibiting officers from using their official authority in the endorsement of political candidates. At issue is an invite from the Friends to Re-Elect Lyda campaign which clearly lists “Chief Joe Mokwa” among the many supporting her campaign. The copy of the police rule I received is dated from 1994 but I talked with the St. Louis Police public relations office which verified this is still valid.

I am indifferent to Chief Mokwa and despite having been in office longer than my litmus test of 8 years, I tend to like Ald. Lyda Krewson. My posting of this information is not about trying to damage either one but simply to bring light to a reasonable rule and how it might easily get overlooked.

What I do not know is if he could be listed without the word “Chief”? It would seem it is the word “Chief” that determines his “official authority” that is prohibited. That is, if it were listed as “Mr. & Mrs. Joe Mokwa” then it would be doing so as a private citizen and not as the Chief of Police. I called Lyda Krewson for comment. Krewson said she takes responsibility, “I added the word Chief as a sign of respect.”

Again, I do not believe this to be anything but a minor oversight. This is, however, the political season for local campaigns so the lesson here is dot those “I’s” and cross those “T’s” — people are paying attention to the details.

St. Louis Needs People Who “Think Different”

I’ve been called many things over the years and yesterday it continued following my post on valet parking. It was to be expected, I knew as much when I made the post. Think what you may about me but I have a strong conviction in my beliefs and the tenacity to see them through.

Yesterday, as people either praised me or condemned me, I was reminded of a TV commercial from one of my favorite companies, Apple Computers. A TV commercial? Yes, their “Think Different” series from the late 1990s seems appropriate here:

Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing that you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can
change the world, are the ones who do.

I am by no means claiming to be a “genius” nor of anywhere near the caliber of the individuals featured on the actual commercial:

I do believe that I am just crazy enough to change my little part of the world. Are you?

An Urban Plan for the Grand & Gravois Schnuck’s Site

Architect, fellow blogger and friend Steve Wilke-Shapiro continues to focus his attention on the city’s 15th Ward on his blog, 15thWardSTL. His latest post looks at the aging big box Schnuck’s bounded by Grand, Cherokee, Gravois and Potomac.

A bit of background: The total area, including a couple of properties owned by others, is roughly 6 acres. The current store was built in 1989 and is listed by the city records as having just under 74,000sf. This refers to the total building area whereas when we hear talk of say, their new location in Loughborough Commons being 63,000sf, that refers to the sales floor only and thus excludes storage and prep area.

Wilke-Shapiro has re-examined the site from an urbanist perspective and is suggesting ways in which DESCO/Schnuck’s could rebuild in the future to maximize their land value, improve the feel and character of the area and add to the diversity of uses in the area. Where this is different than say the McDonald’s drive-thru battle down the street is there is no plan for the area for which this is an alternate in protest. No, this is a design exercise to show how the urbanist thinking can be applied.

Hopefully by focusing on an area not being debated over a current plan the doubters and naysayers of urbanist planning can see the potential for these ideas. Click here (or the thumbnail image) to view his excellent post.

The City of St. Louis is Seeking a “Zoning Specialist”

A reader suggested I apply for a job with the city as a Zoning Specialist. I sorta doubt they’d hire me, LOL. However, they might actually like it since I certainly couldn’t blog about many things as they’d be a conflict of interest. Anyway, I’m going to stick with getting my masters degree in urban planning at SLU.

If anyone out there is interested in a job with the city here is the detail of this position:

CITY OF ST. LOUIS – EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Zoning Specialist

Annual Salary Range
Minimum Maximum
$29,978.00 $44,980.00

Nature of Work
This is work interpreting and enforcing the City’s Zoning Ordinance. Responsibilities include reviewing applications for building permits, occupancy waivers, businesses, sign permits, day care, and subdivision plats; providing zoning information to the public, building inspectors, and administrative staff; updating zoning ordinance and maps; researching zoning requests and other materials; preparing violations for the City Counselor’s Office; and testifying in violation proceedings.

Minimum Qualifications
A Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning, Public Administration, or a closely related field; OR, an Associate’s degree in Building Inspection and Code Enforcement Technology or related curriculum and, two years of experience in building code enforcement or zoning administration; OR, an equivalent combination of relevant experience and education.

Applications can be submitted on the Internet. Visit the city web site at www.stlouiscity.com and link to Jobs with the City. You must complete the employment history and education sections of the application even if you attach a resume.

Last Date For Filing Application Is October 20, 2006
Applications can be submitted online. A Printable Application Form that can be mailed in is also available.

Examination Components and Their Weights
Experience and Training Pass/Fail
Oral Interview 100%
A limited number of candidates may be called for the oral interview based on an evaluation of their experience and education as listed on the employment application. Please fully describe your work experience and educational achievements.

No waiver of the Residency Requirement will be granted.

This position is not about improving or changing zoning. No, it is about enforcing the crappy zoning we’ve been stuck with for decades. Still, if you meet the qualifications and think you would enjoy the job by all means apply.

This job not your cup of tea? You can check out the list of open positions with the city here. The city also has an RSS feed for available jobs.

Confrontation with Copia Over Valet Parking – with Video!

No point beating around the bush, tonight I had a verbal altercation with the owner/manager of Copia Urban Winery & Market located at 1122 Washington Ave. Luckily, my video camera was rolling.

Before we get to the video, let me set the scene. First, I’ve been writing about Copia and others since the beginning of this year — how they consume way too much public parking for their valet service. I wrote the following of Copia in February (see post):

Copia Urban Winery at 1122 Washington Avenue is consuming entirely too much of the 1100 block with their valet parking. How much is too much?

Try 288 feet! (I carry a measuring wheel in my car for such purposes.)

Copia, located about the mid-point of the block, is 75 feet wide (per tax records). So they are taking away 213 feet of parking from adjacent buildings. A little greedy don’t you think?

Now I’m not going to tell any high-end restaurant they can’t have valet parking. That is a necessary function to please their clientele. However a number of their own customers could park on the same street if they didn’t block it off with their orange cones.

I looked through St. Louis’ ordinances online and didn’t turn up any laws regulating valet parking. The City of Clayton, however, has a reasonably defined law (no direct link, search for ‘valet’). They require a license and the city determines the amount of space the valet is allowed to occupy.

St. Louis needs to address the valet parking situation or we risk stagnating the very area we are trying to enliven. You don’t need nearly 300 feet of road to provide adequate valet parking service for a restaurant the size of Copia.

After that post I began making requests of the valets to see their permits, which they did in fact have (see post). For a while Copia placed their valet cones in the street during the evening rush when parking was not permitted on the street (see post). I began making requests to the city, using Missouri’s Sunshine Law, to obtain copies of these permits. From this I learned the city went ahead and issued Copia a permit for basically the entire side of Washington Avenue from 11th to Tucker (12th). The city, it seems, didn’t care they were consuming nearly 300ft of the public street and just somehow that might be a tad too much. Also, never mind that Copia’s physical location is only 75ft wide — sufficient to operate a valet service according to many other cities.

But one of the key things about the permit was some of the phrasing:

All vehicles must be moved to a different location immediately. No cones, traffic control devices nor temporary structures shall be placed in the public right of way at any time. Permit must be on site at all times… …This permit is issued at the discretion of the Director of Streets and may be revoked at any time at his discretion.

I’ve done a number of other posts on valet parking and you can do a search and find those. Most recently I did a post detailing how other cities are addressing this issue. And finally tonight, before heading downtown to help a friend I was at a fundraiser for Ald. Lyda Krewson (as an observer, not a contributor). I had a good conversation with her and Ald. Lewis Reed about the problems with valet parking. Reed’s ward includes Lucas Park Grille in the next block. Copia, on the other hand, is in the 5th ward of April Ford-Griffin. [CORRECTION 10/4/06 10:20am: Reed’s Ward includes the 1300 block of Washington Avenue where the Lucas Park Grille folks take up part of that block on both sides for valet parking. April Ford-Griffin is the alderman in the 5th Ward which has the 1200 block of Washington where Lucas Park Grille is located and consumes both sides of the street routinely. The 1100 block of Washington is in the 7th Ward where Phyllis Young is alderman. 3 blocks, 3 aldermen.] The event was held at Joe Edward’s very fun Pin-Up Bowl in the loop and I took a moment to bend his ear about how he’d need to start working on the valet issue early (btw, he said issues are getting ironed out on the Flamingo Bowl and construction will proceed soon).

Ok, so I drive by Lucas Park Grille and Copia and they both have tons of spaces coned off despite being a slow Tuesday evening. The street literally looks lifeless. After helping my friend I come back to Copia and park my car in front of a building adjacent to Copia in an area where they have a number of cones — you’ll see my gray car in the video. I proceed to remove the cones from the street which catches the attention of the valet guy. We talk and I decide to call the police to enforce the no cones section of the permit.

While I am waiting on the police to arrive the valet guy alerts the restaurant owner (Manager?) who comes out to “chat.” We have a pretty heated exchange, both using some strong language. My camera stops after 3 minute but I got the bulk of it. Finally the officer arrived who was quite nice. I offered my card and explained why I called — as well as apologize for taking his valuable time but that is what the Director of Streets, Jim Suelmann, directed me to do. I also indicated that 4th District Police Captain Filla was aware of the problems of valets and had discussed them recently with residents. The owner then talked with the officer for a bit and soon the owner instructed the valet to remove the remaining cones from the street.

At one point I said, “you don’t know who I am?” It sounds a bit like an ego trip but it was clear he was thinking I was just some guy with a video camera and not the author of popular blog. I was thinking to myself, if this guy knew who I was he probably wouldn’t be saying the things he was saying. I’m used to the politicians being careful what they say or at least telling me something is off the record and waiting until I put the camera away. His candor totally took me by surprise.

Ok, hit play:

Get your protest signs ready…

UPDATE: 10/3/06 @ 11:55pm:

I have emailed a link for this post to the following: Jim Suelmann, Director of Streets; Ald. April Ford-Griffin, Ald. Lewis Reed, Ald. Phyllis Young, Ald. Mike McMillan; Ald. Lyda Krewson; and Downtown Partnership Director Jim Cloar. I did not contact Copia but the owner has my card. If you’d like to contact Copia click here.

UPDATE: 10/4/06 @ 12:45am:

Video guru Antonio French of PubDef.net did an excellent remix of the video. Watch his hip version here.