Upcoming Events of Interest

The following are events that might be of interest to some of you:
January 9, 2007 – 2nd Annual St. Louis Regional Brownfields Marketplace

The 2nd Annual St. Louis Metropolitan Brownfields Marketplace will take place January 9 from 7:30 AM to noon on UM-St. Louis campus in the J.C. Penny Conference Center, Summit Lounge. The conference is free. The goal of the Marketplace is to offer a one-stop event to bring together the region’s top developers with brownfield/distressed property owners to establish connections, exchange information and initiate future development deals. Keynote speakers will be John Askew, Regional Administrator for the U.S. EPA Region 7and Jim Gilstrap, Missouri DNR Brownfields/Voluntary Cleanup Program.

You will have the opportunity to meet with a diverse group of environmental professionals who can address your brownfield issues at our resource center. You will not want to miss this informative event; it only comes once a year! A feature of the conference will be Speed Networking – Present your brownfield properties directly to brownfield developers in our speed networking sessions. Register at www.stlmetrobrownfields.org. For more information, call Julie Stone at (314) 421-4220 or (618) 274-2750.

January 9, 2007 – 15th Ward Candidates Forum

We will be inviting all Democratic Candidates for President of the Board of Aldermen in the March 6th Primary to our January meeting:

Tuesday, January 9, 2007, 7:00 PM
Carpenter Branch Library (Grand & Utah)

Everyone is invited to attend!

See 15thWard for more information.

January 10, 2007 – St. Louis Community Clean Air Project Hosts Regional Panel to Discuss Reducing School Bus Emissions

The St. Louis Association of Community Organizations’ (SLACO) Clean Air Project is hosting a panel of experts to discuss the advantages for area school districts to reduce damaging emissions into the air. The event is open to the public. School administrators, school health care providers and transportation directors, and bus contractors are especially encouraged to attend. Experts from local school districts, health professionals, government officials and professional engineers will be on hand to discuss ways to implement a successful initiative to reduce school-bus idling and learn new ideas and approaches to this initiative in our area.

Presenters are: Richard Ruhl, Fleet Maintenance Supervisor for the Wentzville School District; Patrick Lanane Assistant Superintendent for the Lindbergh School District; Dr. Raymond Slavin, Medical Educator from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine; and Glenn M. Luksik, Regulations and Funding Consultant for Caterpillar Emissions Solutions. Ruhl and Lanane will discuss how they were able to implement and enforce emissions reductions within their schools – mainly focusing on idle reduction.

This free event will be held at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, JC Penney Building, Room 126, from 4 – 6 PM. Reservations are not required. Parking is available in Lot C. Go to www.umsl.edu/admission/tour/directions.htm for detailed directions, travel options (including MetroLink) and a campus map. For additional information, contact Erica Fendler, SLACO/CAP at (314) 534-9104 or Erica at slaco dot org.

January 11, 2007 – Passive Survivability

Alex Wilson, president of BuildingGreen, Inc. and executive editor of Environmental Building News and the GreenSpec® Directory will make the case for a new design criterion for homes, apartment buildings, schools, and certain other public-use buildings: “passive survivability.” As he uses the term, passive survivability refers to the ability of buildings to maintain livable conditions in the event of extended power outages, or loss of heating fuel or water. The program will be held at Missouri Botanical Garden’s Monsanto Center, 4500 Shaw Boulevard. Networking will begin at 5:30 PM; the program is from 6:15 – 7:30. The program is free to USGBC-STL members and students; $20.00 for nonmembers. To register, e-mail usgbc-stl@mobot.org or call (314) 577-0854. For more information, go to http://chapters.usgbc.org/stlouis/Programs_Events_07.html.

January 12, 2007 – Downtown Partnership Luncheon w/MoDot Director Pete Rahn

MoDOT should soon have a contract signed with the I-64 design-build team, Gateway Constructors, within the next few weeks. More details should then be forthcoming about sequencing and other aspects of the project. Downtown St. Louis Partnership will be featuring MoDOT Director Pete Rahn at its January 12 Issues & Answers luncheon with BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association). This will be an opportunity to hear some of these updated details. The event will be held at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark from 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM. Registration is $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers. For sponsorship and registration information, contact Jennifer Burgnone at (314) 436-6500, ext. 225 or jburgnone at downtownstl dot org.

Registration form — deadline 1/9/07!

January 15, 2007 – Martin Luther King Day – Act for Peace

Please join us in marching for justice and peace in the annual Martin Luther King Day march, Monday morning January 15. Gather
at the Old Courthouse across from Kiener Plaza (Market and Broadway), at 10 a.m. The march to Powell Hall begins at 11 a.m.

There is MetroLink service at both ends of the march (8th & Pine MetroLink station is near the Old Courthouse; Grand MetroLink
station is near Powell Hall.)

The weather forecast is cold and clear, so bundle up! Bring your peace and justice signs, wear good shoes and join the celebration, always strong and spirited.

Let our elected officials hear that we demand real change, now! – a rapid end to the disastrous Iraq war, and speedy redirection
of resources to human needs.

“The chain reaction of evil — wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of
annihilation.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

January 16, 2007 – Euclid Streetscape Improvement Project

Postcard received in mail indicates the following:

• Final public viewing
• Come Any Time From 5:00-7:30 p.m.
• Brief Presentation at 5:45 and 7:00 p.m.
• The St. Louis Woman’s Club 4600 Lindell Blvd.
• Sponsor: Central West End Midtown Development
• Host: Joe Roddy, 17th Ward Alderman
  

Sorry, no website or other contact information is provided.

January 17, 2007 – APA-SLMS Luncheon: The Mill Creek Valley Urban Renewal Project Revisited

You are invited to attend the American Planning Association-St. Louis Metropolitan Section luncheon to be held in the Community Room on the first floor of the Heritage House Apartments, 2800 Olive St., St. Louis. The luncheon begins at 11:30 AM. Ron Fagerstrom, a local historian, will take a critical look at the Mill Creek Project. St. Louis was one of the most active cities in the federal urban renewal program during the 1950’s and 1960’s.

The largest St. Louis project took place in what was referred to as Mill Creek Valley, an African-American community, in present day Midtown. Perhaps the most extensive urban renewal initiative in the country, the Mill Creek Project involved the total clearance save for four buildings of an area bound by 18th Street on the east, Olive on the north, Grand on the west, and the Mill Creek rail yard to the south. Although now developed, the land remained undeveloped for several years and was locally known as “Hiroshima Flats.” Fagerstrom will discuss how the residents of the neighborhood were shut-out of the planning process and how the fabric of a vital community was destroyed. For Fagerstrom, the Mill Creek Valley Project sheds light not only on development practices of the past, but on the continued razing of low income neighborhoods in areas like Maplewood and Brentwood in the name of the public good.

Please make reservations with entrée choices (Bake Madison Chicken Breast, Roast Beef or Meatless Pasta) by Monday, January 15 to Jason Jaggi, jjaggi at ci.clayton.mo dot us. The cost of the luncheon is $15 for members and $18 for nonmembers.

January 17, 2007 – Free APA Training – Introduction to the Planning Commission

You are invited to attend a free audio/web conference training session: “Introduction to the Planning Commission – Part Two” to be held from 2 – 4 PM, local time at the offices of East-West Gateway, Gateway Tower, One Memorial Drive, Suite 1600, St. Louis. The conference’s two hours of moderated discussion cover: zoning process and variances, plan implementation, subdivision regulation, how plans are amended, citizen engagement and resolving conflict in public meetings, how to work with the public and other appointed and elected officials, the roles and participants in public decision making, concerns of participants, and applicability of sunshine laws. Technical Briefs explaining these concepts are available for conference participants online at www.planning.org/audioconference/ipc2/participant.htm. Anyone with an interest in the subject is welcome to attend.

Please RSVP to East-West Gateway: Karen Kunkel at karen at ewgateway dot org or Gary Pondrom at garyp at ewgateway dot org or call Karen or Gary at (314) 421-4220 or (618) 274-2750. The audio/web conference series is sponsored by the APA-St. Louis Metropolitan Section, the City of Maryland Heights and East-West Gateway Council of Governments.

January 18, 2007 – ULI St. Louis – Meet the Mayor – Francis G. Slay, Mayor of the City of St. Louis

ULI St.Louis – Meet the Mayor Luncheon:
Featuring Mayor Francis G. Slay, City of St. Louis

Thursday, January 18, 2007
12:00 – 1:15 PM

– Location –
City of St. Louis
Mayor’s Board Room
1200 Market Street, Room 200
St. Louis, MO 63103

This is a ULI Members Only Event

Please join ULI St. Louis for our second Meet the Mayor Luncheon featuring Francis G. Slay, Mayor of the City of St. Louis; Barbara Geisman, the Mayor’s Executive Assistant for Development; and Jeff Rainford, Chief of Staff, on Thursday, January 18, 2007 from 12:00 – 1:15 PM.

This will be an invaluable and unique opportunity to spend quality face-to-face time with Mayor Slay and his staff. You will be spending the kind of time with the Mayorthat you won’t get elsewhere, discussing issues of interest to you and getting to know those with whom you will be working in the future.

This event is limited to the first 15 ULI Members to register. You must pre-register no later than January 16 to attend. There will be no on-site registration for this event.

Cost for all sectors: $50

Regisration for ULI Members.

January 23, 2007 – Transit Oriented Development

Citizens for Modern Transit will be hosting an informational program on Transit Oriented Development at 4 PM at the Des Lee Auditorium of the Missouri Historical Society, Forest Park. The featured speaker will be G.B. Arrington of Parsons Brinckerhoff Place Making. He is Parson Brinckerhoff’s most senior practitioner in the field of linking transit and land use. For the last 20+ years, he has played a key role in the Portland, OR region’s innovative experiment to reinvent the American dream of a livable community by
marrying transportation and land use. In the past year Arrington has lead three TOD policy studies of national significance – the Governor’s Task Force on Transit Oriented Development for Maryland, the California Statewide Study of Transit Oriented Development and the Mayor’s Special Transit-Oriented Development Task Force for Washington, D.C. His work with station area planning received a national award of excellence from Progressive Architecture and a First Place in the Livable Communities Initiative Transit Design Competition from the Federal Transit Administration.

The program also will feature updates on how Clayton and Shrewsbury are approaching TOD. The program will be followed by a reception and informal discussion. Registration will be $20 for CMT members and $25 for nonmembers. Go to http://www.cmt-stl.org/news/story_22.html for additional program information and to make your
reservation.

February 14, 2007 – Great Streets Design Workshop

East-West Gateway invites you to the Great Streets Design Workshop on Wednesday, February 14 from 8 AM – 12 noon. The workshop will be held at the Eric P. Newman Education Center, 322 S Euclid Avenue, St. Louis. This workshop will provide information on how to use the Great Streets Digital Reference Guide and how to obtain assistance on planning and designing a Great Streets project in your
community. The workshop cost is $25, with parking available for an additional $5. The Central West End MetroLink station is one block south of the Center. Advanced registration is required. Workshop information available and the registration form can be downloaded and printed or you can register on-line by going to www.ewgateway.org. For questions or additional information, contact David Wilson at david.wilson at ewgateway dot org or (314) 421-4220 or (618) 274-2750.

March 29, 2007 – APA St. Louis Metro Section 2007 Planning Workshop

SAVE THE DATE: APA SLMS has arranged for distinguished land-use attorney, planner, and author Dwight H. Merriam, FAICP, CRE to be the highlight this year’s Planning Workshop. Mr. Merriam will not only present the evening’s keynote address on eminent domain, but will also be heading up a technical workshop earlier that day. Mr. Merriam is a partner with the law firm of Robinson & Cole LLP in Hartford, Connecticut, where he practices land use law. He represents developers, local governments, landowners, and advocacy groups in land development and conservation issues. He has published over 180 professional articles on land use law, co-edited Inclusionary Zoning Moves Downtown, co-authored The Takings Issue, and authored The Complete Guide to Zoning. He is a Fellow and past president of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a former director of the American Planning Association and a previous chair of APA’s Planning & Law Division. He is also a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and The
Counselors of Real Estate, and he teaches land use law at Vermont Law School.

Sidewalk Reserved for Circuit Attorney’s Office

Walking along 14th Street between Market and Walnut, across from the Kiel Opera House/Scottrade Center one finds an unusual sight, cars parked on a sidewalk. This is not, by the way, some fluke I happened to catch. No, this is routine parking for city employees, mostly those in the Circuit Attorney’s office. I have driven past this numberous times and not really noticed but recently Ecology of Absence did a post on this subject so while I was down there today I snapped a few pictures (ok, 24 in total).

Above you can begin to see cars along the sidewalk, taking up more than half its width. Vehicles are also parked in the right turn lane. The adjacent Municipal Courts building (left in above image) is currently vacant and awaiting renovation into a hotel.

In total six vehicles were parked along this stretch of sidewalk, all displaying a notice on their dash indicating “official business.” All were from the Circuit Attorney’s office except for a couple which were from the Sheriff’s office and one from the St. Louis Redevelopment Authority. The SUV above was my favorite, the owner did a great job of centering the vehicle so as to make it hard for someone using a wheelchair or mobility scooter to get by.

Above is an example of the type of authorization shown on the dashboard of these vehicles. I can see allowing some liberty on the streets when out on official business but not as a license to park on the sitewalk.

This is the best shot, the sign reads, “Reserved Parking Circuit Attorney’s Office Only. Tow-Away Zone.” So you or I should not park on the sidewalk or we might get towed for preventing other vehicles from parking on the sidewalk. All this across the street from the home of the St. Louis Blues and a block from a major transit hub, what must visitors to our city think of us?

I sent an email to Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce before 3pm this afternoon asking for any comment on this issue, at this time I have not heard back from her.

[UPDATE 1/8/07 @ 3pm: St. Louis’ KMOV Channel 4 is doing a story on this issue on their 6pm news (1/8/07).  See follow-up post.]

Valet Parking, An Update From Ald. Krewson

As a follow up to my post from earlier today, I received a phone call from Ald. Lyda Krewson (D-28th Ward).  Krewson, as I’ve noted in prior posts, has been dealing with valet parking issues in her ward primarily around the intersection of Euclid & Maryland.  I actually received an email from Krewson last night, before the post, asking me to call her (which I did this morning but she was already in sesssion at the Board of Alderman).  The point here is she was calling me to update me, not just reacting.  Much appreciated Ald. Krewson!!!

So what is the update?  Krewson and new Director of Streets Todd Waeltermann have talked, emailed and met in person to discuss the issue of valet parking.  They have been discussing the various issues such as length of valet area, cones or no cones, signage and such.  The goal, she says, is to develop a written policy within the Streets Department that will eventually be adopted as the city’s ordinance on valet parking.

While nothing is yet finalized it sounds to me like both Krewson and Waeltermann are in agreement as to the issues and solutions.  Here are a few of the areas discussed, but again no final language has been drafted at this point so don’t hold it as the gospel:

• Valet company & business owner must sign an application form.
• Valet zone to be created with signs indicating end points for the valet service.
• Valet zone shall be no wider than the business seeking the application unless an immediately adjacent business also indicates their approval by signing the application.
• Cones may be allowed “at the curb” to help identify the valet zone.

There were a number of other points but I don’t have all the details in writing, plus it is all a draft at this point.  I suggested that after the policy is enacted we actually live with it for 6-9 months before adopting it in ordinance form.  This would give us time to see if loopholes have been found or if other tweaks are required.
Ald. Krewson’s attention to detail and follow up on this issue have been impressive.  It helps that her constituents in the Central West End have been contacting her about their compliants of aggressive valets.  All in all I was very pleased with the solutions Ald. Krewson and Mr. Waeltermann have developed.  Once they have something ready for public commentary I will pass it along for everyone’s feedback.

New Valet Parking Permits Worse Than Old

Despite months of ongoing controversy over valet parking, including personal conversations with three aldermen, the City’s Department of Streets has issued new permits to Midwest Valet for at least two Washington Ave establishments that are less restrictive than earlier permits. Prior permits had similar language such as this from a permit issued on January 30, 2006 (see Flickr to view):

NO DOUBLE PARKING NOR VIP PARKING PERMITTED AT ANY TIME, ALL VEHICLES MUST BE MOVED TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION IMMEDIATELY. NO CONES, TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES, NOR TEMPORARY STRUCTURES TO BE PLACED IN THE RIGHT OF WAY AT ANY TIME.

I guess the valet companies found that too restrictive on their businesses operating in the public right of way? Below are copies of permits I received today related to Lucas Park Grille and Copia, respectively.

The Lucas Park Grille permit seems to be valid seven days a week, whereas the Copia permit is not valid on Sunday (they are closed that day). As part of my request I inquired about the cost and formula for the permits. Here is the answer: $20/day up to $2,000. Given this casual formula I suppose it makes sense for the valet companies to seek as much real estate as possible — the price they pay is the same. Of note, the new Lucas Park Grille permit does not include any provisions for the 1300 block where they routinely have cones out. We’ll see if they have them out tonight trying to take those spaces.

[UPDATED: 1/5/07 @ 10am: Handwritten below the Copia permit was a note with time from 5:30pm to 1:30am with an OK by JWS.  Jim Suelmann is the recently retired Director of Streets.  See PDF.  The problem here is the last time I checked the street has no parking from 4pm to 6pm.  Are they allowed to start valet at 5:30pm because they have a permit even though parking in the next block must be left open until 6pm due to our “rush”?]
Again, the prior permits issued by the Department of Streets indicated no cones or other devices in the public right of way (which is street and public sidewalk, btw) but that restriction is now gone. Presumably they can virtuallly paint the street orange with cones and signs. Similarly, the language indicating cars must be moved/no vip parking is also gone. So for $2,000 you can own a street in the city of St. Louis.

We’ve gone from bad to worse on this issue.

A Job Opening at St. Louis Public Schools Paying $80,000+

Posted on the St. Louis Public Schools website is a job titled, “Executive Director of Board Affairs” and it pays $80K or better. I bet you are thinking that is some good pay? What if I told you your boss would be none other than board president Veronica O’Brien, that pay doesn’t look so good now does it?

Here is a teaser from the job posting:

Position Summary:
The Board of Education of the St. Louis Public Schools is seeking an Executive that will be responsible for managing the daily operations of the Board Affairs Office.

Essential Functions:
1. Reports directly to the Board of Education by way of the president or vice
president.
2. Manage the day-to-day operation of the board office.
3. Act as board liaison with the Superintendent and other staff of the school district.
4. Makes recommendations to the board concerning administrative and school related matters.
5. Act as liaison, when necessary, with the public and fielding questions from the community regarding Board and district business.

You can read the full description on a Word document from the school board site linked above as long as it remains posted, or you can view a PDF here.  In all seriousness, this is a good position although I don’t know that anyone who is actually qualified for the post would want to even apply given the current state of board affairs.