Zoning Error Puts Collinsville IL in Middle of Dispute

Mistakes happen, but they are often costly. The City of Collinsville IL (St. Louis Metro East) is realizing as much. From the Belleville News-Democrat:

The city is facing threats of lawsuits from a new business and from its potential neighbors thanks to an error in a zoning map.

According to City Manager Bob Knabel, the developer sought zoning information about 102 Gaylord Drive before buying it, and was told that it was commercial. The developer later was issued a building permit.

The problem: The zoning map was in error, and the building was in a residential zone.

Now the residents of Gaylord Drive are asking the City Council to stop the construction of a beauty salon in the middle of their residential street.

Oh, not good. No matter which way the city goes they will have a lawsuit on their hands. But the above description of the “middle of their residential street” is not really accurate.

Per Google Maps (and Mapquest) the site in question is on a corner of Gaylord Drive (small street to the left) and a larger arterial street, Vandalia (diagonal upper right to bottom left). As you can see, Vandalia St is lined with suburban commercial establishments in both directions. Residential housing, such as those on Gaylord, also abut Vandalia while some even front on this street. Quite the delima.

The first question I have is if the developer, if they knew it was residentially zoned, could have pursueded the city to rezone the property before purchasing the land? That is, could they have taken out an option and tried to rezone to commercial. Neighbors would have objected but if Collinsville is anything like the rest of the region they would have jumped at the chance to increase their tax base with more commercial property.

The bigger issue is that Vandalia St looks like a hodge podge of pure vanilla suburban development — zero thought as to creating a cohesive streetscape. No wonder the residents object to the end of their street potentially contributing to this nothingness. Vandalia St. is a typical 4-lane arterial with a center turn lane and generic buildings on each side. Both the residential areas and Vandalia St. lack sidewalks so nobody sees the point in walking down the block to one of the nearby establishments.

The developer will likely prevail in court regardless of which side the city takes.

New Orleans Group Fighting Big Box Development like Loughborough Commons

Citizens in New Orleans are fighting to retain that city’s character as generic suburban developers seek to bring “cookie-cutter” projects to their city. By way of example, the website Think New Orleans used an image of just such a project — Loughborough Commons. Yes, St. Louis is providing yet another example of what others are trying to avoid — even in the wake of a major natural disaster.

Click here to see the full post.

I suppose we should be thanking Ald. Matt Villa for helping bring this mostly tree-less “project” to St. Louis. A project that doesn’t connect to numerous adjacent streets and still doesn’t welcome pedestrians. We are now at over seven months since the Schnuck’s grocery store opened and still no federally mandated ADA-compliant accessible route is in place. Seven months! Even a simple accessible route between the Schnuck’s and Lowe’s store is not in place, again a violation of federal civil rights law. Clearly the developers have little regard for the civil rights of those not in cars.

More power to the good folks in New Orleans fighting to keep St. Louis-style big box development out of their urban city.

Patterson On KDHX (88.1) Monday

I will be a guest on KDHX’s “Collateral Damage” program Monday (April 9, 2007) with hosts DJ Wilson and Fred Hessel, 7pm at 88.1. You can also subscribe to Collateral Damage free via iTunes. Monday we will be discussing some of the latest local topics. If you have some suggestions or questions please list them below.

When Stealing is not really Stealing

By now you’ve heard that 15 of St. Louis’ finest were involved in using World Series tickets last fall — tickets that were evidence in cases against persons arrested for scalping them.  It seems that of the 15 it was 8 that were directly involved.  None, however, will be fired.

Mayor Slay, a member of the police board, affirmed Chief Mokwa’s recommendation:

These eight officers should be suspended from duty for a while – and when they return from their suspensions, they should be reduced in rank to the department’s lowest level: that of probationary officers. At that rank, there are no second chances for a police officer: one problem, and they are out, without an appeal.

This punishment gives eight officers one final chance to prove that they deserve their community’s trust – and a thousand opportunities a day, as they do their jobs on the streets, to make amends for their serious mistake. 

To others I spoken with, including city employees, these officers tampered with and stole evidence but are being treated differently.  Sure, they put the used tickets into evidence after the games but I don’t think that counts.  Granted, had they not used the tickets they would have been wasted which is different than taking say a person’s watch out of evidence.   Would city employees or even private citizens in private companies be given such a break?  Doubtful.

Two police organizations are taking opposite views.  One pressured Mokwa not to fire the officers involved while another says if all involved were black they would have been fired — that this is preferential treatment for white officers. I hope the difference is not race but it may well be.

So I pose the question to you: did these officers “steal” evidence and therefore should be fired and face criminal charges from Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce?  Or was this simple “poor judgement” on their part, no crime committed?

Chevy Wants You to Vote On Your Favorite Mini-Car Concept

Chevy this week is asking the public to vote for their favorite new mini-car concept from a group of three introduced at the New York Auto Show.

From AutoBlog:

The Beat (green) is by far the most sporty of the trio, with its slicked back styling and comparatively large 1.2L turbo engine. Technically described as a “tuner” car, the Beat is meant to be customized much like a Scion to an owner’s own individual tastes. The Beat is a front-wheel drive, three-door hatch with an automatic tranny to divvy up the tiny motor’s available power.

The Groove concept (black) is much like a mini HHR, a five-door wagon with a tall roof and flat sides. It’s extremely short hood, big wheel arches and nonexistent overhangs mean that every square inch of the platform is utilized. Consider this the most practical concept of the three. Also a front-driver, the Groove is powered by a 1L diesel engine.

Finally there’s the Trax (orange), which we’ve met before. The Trax concept is the mini ute of the bunch, doing its best to feign even the slightest ability to venture off the beaten path. We wouldn’t suggest it however, as those tires lack any meaningful tread and the ride height, while high compared to the other two concepts, could hardly clear a curb (if that). It’s the only one of the three that features round headlights, though its four-door, upright, box-like packaging mimics that of the Groove concept. It’s powered by a 1L gas engine. 

I personally voted for the “Groove” concept — I like the 1L diesel engine and the overall shape.  Cast your vote at www.vote4chevrolet.com.

But this is not a car blog.  My point of posting about this is to get your thoughts on the marketability of micro vehicles such as these or the 2nd generation smart fortwo, which will be on sale during the 1st quarter of 2008.   Will we see the public go for more cars in the sub-$15K range offering fuel mileage in the same territory as hybrids?  For me, I see myself purchasing a very small car with no more than a 1-litre engine.  For the occassional road trip out of town I’d just rent something a bit larger and more powerful.

As gas prices naturally rise we will hopefully see people giving up their 2-ton living rooms on wheels in exchange for something less comfortable.  Yes, less comfortable!  Sky roofs, wood & leather, and other items make our cars so comfortable we can’t imagine giving them up for something more practical such as a basic car, a scooter, a bike or mass transit.  Case in point, I went from having auto-down on all four windows and auto-up on the front windows on my former Audi.  In switching to the Scion it took me a while to get used to having only auto-down on the driver’s window.  I’ve completely forgotten what it is like to have manual windows and locking/unlocking a car with a key.  We are so spoiled, how can other forms of transit or even a more basic car compete?

What will gas prices have to reach before buying & driving habits change?  $4/gallon?  $5/gallon?  More?