13th Anniversary Of UrbanReviewSTL

Today is Halloween…which means it’s also the anniversary of this blog. The 13th anniversary!

Last year I ended comments on blog posts…best decision ever. You can still comment via Facebook & Twitter.

No major changes this time as the 14th year starts, posting 4 days per week will continue:

• Sundays 8am: poll
• Mondays 5:45am: topic varies
• Wednesdays 5:45am: poll topic, results
• Fridays 5:45am: Board of Aldermen in session, varies out of session

I’d originally planned to post about the anniversary yesterday, but my fall Thursday, Friday surgery, and Saturday afternoon postponed my writing schedule. It also gave me insight into a post I’ve been wanting to do for a few years now.

Happy Halloween!

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should the City of St. Louis Legalize Marijuana?

One of four new board bills introduced on Friday

The bill, sponsored by Alderman Megan Green, 15th Ward, would stop enforcement of any laws that permit “the civil or criminal punishment for the use or possession of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia against any individual or entity,” except under certain circumstances.

Civil or criminal penalties could be enforced on anyone using marijuana under the age of 21, selling to someone under 21, or possessing more than 2 ounces of marijuana or more than 10 marijuana plants for cultivation. Under the measure, consumption of marijuana anywhere but on private residential property would be limited.

The plan would allow the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to focus on violent, more serious crime at a time when police resources are limited, Green said. (Post-Dispatch)

This is the subject of today’s poll.

This poll will close at 8pm.

— Steve Pattreson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen Week 21 of 2017-2018 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will meet at 10am today, their 21st week of the 2017-2018 session.

One bill was introduced last week that wasn’t on the agenda available the day before the meeting:

BOARD BILL NO. 176 INTRODUCED BY: ALDERMAN ARNOWITZ An ordinance authorizing and directing the Director of the Health, on behalf of the Mayor of the City of St. Louis, to enter into and execute a Cooperative Agreement Award with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, to fund the Safe and Thriving St. Louis Project, upon approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, and to expend funds by entering into contracts or otherwise for the Cooperative Agreement Award purposes and containing an emergency clause.

FOUR NEW BOARD BILLS ON THE AGENDA* FOR INTRODUCTION TODAY 10/27/17 — #180 should be highly controversial:

*Note that just because a bill is on the agenda doesn’t mean it’ll be introduced, similarly, bills not on the agenda might be introduced if they suspend the rules to do so. This information is based on the published agenda as of yesterday @ 8am:

• B.B.#177 – Muhammad –An ordinance to amend Section 140.030 of the Revised Code, being Ordinance 69984 establishing the Civilian Oversight Board and approved June 6, 2015, by adding a new paragraph 11 to Section 140.030 of the revised Code of the City titled Removal of Members, allowing for the removal of members of the COB by the passage of a Board Bill sponsored by a member of the Board of Aldermen whose ward is located within the COB District represented by said COB member calling for said member’s removal, and the vacancy occasioned thereby to be filled as set forth in the vacancies section of Section 140.030 of the Revised Code of the City.
• B.B.#178 – Coatar –An Ordinance establishing a three?way stop site at the intersection of Missouri and Ann regulating all traffic traveling southbound on Missouri at Ann and regulating all traffic traveling eastbound and westbound on Ann at Missouri, and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#179 – Vaccaro –An Ordinance establishing a four?way stop site at the intersection of Bancroft and Prather regulating all traffic traveling eastbound and westbound on Bancroft at Prather and regulating all traffic traveling northbound and southbound on Prather at Bancroft, and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#180 – Green/Bosley/Cohn/Guenther/Ingrassia/Williamson –An ordinance concerning use of City resources to amend marijuana laws within the City, to amend Ordinance 69429, to regulate the use of City resources to enforce laws against marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia, to enforce marijuana laws by restricting illegal acts regarding marijuana usage or possession, to allow for police use of marijuana as cause for reasonable suspicion in searches, to minimize disproportionate penalties for violations, to prioritize enforcement activities of the City, including the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and to eliminate redundant law enforcement of marijuana laws where adequate enforcement exists under federal law which prohibits the same conduct. The ordinance contains a savings provision and a severability provision.

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2017-2018 session.

— Steve Patterson

Opinion: Doubtful St. Louis Will Be A Finalist For Amazon’s HQ2…And That’s OK

It seems nearly everyone wants to land Amazon’s 2nd headquarters, dubbed HQ2:

Amazon says it has received 238 proposals from cities and regions wanting to host the company’s new headquarters.

Proposals came from 54 states, provinces, and districts.

All US states except Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, Vermont, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota submitted bids, according to a graphic released by Amazon. Provinces and territories in Canada and Mexico also submitted bids that Amazon said would be considered. (Business Insider)

Little Rock, AR took out a full page ad in the Washington Post saying ‘no thanks.’ Very smart. Still, the experience our region went through may prove valuable in the future. Without knowing who has submitted proposals and what will sway Amazon’s final selection.

Since Amazon announced their intentions to build a 2nd headquarters, articles have listed cities/regions with better chances than others. Amazon may end up picking one pf these, but thru might also surprise everyone. WE just don’t know. They’ll have some process from going from 238 to 1. I doubt we’ll hear nothing between now and the wining city/region. Will they narrow to 50 and them to 10, before 1? We don’t know.

I do know our region looked at the North Riverfront area very differently than it had a couple of years ago. Recently our region saw it as a place to level everything in site and start over. Hopefully our proposal envisioned new buildings filling in the gaps between old buildings. Even if Amazon doesn’t pick St. Louis we can create a new vision for the central business district, North riverfront, and East St. Louis.

Most who voted in the Sunday Poll are doubtful St. Louis will be selected.

Q: How confident are you the St. Louis region will be among the finalists for Amazon’s HQ2?

• Very confident 2 [3.77%]
• Confident 2 [3.77%]
• Somewhat confident 6 [11.32%]
• Neither confident or doubtful 4 [7.55%]
• Somewhat doubtful 8 [15.09%]
• Doubtful 10 [18.87%]
• Very doubtful 21 [39.62%]
• Unsure/No Answer 0 [0%]

Those who say St. Louis has a zero chance and those who’re convinced we’ll be selected need a dose of reality. At this point it is just too early to know. I do know our sites have great development potential. If Amazon isn’t interested, we need to market them to smaller companies, startups, etc.

— Steve Patterson

Preservation Board To Consider Demolition Request For Historic Block On South Broadway In Carondelet Neighborhood

This afternoon the St. Louis Preservation Board will consider a request for demolition. an appeal, because the Cultural Resources director initially denied the request. The request is to raze an entire block of historic buildings on South Broadway. Broadway is one of the few streets in St. Louis that runs from far North to far South, so South Broadway isn’t specific enough. The East side of Busch Stadium is bounded by South Broadway. There’s an interesting stretch of South Broadway East of Soulard, in the Kosciusko neighborhood. The old Lemp Brewery complex is along South Broadway. The block being considered today is quite a bit further South, in the Central Carondelet Historic District. Most buildings in the district are residential, but the nomination mentions commercial as well:

Most of the commercial buildings in the district are located on Broadway, which supported an established business district long before the turn of the century. These buildings are grouped together by both use, stores and offices, and basic architectural form. Nearly all of the Commercial buildings in the district sit on the sidewalk line of their lots and are of one to three stories. Many of the commercial buildings employ similar stylistic characteristics as do residences in the district, such as parapet walls, similar cornice and window treatments and mansard roofs. Still,CommercialBuildings are in their own category,andwhen the building clearly shows the influence of a particular style it is placed in a sub-category of Classical Revival, Italianate, Second EmpireIMansard, or Art Deco.

Last week I shared a NextSTL post about the proposed demolition on this blog’s Facebook page, writing:

Very familiar with this part of South Broadway. It has some great old buildings, but little else. It’s just a pass through. 

Still, these should be kept and someone work turning the area into a place where people want to be.

The 2nd pair of what I wrote, about place was missed by someone, who commented:

 “Little else” besides eight bars (including two of the most vibrant live music venues to open in the City in the past two years), four antique stores, a bank, one of the oldest independent hardware stores in the City, the oldest convenience store in the City, and a gift shop recently named the 11th Ward business of the year. All in less than a one mile stretch on Broadway with this block in the direct center. It sounds like you don’t know too much about this stretch at all, particularly the reinvestment over the past few years.

I attempted to explain I was talking about the public realm, not private businesses by providing this definition and link:

Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, Placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban design, Placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution. (Project for Public Spaces)

This person instead I didn’t know the area, even though I had an office two blocks South for years. I knew all too well the pervasive thinking and poor quality of the public realm. However, I did learn through Googling they South Broadway Merchants Association changed its name to Carondelet Business Association.

Business districts, shopping centers, malls, etc must market themselves to attract businesses and visitors. The Carondelet Business Association, like the South Broadway Merchants Association fails to understand this reality. Commercial streets like Delmar and South Grand are commonly known as The Delmar Loop and Grand South Grand, respectively. These and other districts do a good job of marketing themselves.

What does the Carondelet Business Association do?  It’s easy to find out about becoming a business member but trying to find a place to eat requires finding a 52-page PDF directory, restaurant listings begin on page 32. The CBA website was created and maintained by the owner who wants to raze an entire block of structures contributions to a historic district.

Like many, I’d driven through lately, but not stopped. So I took the MetroBus down to see what, if anything, had changed about the public realm — not what bars were now open.

I got off at Fillmore St, taking 90 photos as I traveled South 1.3 miles. I got back on the bus at Primm St (map). Here’s a few of the photos I took on the morning of October 18th:

I don’t doubt many have worked hard, have good intentions.  This stretch of South Broadway in Carondelet has great bones — unrealized potential. Place-making and business district marketing both take lots of skill to do successfully. Both need to happen or it’ll continue to struggle.

The Preservation Board meeting begins at 4pm, this is the 3rd item on the agenda.