Planning & Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody. I would like to call to order the June 2nd, 2026 meeting for the City of Fenton Planning and Zoning Commission. Our first item on the agenda today is the Pledge of Allegiance. So if you're able to stand, please do. All right, thank you. Next item we've got here is our roll call and introduction of any city official. So Deb, if you could.

Okay, thank you, sir. Chairperson Yeoman.

Here.

Vice-President Harrell. Mr. Abbott is here. Alderman Harrell.

Here.

Mayor Morath.

Here.

Commissioner Wisbrock. Here. Commissioner Voorhees. Here. Commissioner Glover. Commissioner Nelson. Here. And Commissioner Billike. Here. And we also have in the audience, we have Mike Abbott from our Parks Board. And on Zoom, we have Robin Huell, one of our older persons.

Great, thank you. All right, next item is our notice to the public and ground rules. I'll go ahead and read those. If you wish to speak, please pick up a speaker request form. These forms are located at the sign-in table. Please complete the form and present it to Secretary Deb Abbott prior to the public comments section of this agenda. The chairperson will call your name during the public comments section of the agenda. Your comments and questions from the members of the public will be limited to three minutes. You will not be recognized to speak until you have filled out the form. Please address all comments to the Planning and Zoning Commission. If you have a question for a petitioner, please address that question directly to the commission. All questions will be referred to the petitioners at the end of the public comment portion of the agenda. The commission demands respect and courtesy for others during the proceedings. Inappropriate behavior will result in the forfeiture of the speaker's allotted time and may result in removal from the proceedings. Planning and Zoning Commission wants to hear what you have to say about the items on today's agenda as it relates to cases at present. So those are the ground rules. We've also got some notices for the petitioners. First, our next board committee meeting is Thursday, June 11th, 2026. Our next board of aldermen meeting and public hearing is Thursday, June 25th, 2026. And a simple majority vote of the commission shall be necessary to constitute a positive recommendation to the board of aldermen. Okay. That covers all of our notices. So we're on to approving the minutes from our last meeting on May 5th. Did anybody have any questions about the minutes? It was a thick one. Okay, if there are no questions, I will move for us to approve the minutes from the May 5th meeting. Can I get a second? I see a hand raised by Commissioner Wistbrock, seconding. All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed?

I will abstain because I was absent.

Thank you. Oh, so we have two abstentions, one from Commissioner Harrell, or I'm sorry, Alderman Harrell, and one from John Billikey. Okay. Okay. Yes.

If you're done with that order.

Yes.

I'd like to recognize George Phillips in the audience as well, who's on our Board of Adjustment.

Thank you. Sorry, I'm motoring along here. Thank you. Okay. So we've made it through our approval of the minutes. Next is our public comments. Do we have any public comments?

I have none.

All right. We're next on to old business, of which we do not have any. So we're on to new business next, which is case 2026 SPR 04, a petition by Gravois Bluffs East Lot 9B LLC for site plan review of a new commercial building with drive-through facility at 695 Gravois Bluffs Boulevard. The property is owned C1 Commercial District. Amy.

In January, the board approved a subdivision plot to create this new out lot, which included a departure from the landscape buffer requirements with the condition that the required buffer areas be provided during site development. The petitioner is now proposing to develop the lot with a new commercial building that includes a 3,500 square foot office retail space and a 2,600 square foot restaurant with a drive-through pickup window only. The lot meets all setback and lot coverage regulations for the C1 district. The code requires that 15% of the lot be dedicated to green space. And the total green space after development will be 17%, which satisfies the condition of the PLAT approval. The building will be constructed of brick, CMU block, and EFIS, all in compliance with the code. The lot will have 61 parking spaces, including two accessible spaces. And when looking at the required parking, these 61 spaces appear to exceed the minimum for an office retail tenant and a drive-through restaurant tenant of the size proposed. The drive-through facility for the restaurant will be a window only for order ahead pickups. The code requires a minimum of five queuing spaces for the drive-through, and there are eight queuing spaces provided. A minor amendment will be needed to the site plan to indicate the 12-foot drive-through lane width. Right now, it's showing 11 1⁄2, so that shouldn't be an issue. Access to the lot will be from a private driveway within the development with several ingress and egress points throughout the lot. Staff does suggest that an exit only sign be provided here at the southern exit from the drive-through lane and directional signage and pavement markings be added within the lot for safe site circulation.

Okay, thank you. Does anyone have a question for Amy before we talk to the petitioner? Yes, Deb.

So there is an existing drive entrance off of Graveway Bluffs Boulevard that's right here. And then access to the lot, there are several access points throughout the lot. And then the drive-through queuing is here on the west side of the building and the drive-through or the pickup window is on the south. To access the drive-through lane, they can access it by any of the ingress points throughout the lot, yeah. Yeah, there is access to the lot here on the south and then on the east and then the north part of the lot as well. Okay, thank you. Mm-hmm.

Are two handicapped spaces all that are required?

Yes. It doesn't seem like very many for a restaurant. The number of accessible spaces is based on the minimum parking requirements. At the time of occupancy, if we note that additional spaces are needed, we can ask them to provide those as well.

I was wondering also, I saw in the elevation how the trash enclosure is sort of like intended to look, but it was hard to tell where on the lot it's going to sit. Is that obvious from the...

It'll be right here in the corner.

Oh, okay. Got it. Kind of at an angle, is that what... Okay. Okay. And you guys don't have any concerns with that placement for the truck getting to it or anything? No.

Okay.

All right. Any other questions? I'll have the petitioner come up, too, if we have one. Okay. Do we have someone in the audience who can speak on behalf? If you could state your name and address and use the microphone, please, because we do have a few listening in.

Bill Applebaum with G.J. Grewey, 9109 Watson Road, Crestwood, 63126. As Amy said, we were here in January, and we created the subdivision plot, the lot, for this to have this follow-up. At that time, we wanted to do it all simultaneously, but all our ducks weren't in the row with the lenders and everybody else to get the subdivision done. Amy knows, I think we got it in right under the wire or the 60 days for the recording or 45, whatever it was. But, uh, so I'm here to answer any questions. Uh, it's pretty self-explanatory, uh, from what Amy's write-up was and any additional questions I'm happy to answer.

Sure. I have a couple. Um, Amy mentioned that there was a minimum amount of green space required and that you're expecting to meet that minimum. But from the overhead diagram, the green space wasn't, at least unless I just didn't read this correctly, but is it fair to, can you explain where the green space is going to be?

Not easily on that diagram, but it will be, right now you know it's a sea of asphalt out there. So we will have the green space in the curbed islands, which is where it is out there now.

Okay. Do you have any concerns about it adding up to the total it needs to be? No. Okay.

And I think they show species and things like that on the plants themselves.

Gotcha. And then the other question I had was... I read correctly, there's not going to be an order board for this. It's only going to be a window.

Yeah, it's app-based. The tenant, I have Nicole here from Chipotle. They're the proposed tenant. If you've got specific questions as to their operation, he can answer those, but- No, it is all app driven. And so no reader boards, no order boards. You're just coming through their typical pickup. They usually have about 160 customers a day. Service time is less than two and a half minutes because of the way it's done. Typical queuing at a Chipotle is only four cars. I think Fenton's ordinance is five for this. And, you know, based on all their information and data, it's a very quick in and out.

Sure. Do you have any concerns about a subsequent tenant wanting to use that space and wanting to have an order board and will it accommodate that if another tenant at some point wants to put a drive-thru in there?

The good news is Chipotle is AAA credit, and we expect them to be there for the full 15 years of their term, if not longer. If you've seen out at the Bluffs, we haven't lost any restaurants. That's been the good news. As far as if they were to leave, we would have to meet with the city requirements at that time to add a full-blown drive-through.

Okay. I don't think I have any other questions. Anyone else? Okay, go ahead.

How many people does the restaurant accommodate? You can go in and eat in the restaurant or is it just, it's not just drive-through pickup?

No, you can go in and eat. It's limited seating. I want to say it's probably like 40 seats.

Thank you, sir.

I do have some conditions. I'd like to read into the record if you could acknowledge, please. This approval is strictly for a new 6,077-square-foot commercial building with drive-through facility on Lot 9B, addressed as 695 Gravois Bluffs Boulevard, as indicated on plan submitted with the application dated May 4, 2026.

The only comment I have to that is St. Louis County has not provided the legal address yet. We have a legal description of the lot, as you just read, but the 695 has not been agreed by the fire department or St. Louis County.

That's fine. It's currently addressed as 695. That's fine.

Okay. Work with that. Two, the site plan shall be amended to indicate the required 12-foot width for the drive-through lane.

Yes.

An exit-only sign shall be provided at the left-turn exit from the drive-through lane. Additional directional signage and pavement markings shall be provided for safe traffic circulation within the site. Yes. Okay. When in compliance with the code, the Community Development Director may administratively approve any minor changes to the site plan as required by another reviewing entity, such as the Fenton Fire Protection District, or MSD. Separate building, land disturbance, and sign permits will be required through the City of Fenton and St. Louis County. And compliance with all other applicable City of Fenton codes and ordinances. Okay. Okay. So, with that, I will go ahead and move that we approve case 2026 SPR 04, a petition by Gravois Bluffs East Lot 9B LLC for site plan review of a new commercial building with drive-thru facility at 695 Gravois Bluffs Boulevard, the property zone C1 Commercial District. Can I get a second? Okay, we have a second. Can we go ahead and do a roll call vote?

Chairperson Yeoman?

Aye.

Commissioner Voorhees?

Aye.

Secretary Abbott? Aye. Mayor Morath?

Aye.

Alderman Harrell?

Aye.

Commissioner Westbrook? Aye. Commissioner Nelson? Aye. Commissioner Billigay? Aye. Motion approved.

Great. Thank you very much. I'm curious, do you have another tenant in the other space?

Okay.

Got it. Okay. Thank you, Will. Appreciate the business being in Fenton. Thanks very much. Okay. Okay. And that concludes our new business. So we're on to announcements. First, our report from the Community Development Department.

We have not received any new petitions for the July meeting yet, but the deadline is not until this Friday, and I do expect a couple to come in before the deadline. Also, the August meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 5th, due to the primary election, and I just wanted to confirm that the commission still wants to hold it on Wednesday, that Wednesday.

Wednesday, August 5th, you said? Any objections? My calendar, too. I think I'm actually out of town that week, but it doesn't mean it needs to move. Yes, I will be around the week of August 9th if folks would rather have me run it than need a sub because I won't be here on the 5th. Okay. Okay. So should we move it to Tuesday then, the following Tuesday? That would be Tuesday the 11th. Any objection, Amy?

No.

Anybody else have a problem with Tuesday the 11th? This is August, right? Yes. Yep. Okay. Let me just check the other calendar. Hold on. I'm not promising something I can't deliver on. Yeah. Okay. Let's go for Tuesday, August 11th.

Okay. We can do that.

All right. Anything else, Amy?

That's it.

Great. Next is our report from the chairperson. I don't have anything to report, honestly. Just glad it's summertime and hopefully the weather keeps getting nice. Okay, report from the mayor.

Oh, something of interest, I think the residents may, you know, have been looking towards, and we've discussed it in the past. City Administrator and Alderman Heals and myself attended the Missouri Municipal League Eastern Division legislative update for the end of the year. It didn't seem like anything real major changed. There was no... The grocery bill that would have cost us the state about a billion dollars, eliminating that grocery tax did not pass, and the individual who has pushed that legislation is termed out, so we don't know how that will proceed. The other important legislation that didn't pass was the utility relocation costs that would have that legislation would have put the cost to relocate your utilities onto the municipality if there were road improvements and so forth. So that was a big issue that did not pass. That doesn't mean they can't come up next year, but we have another year to breathe a little easier, so.

Okay, appreciate that update. Where do you go for that meeting? Is that in Jefferson City?

No, we actually, uh, was hosted by the city of Washington, Missouri.

Okay. Got it. Thank you for the update mayor. Uh, next is our report from the planning and zoning liaison.

Thank you, sir. So everything from last month did pass starting with the Seiko automotive place over rudder road. And of course the Hensley construction along with Seiko and then the FedEx station along with scan L properties passed. And the amendment for the zoning code related to marijuana testing facilities passed. Accra labs marijuana testing facility passed. Lots one and two were consolidated up in Gravely Bluffs for the Chipotle.

It was Unigroup.

Unigroup.

Lot consolidation.

Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, you're right. And that was pretty much it.

I think the cat's out of the bag now. It is FedEx.

Yeah. We'll see a lot more trucks. They'll have a place to get washed right next door.

There you go. Yeah. And service. Take your truck there.

Yep. All right. Thank you, Ron. Let's see. So next is our report from other commissioners. Any other items? None? Okay. Well, that was quick. Our next planning and zoning meeting is Tuesday, July 7th, 2026 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. I'll go ahead and move then for us to adjourn tonight's meeting. Can I get a second? Second. All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? Meeting is adjourned. Thank you.