Planned Development - City Council Discussions

Several months ago, the City of Kirkwood hired consultants to look at the possibility of planned development in two specific areas within Kirkwood. The report by PCAV Planners was presented to the City Council in May and the council has had some follow up conversations with the consultants during two different work sessions. PCAV has made some recommendations to the city for an area around Manchester and Kirkwood Roads and an area identified as the Downtown Southeast Area. If the council agrees to proceed with creating a Planned Development area in either or both areas, there are several next steps. Ultimately there would be a solicitation of developer proposals that would come to the council for consideration. Discussions to date include the following. First and foremost, PGVA indicated they did not believe that any major development plan would be financially viable unless the city used an incentive like a TIF or TDD. To move this forward, City Council members must consider their willingness to support public/private partnership financing. The council would also need to consider the possibility of imposing a moratorium until planned development decisions could be made and must be willing to consider creating zoning regulations that would allow greater flexibility in developing the included properties. Some of these properties are currently zoned residential and a few are in a historical district. There is the possibility of using condemnation proceedings as well. If you are interested in learning more about the plans or have questions, please feel free to contact the city clerk or the City Council. Your input is important to us and we value your thoughts. I will also try to keep you updated as best I can.