The Brentwood Board of Aldermen held a public hearing and a first reading of two bills Monday night that would move forward the construction of a six-story, 80-unit apartment complex at the corner of Hanley and Manchester roads.
One of the bills entertained Tuesday during the BOA’s regular meeting would change the zoning designation of the little more than two acres of land from Planned Development District to Urban Development District, thus allowing for greater density of residents.
The second bill entertained, a Conditional Use Permit and Site Plan Review, would authorize Kansas City developer Gary Hassenflu, of Garrison Development Companies, to carry on with the building of his $20 million project, The Metro on Manchester.
During the public hearing, five residents spoke against or had concerns with the proposed project. None spoke in favor.
Opposition centered mostly on the fears of increased traffic at the intersection of Hanley and Manchester roads, as well as the aesthetics of the building.
“It is a traffic nightmare right now,” said resident Lynne Goode. “We all want that area to be different from what it is now, but not this. We want something different there.”
Director of Planning and Development Lisa Koerkenmeier said the project had a green light from the city’s own planning and zoning commission, MoDOT, St. Louis County Highways and Traffic, MSD, and a traffic study.
In addition, Koerkenmeier said, the project is in line with Brentwood’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan, which designates the site as community mix used, with a multi-family use recommended.
Traffic Fix Rests on the County
Lee Cannon, traffic engineer at CBB Transportation, which conducted the traffic study, said his research looked at whether or not the proposed project required mitigation for major traffic issues. He said the developer put in place several measures to avoid major impact.
He described the project as having “low to moderate traffic impact.”
Aldermen raised questions about whether or not the traffic study took into account the proposed Sunnen Station Apartments, to be built next to Maplewood’s Sunnen Metrolink Station on Hanley. Cannon said the study did not.
“I do not believe any additional mitigation requirements will be required to this developer because of the work of another development,” Cannon said, adding that traffic is already heavy at the intersection of Manchester and Hanley, and will continue to be heavy after the project. He said the issue is a matter of whether or not St. Louis County addresses the traffic density with its proposed median U-Turn, or “Michigan Left” project at that intersection, which would widen the streets.
“There is no fix for Hanley and Manchester but for the larger project of the Michigan left turn,” Cannon said.
Developer Hassenflu attended the meeting with both his engineer and architect answering questions from the board.
“This has been a long process to get to this point,” Hassenflu said. “We worked diligently with planning and zoning and city staff to get you the best planning possible… This would be a significant investment in the city of Brentwood.”
A second hearing of the two bills is expected at Brentwood’s next Board of Aldermen meeting on August 15.
