Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:

Just as the St. Louis area public was considering lessons learned from the flooding this winter, the St. Charles County Council passed a resolution stating their opposition to an 1,800 acre development in the Maryland Heights floodplain across the river.

This map, showing the proposed development in Maryland Heights across the river from St. Charles City.
This map was published by St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

It didn't hurt that the developer bankrolling the project was Stan Kroenke, the billionaire that had just pulled the Rams out of St. Louis and that he was requesting millions in tax deferments through a TIF to help fund the development. But it also seemed that perhaps the lessons of decades of worsening flooding was making its mark in policies regarding floodplain development.

“The St. Charles County Council hereby opposes any proposal to develop in flood-prone areas or continuing a pattern of development that can be expected to divert flood water onto other areas, which includes the present proposal for redevelopment of the Maryland Park Lake District in the city of Maryland Heights,” the resolution states.

Councilman Joe Brazil initiated the petition and will be joining the Big Muddy Speaker Series to discuss this and other issues facing the Missouri River and its floodplain.