04/11/2005 Regular - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regular Meeting April 11, 2005 case. Ms. Welsch said she understood his concerns because of her work at the Green Center and with the River des Peres Watershed Coalition. She feels that the overcharging of the River des Peres system in the rains is a system wide problem and the concerns along his stretch have been exacerbated because of the work done in the past three years further upstream where the channel has been widened and more water flows through. She said she would like to look at his concerns but would like to know the amount of impervious surfaces on this lot now and what the percentage would be after the development and after talking to the developer to see if some of the parking areas could be paved in more pervious development. The pavers that increase the pervious surfaces because of the rains coming down would increase rain going into the ground. If this increased impervious surfaces slightly, that may have a slight impact on that stream, but in the defense of the developer, the problems of the River des Peres are coming from further west. There may be an impact, but it would not be the tipping point. She sees major problems upstream where there is a huge channel gathering rainfall from Overland and western University City, coming down past Mr. Slade’s place and then going around a curve, which causes a back-up. She hopes the developer can be consulted about pervious surfaces, if this is approved, but she sees it as a larger problem than the Farmer’s Market. It is appropriate to talk with MSD. Mr. Slade responded that he agreed what she said was correct, but as an example, all of the drains from the parking lots flow into the River des Peres along their property. There are no back flow valves at all. His property floods long before the water goes over the wall of the creek, because of the backup there. He did not say that the Farmer’s Market development will be the straw that broke the camel’s back, but it surely cannot help and will add to an existing problem. There has been no response whatsoever. MSD has made no effort to clean the curve that Ms. Welsch mentioned. Silt and debris is probably thigh-high in that area, and it is a crucial point where water flows around a curve. Mr. Ollendorff sent information in an effort of cooperation, but this is a very large process, where earth-moving equipment and dump trucks are needed. A handful of neighbors cannot clean up the area and it is an ongoing need. In addition to flooding, there is great concern about what Farmer’s Market is doing in general. For example, one major item is that it will be the only three story structure along Olive Boulevard. His apartments front to the back of their property. His tenants will have to look at the wall proposed for construction. Refrigeration equipment will be placed on the roof of the building. It is screened to the front of the building, but the back of their building is to the front on his building and tenants do not want to open their windows at night and listen to the noise. Additional refrigeration will be added and that at the rear of the building is not maintained properly, he asserted. There is trash blowing around and the parking lot is in need of repair. Flooding and sewer backup is the major concern, but they are just two of a very large handful of concerns. There are many others of concern to them and to the residents of Hafner Place such as the traffic Page 9