Commission questions retaining-wall encroachment, stormwater detention and tree loss at 11 Saint Alfred Road

The Olivette Planning and Community Design Commission reviewed a petition on May 1 to build a new single-story house at 11 Saint Alfred Road and spent significant time on two technical site issues: a proposed retaining wall whose geogrid would extend onto an adjacent lot, and whether the roof-area stormwater detention system may legally accept runoff from the rear yard.

Carlos Trejo, director of Planning and Community Development, told the commission the lot is triangular and constrained by multiple easements. The retained geogrid needed for the proposed modular block retaining wall would extend roughly 5–6 feet onto the neighbor’s property, Trejo said, and the city’s “best practice” is to avoid improvements that occupy two separate property titles. “It’s not ideal to have a structure that embraces two different properties,” Trejo said.

Petitioner Jeff Eichols, who identified his address as 15 Saint Alfred Road (the adjacent owner to the south) and said he is the owner of the 11 Saint Alfred parcel, told the commission he…