Kirkwood holds public hearing on rezoning request for portion of 1120 Earl Avenue

Kirkwood City Council recessed into a public hearing Thursday to consider a request to rezone a portion of 1120 Earl Avenue from R-4 single-family residential to B-3 highway business so the owner can combine that portion with adjacent commercial property at 10921 Manchester. The council did not vote; the application will appear on the council agenda for first reading on April 3, 2025.

The rezoning request would apply only to the west side of a stream that crosses the 1120 Earl lot. "The portion that the applicant is asking to rezone is on the west side of the creek, and it's not, for the most part, in the flood plain," City Planner II Amy Lowry said during the staff presentation. Lowry said the full 1120 Earl parcel is about 21,000 square feet and the rezoning request covers roughly 7,600 square feet.

Why it matters: the rezoned parcel would be joined by boundary adjustment to an existing commercial property at 10921 Manchester and could be used for a small addition to an existing yoga studio and for a parking area. Lowry told the council the Planning and Zoning Commission subcommittee and the full commission reviewed the application and that the commission recommended approval, "by a vote of 6 to 1," citing…