Webster Groves planning commission affirms comprehensive plan recommendation after public hearing, 7-2

The Webster Groves Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed comprehensive plan on Sept. 8 and voted 7-2 to affirm its prior recommendation to forward the draft to City Council. The commission’s action confirms the commission’s prior vote and sends the 214-page draft plan on for Council review, hearings and any amendments.

The vote came after roughly two hours of public comment and commission discussion focused on housing diversity, parking and the plan’s level of prescriptive detail. Commission members and staff emphasized that the comprehensive plan is a guidance document and that zoning changes would follow only after the plan is adopted.

At the hearing, several residents urged the commission to clarify how the plan would affect residential neighborhoods. “Will all of the neighborhoods have the opportunity to participate in increasing the diversity of our city, the housing diversity of our cities?” asked Mary Forrener, who identified herself as…