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Council continues vote on Covenant Seminary annexation after neighbors press for arborist study and stronger protections
Summary
Creve Coeur council continued final action on Amended Bill 6122 (annexation of seminary-owned property) after residents raised tree-preservation and flooding concerns; the developer offered concessions (increased buffer, plantings, conservation easement and an increased payment offer up to $10,000) and the council asked for an independent arborist report before reconvening.
Creve Coeur city council deferred final action on Amended Bill 6122, a proposed municipal-boundary adjustment to annex property owned by Covenant Theological Seminary, after multiple residents and the developer negotiated changes and asked for an independent arborist assessment.
Tom Gibbs, president of Covenant Theological Seminary, told the council the seminary no longer needs the roughly half-acre parcel and that a sale and annexation could be mutually beneficial to the institution and neighboring Balcon Estates. Nearby residents — including Maureen Strassheim and Becky Gieseking — said they are not opposed to development in principle but pressed the council and developer for stronger protections for mature trees, better assurances against increased flood risk and a more meaningful escrow or compensation if boundary trees die as a result of construction.
Developer representatives from Grama Communities and Fisher Homes (Robert Hayes) described multiple plan changes made in response to neighborhood concerns: consolidating stormwater basins, shifting lots east and south, increasing preserved woodlands to about 1.2 acres and raising open space to 48%. Hayes told the council the developer had moved the retaining wall progressively to create a larger buffer and offered a conservation easement on the new landscaping and additional plantings "in perpetuity" to be maintained by the Deer Apollo HOA. Hayes said the developer had increased a prior $5,000 offer to a $10,000 contribution if that would be better received by residents.
Residents and some council members requested an independent, point-by-point arborist report enumerating trees in the buffer zone and a survivability assessment tied to excavation and retaining-wall construction. The developer's arborist identified nine trees north of the property line (three in good condition, two poor, four fair) and said the development's stormwater improvements should reduce onsite runoff by about 82%, but residents disputed the tree count and asked for detailed surveys so an escrow amount could be calculated based on likely replacement or removal costs. Council members noted the city's jurisdiction is limited to roughly 0.57 acres in this matter and emphasized that Town and Country would have an independent vote on any annexation.
After discussion the council voted to continue consideration to the next meeting (noted in the record as July 9) so residents and the developer could exchange arborist data, prepare a proposed legal agreement, and allow staff to review a draft escrow/compensation instrument. A continuance motion carried in roll call vote; the council instructed staff and the parties to return with an arborist report and a written agreement for formal consideration.
