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Peculiar Board adopts zoning change to shrink state-road setbacks
Summary
The Peculiar Board of Aldermen on Sept. 8 approved an ordinance reducing certain setback requirements adjacent to state-maintained roads, a change staff said will remove a de facto 95-foot development barrier and allow previously difficult parcels to be developed.
The Peculiar Board of Aldermen voted Sept. 8 to adopt an ordinance amending the city’s zoning setback rules for property adjacent to state-maintained roads, a change city staff said is intended to remove a significant barrier to development.
Mr. Eppert, who presented the proposal, told the board the ordinance would remove several subsections from the code so that a uniform 30-foot setback from the property line would apply in affected zoning districts rather than the larger effective buffer that has made some parcels hard to build. "Staff is recommending that we go, and look at the setbacks for the current zoning of those, zoning districts within those specific properties," he said, adding that Missouri Department of Transportation review would still be required for any project.
During technical questions, a board member asked whether the setback was measured from the center line or the road edge; Mr. Eppert clarified the amended language sets a 30-foot setback from the property line and that most affected lots are zoned R-1 or C-1. He said the code’s prior 95-foot figure was creating development challenges and that the change aims to make vacant parcels buildable again.
The board opened a public hearing on the ordinance but no members of the public spoke before the hearing was closed. The board then conducted first and second readings by title only, read the ordinance title into the record, and called a roll-call vote. Aldermen Earhart, Gallagher, Grunewald, Poland and Wells voted yes and the ordinance was adopted (listed in the minutes as Ordinance 090825 upon passage).
The ordinance does not bypass state review: Mr. Eppert emphasized that MoDOT would remain involved in approvals for projects adjacent to state roads. The change affects how the city measures and applies setbacks for certain parcels and is intended to reduce an obstacle officials said has kept some property vacant.
The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2025; the adopted ordinance takes effect according to the city’s standard enactment practices in the municipal code unless a date was specified elsewhere in the record.
