Creve Coeur planning commission continues Key Cannabis drive-through hearing after resident objections

The Creve Coeur Planning and Zoning Commission continued the public hearing for a proposed drive-through pickup window at Key Cannabis, 105 North Lindbergh Boulevard, after multiple residents raised traffic, noise, lighting and property-maintenance concerns.

Chris Isenhoff, chief compliance officer for Elevate Cannabis and Key Cannabis Dispensaries, described the proposal as a pickup-only window that would accept orders placed through the company’s app or website, with customers coming to a service window to pay and receive products. "It is a drive-through pickup window where all orders will be placed prior to through our web app or our phone application," Isenhoff said, emphasizing the pickup-only nature and noting that state regulations require identity and age verification be completed at the point of sale.

Architect Chad Hansen and other consultants reviewed minor exterior changes — a small blue awning, a service window in the existing canopy and restriping and resurfacing of the parking lot — and said the proposed single-lane stacking plan would provide room for three to five vehicles with additional on-site capacity if needed.

City staff, led by Director of Community Development Jason Jagie, told commissioners the dispensary is a permitted use in commercial districts but that the drive-through component is a conditional use requiring scrutiny of stacking, circulation and screening. Staff recommended conditions including hours that match retail operations, no external speakers or menu boards, improved landscaping and maintenance work on the parking lot and cross-access areas.

Neighbors spoke at length. Greg and Terry Wolffner raised concerns about maintenance and safety of the adjacent AT&T-owned parking area, reports of people smoking in the lot, headlight glare and the visibility of the proposed signage from their backyard; they asked for an 8-foot privacy fence and added landscape screening. Resident Marty Satz, a former planning and zoning commissioner, argued the site’s Ladue Road access presents already-difficult left-turn movements in evening peak hours and said the commission should weigh the neighborhood’s quality-of-life impacts against modest tax revenue gains.

Staff said the site benefits from an existing cross-access easement that allows the dispensary to use portions of the AT&T-owned lot but acknowledged maintenance responsibilities and signage details needed further review. Staff also noted Colorado/Missouri state licensing and public-safety regulation limits on what the city can require for dispensaries while retaining authority to regulate the conditional drive-through component.

A commissioner moved to continue the public hearing to allow the applicant and staff to provide more information on ownership and maintenance of the cross-access area, signage and screening, and traffic/circulation details. The motion was seconded and approved on a roll call recorded as ayes; the hearing will return to a future commission meeting.