City planning official outlines Plan STL neighborhood planning to support reuse of SLPS properties
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Summary
Jonathan Roper of the City of St. Louis Planning & Urban Design Agency presented Plan STLneighborhood planning program, funded by a 2017 economic development sales tax, and described tools (planning, incentives, implementation awards) to help guide reuse of vacant school sites and align city investment with school-area redevelopment.
Jonathan Roper, a planner with the City of St. Louis Planning and Urban Design Agency, briefed the SLPS Real Estate Committee on Plan STL on Jan. 26 and described how neighborhood plans can support reuse of closed school properties.
Roper said Plan STL is the city's official neighborhood planning program funded by the 2017 economic development sales tax and typically runs 16—18 months per plan. The process includes community engagement, data collection and analysis, drafting strategies across topics such as housing, economic development, transportation, arts and culture, sustainability and safety, and then formal adoption through the city's Planning Commission.
Roper highlighted Plan Area 1 (Greater Kingsway East) and said adopted neighborhood plans can inform capital-improvement budgets and five-year consolidated housing plans, and create opportunities for implementation funding or incentives from the city's community development agency. He discussed adaptive reuse, subdivision and development scenarios using examples such as Sumner High School and Cook School, and explained that subdivision or phasing can change a site's development economics.
When asked about urban agriculture and street trees, Roper said the city generally avoids fruit-bearing trees in the public right-of-way but supports urban agriculture on vacant lots and can include site-appropriate plantings and temporary "pop-up" demonstrations in plans.
Roper invited SLPS staff and trustees to upcoming open houses and launch events for Plan STL areas and advised that the building division is the correct contact for reporting vacant building registrations. He emphasized the potential to coordinate city planning incentives and district marketing to improve the feasibility of reuse projects.
What happens next: Roper and city staff will share Plan STL materials and invite committee members to launch events; neighborhoods slated for planning expansion include additional plan areas to be launched in the coming weeks.
