Fenton board approves variance allowing parking to encroach side buffer at 1565 Fenpark Drive

The City of Fenton Board of Adjustment on Jan. 20 approved a variance allowing an off-street parking area at 1565 Fenpark Drive to encroach the required 10-foot side landscaped buffer, reducing the north side buffer to zero to accommodate loading spaces for larger trailers as part of a proposed redevelopment.

Community Development Director Amy Starck told the board that the petitioner seeks relief from Section 415.160(E)(2) of the zoning code to provide access to proposed dock doors and loading spaces on the north elevation. She said staff’s written report — entered into the record — raised concerns about meeting minimum parking requirements, site circulation, truck loading and maneuvering, emergency-vehicle access, and potential ingress and egress conflicts with the neighboring lot; those issues must be addressed in a later site plan review.

Leonard Wolter of St. Louis Marble Company explained to the board that the existing building, built in 1973, was designed for 40-foot trailers and that changes allowing 53-foot trailers, along with the city’s buffer requirements, mean the current configuration cannot receive or dispatch the larger trucks. Wolter said the proposed north-side encroachment is necessary to provide loading spaces; he also told members that engineers and contractors reviewed the plans to ensure adequate maneuvering room and that truck deliveries are limited to about twice a week. When Member Chris Clauss asked whether the building could be reduced to avoid the encroachment, Wolter said a smaller building would not meet his business needs.

Chairperson Gary Siebert moved to approve the variance with conditions; Vice Chairperson Mike Mooney seconded. The motion passed on a 4-1 roll call: Siebert, Mooney, George Phillips and Susan Phillips-Pigg voted yes; Chris Clauss voted no. The approval is expressly limited to the variance from Section 415.160(E)(2) as shown on the site plan submitted with the application and dated Dec. 19, 2025; it requires separate site plan review and approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Aldermen and compliance with all other applicable City of Fenton codes and ordinances.

The board also approved minutes from its July 15, 2025 regular meeting and its July 15, 2025 annual training workshop by unanimous votes. There was no public comment on the variance, and no other business was discussed. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.