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Applicant seeks expanded outdoor seating at Natural Bridge Road location; council hears code-violation history
Summary
At a public hearing on application 26PZ-05, Planning & Zoning staff described conditions for approving expanded outdoor dining at 12207 Unit A Natural Bridge Road while disclosing several outstanding code violations tied to the property; the applicant said interior occupancy is 99 and requested 10 additional outdoor seats. The council closed the hearing after no public opposition and left the record open for exhibits.
Planning and Zoning Officer Zach Greitens reopened the record for public hearing application 26PZ-05 and described a request to amend a previously approved special-use permit (ordinance 16-20) to expand an outdoor seating and dining area at 12207 Unit A Natural Bridge Road in the B-2 Community Business District.
Greitens read the city's exhibits into the record and summarized the planning commission's recommendation and conditions, saying: "The conditions ... specify the limits of the seating area delineated on the site plan, with perimeter fencing to match the existing fence, finished with a concrete surface" and that ADA-compliant access, trash and dumpster screening, and compliance with Saint Louis County noise regulations were required. He also disclosed outstanding code enforcement matters that the prosecuting attorney's office had listed, including a sign needing repair, dumpsters not properly screened, trailers and storage containers placed improperly, and deteriorating metal posts.
Applicant Lakisha Sanders testified that the interior occupancy is currently 99 and that the previously approved outdoor seating had been described to staff as seating for "40," but she said the outdoor space has no formal numeric limit and she was requesting 10 additional patio seats. Sanders also addressed a removed section of sidewalk, saying it was "cracked up" and unsafe and that replacement was planned but that staff had advised seating approval be secured before replacing concrete. The council said it would clarify outdoor-capacity numbers with the Robertson Fire District.
The council heard questions about prior incidents of cars entering the storefront area; Sanders said those events had occurred twice and that she is not the building owner. Greitens said special-event permits and documentation from adjacent property owners are required for larger events and that public works and police review those requests.
No members of the public spoke in favor or opposition during the hearing; the mayor closed the public hearing after entering exhibits. The council did not take a final vote on the special-use amendment at this meeting and left the record open for exhibits and further review.
