O'Fallon Planning & Zoning

Blue Ridge: the item to watch

• Developer Bill Lueckenhaus (Lueckenhaus Properties) wants 18 lots at 52 ft wide instead of the 11 lots straight R-1 would allow. Homes would average about $450K. He says 18 lots is what makes the site financially feasible.
• Staff gave findings both for denial and for approval. The case for denial was that the plan doesn't meet the PUD's intent to preserve natural features and provide open space. Conditions in case of approval included a 6-inch curb on Deer Creek Dr, a mail kiosk detail, and Fish & Wildlife habitat-removal documentation.
• The site needs heavy fill, roughly 4,000 truckloads by the developer's own rough guess. Commissioner Seymour questioned building homes on fill and pointed to foundation cracks he has seen in Somerset. The developer answered with a letter from his soils engineer (Holland Engineering) and said fill will be compacted in 8-inch layers with city inspection.
• Residents opposed and presented a petition with more than 120 signatures. Concerns were dump trucks damaging Elaine and Deer Creek Drives, stormwater and the creek, Army Corps and DNR permits, bald eagles nesting nearby, and a possible future county road through the site. The developer said the county roads director told him that road won't be built.
• The city said it will assess the road before and after construction and will require a construction truck route.
• Next step: O'Fallon City Council "next week" (likely around Oct 8, 2026).

100 Hwy P (A&E Entertainment)

• Investment of about $14.5M by a local family. Two basketball courts that convert to volleyball or pickleball, baseball training, a covered turf field for flag football, restaurants and "experiential" retail such as golf simulators, and 263 parking spaces. Most of the retail space is said to be committed.
• The Board of Adjustment had already approved the parking setback variance along Hwy P. MoDOT concurred with the traffic study, and there will be a new Hwy P entrance plus access from Capri Dr.
• Old Schaefer Lane neighbors asked for a clearly defined 6-ft privacy fence, evergreen screening, limits on the outdoor stage (hours, amplified sound), and glare control. Commissioners pressed on noise and light. The developer said there will be no tournaments and team games will be spaced apart to limit traffic.
• Conditions: an entrance street light near Hwy P (or a MoDOT letter refusing one), a sidewalk agreement with the neighboring gas station, and truck-turning exhibits for the trash enclosure.

Other items

• 4401 Hwy K: the storage building is for a new Indian fine-dining restaurant opening in a couple of months. Color elevations are required, and any AC unit, on the roof or the ground, must be screened.
• Villages at Bush Wildlife (Lombardo Homes): held up by a lawsuit challenging the property's annexation, and the city is a party to it. The city attorney said the lawsuit doesn't affect the plat extension. Lombardo now owns part of the land.
• Public comment during the meeting objected that the September minutes have not been posted or approved.

Council actions reported

• Council denied the conditional use permit for a senior living building at Mexico Rd and Bryan Rd.
• The Chapter 400 land-use code update was approved by council and takes effect in March 2027. That will change O'Fallon's zoning rules.
• North Main Retail Center (under construction) is switching its front bump-outs from EIFS to white fiber-cement panels.

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