Clayton City Council — January 13: Stormwater rules amended on the floor, and three ordinances
The board reworked its stormwater and green-space rules on the floor and passed them on a first reading, adopted a condo plat and a tornado-repair contract, and renewed a mutual aid agreement.
What happened
The Clayton Board of Aldermen met on Tuesday, January 13, with Alderman Jeff Yorg absent and the other six members present. After a public hearing, the board amended the city's proposed stormwater and green-space rules on the floor and passed them on a first reading, holding the second reading for a later meeting. It also adopted a condominium plat, a tornado-repair traffic-signal contract, and the renewal of a regional public-works mutual aid agreement, then voted to enter a closed session and adjourned at 9:02 p.m.
What the board decided
After a public hearing and floor amendments, the board introduced text amendments to the city's zoning, overlay, and storm water control regulations (Bill 7123). Per the minutes, the board adopted a 30-day-from-passage effective date and set the minimum green space in R3 at 45 percent, down from a proposed 50 percent — the effective-date amendment carrying four to two, with Patel and Hummell voting no. The amended ordinance then passed unanimously on a first-reading voice vote, with the second reading held for a later meeting.
The board gave final approval to a condominium plat at 8250 Forsyth Boulevard — a planned development known as Forsythia on the Park, with one commercial unit, 38 residential units, and 82 parking spaces (Bill 7124), which staff said complied with applicable codes. On second reading it was adopted and became Ordinance No. 6983.
It also approved a construction contract (Bill 7125) with Gerstner Electric, Inc. to repair traffic-signal components near South Brentwood Boulevard and Orlando Drive that were damaged in the May 16, 2025 tornado. The minutes put the contractor's base bid at $141,694.00 and the total with four add-alternates at $180,335.00, with change orders not to exceed $9,000.00, and the city to seek reimbursement from FEMA and the state for up to 85 percent of the work. The bill was adopted and became Ordinance No. 6984.
The final ordinance (Bill 7126) renewed the city's Public Works Emergency Response Mutual Aid Agreement with surrounding municipalities, effective February 6, 2026. The bill was adopted and became Ordinance No. 6985, after which the board voted to adjourn to a closed session under several subsections of the state open-meetings law.
The board approved its consent agenda on a roll call before turning to the evening's ordinances.
Who was there
Present per the minutes were Aldermen Susan Buse, Becky Patel, Gary Feder, Rick Hummell, Kami Waldman, and Mayor Bridget McAndrew, with City Manager David Gipson and City Attorney Kevin O'Keefe among staff in attendance.
What they debated
The evening's longest item was a public hearing on the stormwater and zoning amendments, presented by Director of Planning Anna Krane. In the transcript she framed the changes as drawing on the city's comprehensive plan to reduce impervious coverage, manage stormwater runoff, and curb the urban heat-island effect, in part by moving best practices the Metropolitan Sewer District already applies to large sites into local requirements for the smaller infill sites the city handles.
Much of the debate centered on the R3 zoning district, where staff said a concentration of new development on small lots had produced substantial resident concerns about stormwater, and on when the new rules would take effect. The board worked through competing amendments on the floor. As one member put it in the discussion, there was no appetite to rush a complex change through two readings in one sitting:
it doesn't sound like we have unanimous consent for two readings in one night anyways— January 13, 2026 — Meeting Transcript [#qdd2aefea]
Also at the meeting
- In the transcript's discussion of the mutual aid agreement, staff explained that under it the city pays partner cities at their payroll rate for help received and passes eligible costs through to FEMA for reimbursement. Staff also described the renewal as the first in about a decade, with the roster of participating entities expected to keep growing.
- The closed session, moved by Alderman Kami Waldman, was authorized under provisions of the Missouri open-meetings law covering legal, real-estate, personnel, contract-negotiation, proprietary-information, and public-safety matters; its substance is not in the public record.
Public comments
At the meeting's open forum, the minutes record that Steve Arnold, of 210 Brighton Way, addressed the board with a long list of concerns — among them parking attendants, accessibility, streets and sidewalks, architectural and building review, traffic signals, downtown traffic, and Maryland Avenue bike lanes. In the transcript, the chair invites him up as "Mr. Arnold," and he describes himself as a 75-year Clayton resident, handing out copies of his remarks.
During the stormwater public hearing, the minutes name Nancy Georgen, owner of a new build at 304 N. Central Avenue, who raised the ordinance's effective date, urban heat-island mitigation, tree canopy, and the green-space percentage. In the transcript she commended the staff's work but urged a later effective date, warning that several projects were already underway and that the city should reach out to known developers and architects, and argued the measures were "micro solutions to a macro problem," pressing the city to look longer-term at stormwater infrastructure.