Clayton City Council — January 27: A new Missouri Athletic Club, a stormwater rewrite, and renewed school officers
The board cleared a conditional use permit for a new Missouri Athletic Club, adopted a stormwater and green-space ordinance with one abstention, and renewed its school resource officer agreement.
What happened
The Clayton Board of Aldermen met on Tuesday, January 27, with all six members and Mayor Bridget McAndrew present and no one absent. The night's main actions were a conditional use permit for a new Missouri Athletic Club location, final adoption of a stormwater and green-space ordinance, and a renewed agreement putting school resource officers in the Clayton school district. The board also approved its consent agenda and withdrew a Shaw Park tennis-court lighting contract that was not yet ready.
What the board decided
- After a public hearing, the board granted a conditional use permit (Resolution No. 2026-01) for the Missouri Athletic Club at 7701 Forsyth Boulevard — the club's third location, in the space that previously housed the St. Louis Club, with Greg Gerber and Chip Misch of the club addressing the board, and the resolution passing unanimously on a voice vote.
- The board gave final approval to Bill No. 7123.1, amending city code Chapters 405, 410, and 430 to adopt revised greenspace and stormwater-management regulations, which became Ordinance No. 6986. The minutes record that Alderman Yorg announced he would abstain due to a conflict of interest, and the bill passed on a roll-call vote with ayes from Buse, Patel, Feder, Hummell, Waldman, and Mayor McAndrew — six ayes, with Alderman Yorg abstaining.
- The board also renewed the city's school resource officer (SRO) agreement with the School District of Clayton. The minutes record that the previous agreement had expired on August 31, 2025, and that the new agreement is substantially the same, expiring August 31, 2027. It was introduced as Bill No. 7127, adopted the same night by unanimous consent, and passed second reading on a roll call with all seven members voting aye, becoming Ordinance No. 6987.
- The board approved its consent agenda on a roll-call vote.
Who was there
The minutes record that the board convened with all six members and Mayor Bridget McAndrew present and no one absent.
What they debated
The minutes record the application as a private club with dining space, a lounge, a bar, meeting rooms, and a cigar lounge. According to the meeting transcript, the club's plan was 44,000 square feet with 295 seats and parking for 30 employees and 50 patrons in the building's garage, and staff said the Plan Commission had reviewed the request and given it a favorable recommendation. Most of the discussion, per the transcript, was about parking and the club's design. Members asked how the club would handle days when more than 50 patrons needed spaces; the applicants said large evening events would fall outside peak office-parking hours, and that the club would have access to more than 50 spaces with overflow, especially at night. On the cigar lounge, the applicants described a separated, ventilated space:
there is going to be a vestibule that's being built right now, a set of double doors working our way into the room with a smoke eater in between— January 27, 2026 — Meeting Transcript [#q4a0bee1c]
Asked about sustainability, the applicants pointed to their green-dining practices, noting they have a chef who appeared on a zero-waste cooking program.
On the stormwater ordinance, staff explained that after the January 13 public hearing the minimum green space for the R3 district had been lowered from 50% to 45%, and the ordinance carried a delayed effective date of February 12. One member praised the change as an example of residents shaping an ordinance by speaking up, and the abstaining member gave his reason on the record:
For the record, I'll abstain from the vote because we've got, Catherine and I will probably have a proposal coming through related to building on the house— January 27, 2026 — Meeting Transcript [#q009fa216]
On the SRO agreement, Police Chief Mark Smith addressed the board to answer questions. In discussion recorded on the transcript, the chief described the program's reach: the city has three officers — one at the high school, one at the middle school, and one that rotates among the elementary schools, and he noted their value in emergencies, including being held over for an additional 12 hours during the tornado.
Also at the meeting
- Staff withdrew the Musco Sports Lighting contract for the Shaw Park Tennis Center lighting project indefinitely, pending additional information.
- On the transcript, staff said the tennis-court lighting contractor wanted one more field inspection once the snow cleared, and expected the item back in February or March.
- In committee reports, members described, according to the transcript, an Economic Development Committee newly chaired by a former city manager, a special business district advisory board working within a budget the transcript put at about half a million dollars, and a joint security-camera project with the school district whose cost grew by about $34,000 on a roughly $165,000 base.
- Members also flagged state legislation to watch, including, per the transcript, a push to roll municipal building codes back to older standards and proposals affecting a grocery sales tax and the juvenile justice scoring system.
- The board adjourned at 7:56 p.m..
Public comments
The meeting opened with an open forum for residents to address items not on the agenda. The minutes record no open-forum speakers, and the transcript corroborates that no one in the audience or online asked to speak before the board moved to its regular agenda.