Old Webster Business District Advisory Commission

Old Webster Special Business District Advisory Commission MEETING MINUTES APPROVED MEETING DATE: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 LOCATION: City Hall CALLED TO ORDER: 8:06 AM MEETING ADJOURNED: 8:58 AM NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, May 23, 2017 NAME PRESENT ABSENT Ron Clipp, Chair X Chris Hite X Joe Rath X Stacie Swederska X Morry Cole X Mark Hinkle X Tim Delanty X Micki Hansel X Vacancy Matt Armstrong, Council Liaison X X Mara Perry, City Liaison X Also in attendance: Fran Sudekum – Administrative Support APPROVAL OF MINUTES March minutes were held over to next month for approval. OLD BUSINESS • Rooftop Lighting – Rooftop lighting on Olive + Oak requires a revisit. Dr. Butler has requested to be next to have his building done. Moving further north on Gore requires contacting the property owners; Ron Clipp will contact Bob Peters for the property at the corner of Gore and Pacific and Rolling Ridge will also need to be contacted. The lights are still off on the building at 15 N. Gore; Mara Perry will contact that location. • Landscaping Project – Ron Clipp will contact the property owner of the strip of concrete on Lockwood near Dewey’s to acquire an easement to create and maintain a perennial bed. NEW BUSINESS • Parking – Olive + Oak recently had a very successful event which provided a glimpse into additional parking demands in the District when their expansion opens. Possible parking adjustments were discussed to address this demand, such as rearrangements of some orange permit parking spots, adding some 15-minute spots for quick pickups, and letting customers use some of the spots in the employee lot for customers. ▪ Matt Armstrong requested Commission members share their concerns with City Council members to get them up to date with current parking concerns in Old Webster.  ▪ Parking demands will increase once Half and Half opens, as well as whenever the former Auto Beauty location gets a new tenant. ▪ The former Gerber location will bring additional demands as well once it’s redeveloped; however, there may be some temporary uses for parking during the process that could be looked into. • Memorial Bench – A private citizen has come forward with a request. He would like to purchase a bench in memory of his son and place it in the District. Per Joe Rath, in the past, the individual paid for the bench and the District paid for the in- memorandum plaque on the bench. We do not need any additional benches in the District at this time; therefore, the individual could pick one of the existing benches and the District would add a plaque to it. • Mark Hinkle inquired if there is a list of the types of businesses that we would like to encourage to open in Old Webster. Mara stated she maintains a list of vacant properties in Webster Groves and directs inquires she receives to match up with locations. Mara also stated the Business Development Commission is working on items related to business development. • Stacie Swederska suggested the new AirBnB’s should be given the various “what to do in Webster” type brochures to provide to their renters. • The optical shop at the corner of Gore and Moody is vacant. • There is a vacancy on the Commission; members should talk to those in Old Webster to fill the need. CITY UPDATE • The former Gerber Chapel properties – the back building has a new tenant, the garages on Moody are for sale, and zoning the main location for planned commercial gives the developer many options. • The Orchard Alley request will go for final approval at the May 4th City Council meeting. The request is anchored by the former Natural Way property and includes the use of the new liquor/drinking establishment code, an outdoor patio and more. • The short-term rental AirBnB type uses has gone thru two readings; it carries requirements for neighbor notifications. The properties must be Webster Groves owner-occupied. ADJOURNED Meeting adjourned at 8:58 AM. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 23, 2016 at 8:00 AM – City Hall.