The Warrenton Board of Aldermen voted unanimously, “by court order,” to approve the site plan and preliminary plat for a second Dollar General on April 15 at the intersection of Highway 47 and Isabella Drive that was denied last year. 

The board previously denied the plans citing traffic and safety concerns in July 2024, and Dollar General Partners filed a lawsuit alleging the board acted outside of its legislative authority in August. 

On March 10, Senior Judge Richard Zerr issued a judgement ordering the board to approve the preliminary plat, record plat and revised site plan, or potentially face legal damages. 

Furthermore, the judgement stated “the board had no discretion to deny the site plan or to exercise discretion to deny, due to perceived safety concerns related to traffic on Isabella (Drive) and Highway 47. The board did not have discretions to deny the plat and plan because it did not believe DG Partners’ proposal was the ‘best possible design for the tract. ’”

The city, Mayor Eric Schlueter and Aldermen Larry Corder, Scott Schulze, Brandon Lang, Roger Romaker, Steven Cullom and Jack Crump were all named in the lawsuit. This meant even if the measure passed, individual aldermen could still face further litigation for voting against its approval. 

Mayor Eric Schlueter expressed his disappointment at the decision, but said the board would follow the decision handed down from the judge. 

“We do abide by what a judge advises,” said Schlueter. “That doesn’t mean we don’t have our own personal opinions on certain things.”

Traffic concerns arose surrounding the development since the site plan involved the use of a curb cut on Isabella Drive as the only entrance to the property. 

Melissa Jepsen asked the board at the meeting to work with MoDOT and continue to focus on maintenance on Isabella Drive. She also asked that the board work to address perceived loopholes in the city’s code that allowed the Dollar General to move forward. 

“The thing I ask for is that we address the loopholes and the issues that are in our planning and zoning whatever regulations that we apparently don’t have right now to avoid being bullied into this happening again,” said Jepsen.

Schlueter said the board is working towards adding additional regulations and enforcement powers for the city so they have more discretion when making decisions on developments in the future. 

“Almost everything has loopholes, I hate it but it’s the truth, and to go through this process that we just went through is how we fix those unfortunately,” said Schlueter. 

Board members and residents were concerned the increase in traffic, especially freight traffic, would be a detriment to the road, which serves as the primary entrance to several subdivisions. 

Representatives for the Dollar General had previously pledged they would use box trucks, not semis, for deliveries at the location but board members were not convinced. 

“What we came to was we had some safety concerns with semi trucks using Isabella (Drive),” said Alderman Brandon Lang at the July 18 meeting. 

The board asked the Dollar General to instead speak with MoDOT about using an entrance on Highway 47, but per MoDOT requirements this is not an option. 

MoDOT regulations require at least 330 feet between entrances on Highway 47, and there was not enough room on the plat for the Dollar General to accommodate those requirements. 

The northern half of the property, which was not being developed, would have satisfied the distance requirements. Dollar General Partners asserted in a writ of mandamus the property owner did not want development on that portion of the property or an entrance from Highway 47. 

Elizabeth Lum, legal counsel for Dollar General Partners, had asked the board to reconsider their decision since the development did not run afoul of any city ordinances or zoning regulations. 

“This is an administrative matter, in which the only inquiry is whether or not the plat and the site plan satisfy the criteria set forth in the (city) code,” said Lum at the July 18 meeting. 

Judge Zerr upheld this assertion stating “The board could not exercise its discretion in requiring multiple entrances to the proposed plats, for traffic safety reasons, because the ordinance did not provide an objective standard that would have to be met to be entitled to approval,” in his ruling. 

Schlueter hoped the board would learn from the experiences so they were better prepared to guide developments in the future. 

“I wish we had the wherewithal to see it beforehand, but sometimes you don’t,” said Schlueter.