By Chris OrletRecord Managing EditorA vote on the formation of a transportation development district (TDD) in Warrenton will go forward, a judge has ruled.Franklin County Associate Circuit Court Judge Stanley Williams set a special mail-in election for Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014.According to an order handed down earlier this month, Williams found that the proposed TDD was neither illegal nor unconstitutional, that it did not present an undue burden on property owners within the proposed district, and that the district was not unjust or unreasonable.Warrenton Mayor Jerry Dyer said city officials anticipated the results. “There was really no reason for the judge to deny the district,” he said.Last February the city proposed forming a TDD to obtain funding for a second Warrenton interchange along Interstate 70 about 2.1 miles west of the current Highway 47 interchange. The interchange would be funded by a 1 percent sales tax imposed on purchases within the proposed district.Several local business owners filed objections to the TDD.Lawyers representing the three opposing business entities, Fastlane Inc., doing business as Holiday Inn Express, Fastlane Group Inc., d/b/a Fastlane North, and the Fastlane Central Partners LLC, d/b/a Fastlane Central, argued last September that the interchange project failed to benefit the businesses inside the district, and, in fact, would burden them with a sales tax for the next 20 years.Lawyers also argued that all city residents should have a vote.In an 11-page order, Judge Williams ruled that while the proposed sales tax may adversely impact Fastlane’s business, the governing law regarding TDDs limits the relevant legal issues to block one. He held that Fastlane failed to provide legal reasons why the district shouldn’t be allowed. Williams also rejected the arguments made by a group of property owners who also opposed the TDD saying their filing was legally insufficient. Lawyers for the city argued that the Fastlane group’s real complaint was about the funding mechanism, and had nothing to do with the TDD. They said the argument that the interchange project is outside the TDD isn’t relevant because there is no statute that requires a project to be within the borders of a district.City Attorney Chris Graville said most of the opponent’s objections were speculative, including the notion that the interchange would create new businesses and more competition. The case for a second interchange received a setback last fall when the full membership of the Boonslick Regional Planning Commission voted not to raise the project’s rating from medium to high priority.City officials asked the commission to move the overpass for the enhanced rating in order to increase their chances of funding from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The full membership rejected the request. The Transportation Advisory Council ratings are presented to MoDOT. Only projects rated high priority are considered by MoDOT, though they are not guaranteed funding.Dyer said the city would continue to move forward with the TDD. “We will play it out how it comes,” he said. “If we can get enough votes we will go ahead and use the district for something else for the city.”Dyer said the city had no choice but to move forward. “The judge has put everything in motion and we’ve got to follow through with that.”Voters must apply for a ballot by Jan. 14. Voters have until March 25 to return the ballots. The ballot, which will be sent to the 13 residents living in the proposed district, will ask voters to decide whether to approve the district, approve the transportation project and approve the funding method to fund the transportation project.Judge: Vote On TDD to Go Forward