The city of Truesdale now has a zoning code outlining acceptable land use and plans for future development. That code was approved by the Truesdale Board of Aldermen following a public hearing at their Oct. 23 meeting. 

The city had contracted with PGAV Planners, an urban planning firm in St. Louis, to help construct the ordinances that now make up its zoning code. 

According to City Clerk Elsa Smith-Fernandez, PGAV also helped write Jonesburg’s zoning code and they were hired with Jonesburg’s recommendation. That contract was approved for up to $32,000 with roughly $20,000 spent, according to Alderman Kari Hartley. The board discussed using the remaining funds to keep PGAV on retainer for any issues that may arise related to the zoning code and asked John Brancaglione with PGAV to prepare an agreement for their next meeting. 

Truesdale’s new zoning map divides the city with eight distinct types of zoning, each with their own specific acceptable uses and plans. 

Agricultural zoning is straightforward, and delineates properties intended for agricultural use. R-1 and R-2 residential are intended to be used for housing, while R-3 residential is specifically for mobile, or manufactured homes. 

C-1 commercial focuses on smaller commercial operations that are “oriented to local residents” according to the zoning code while C-2 commercial focuses on larger, or more regionally oriented business, with much of the city’s C-2 zoning located on properties that are adjacent to Interstate 70. 

Industrial zoning allows for other uses but is primarily focused on manufacturing, businesses operating or selling heavy equipment and office space. 

The zoning code also delineates several varieties of planned development districts, for residential, mixed use and industrial. 

According to the zoning code planned development districts are used to “provide a means of achieving greater flexibility in development of land in a manner not always possible in conventional zoning districts.”

Planned developments would require board approval under the new zoning code. 

Brancaglione discussed some of the finer points of the zoning code including changes made to accommodate lot sizes for residential use and mobile homes. There had to be two different types of single family residential zoning to account for discrepancies in lot sizes that PGAV discovered between R-1 residential and R-2 residential zoning. 

Brancaglione said during their design process they found two different typical lot sizes in Truesdale, 8,500 square feet and 7,500 square feet, and zoned the developments with those sized lots accordingly. 

He said he largely pulled sections for mobile homes, or manufactured homes from Truesdale’s existing building code but added language from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development describing manufactured homes. 

“The federal government, the Department of Housing and Urban Development changed the standards, updated them, so there’s a different code of federal regulations citation that’s now in this version of the code,” said Brancaglione. 

Licenses are required to build a mobile, or manufactured home in Truesdale. 

Brancaglione also included language from a Supreme Court ruling arising from Creve Coeur providing municipalities the right to refuse any conditional use permit application at their discretion, regardless of whether or not it meets acceptable uses. 

Alongside the new zoning code, the board approved a resolution defining and regulating adult businesses. While the ordinance is separate from the zoning code it will work in conjunction with the code. 

The ordinance defines an adult business as any business selling any form of “adult” entertainment whether live or in the form of videos, books or others, as well as any facility involved in the production of said materials. It also regulates bathhouses, massage parlors and erotic dance establishments. 

Under the ordinance, these businesses are allowed to operate in C-2 commercial or I-1 industrial zoning districts. Under both zoning districts they would still be subject to board approval as a site plan review is required for adult businesses in C-2 commercial and a conditional use permit is required for them in I-1 industrial. 

They are also prohibited from operating within 1,200 feet of any religious institution, school, public park or any property zoned for residential use, according to the ordinance. 

“Planning and Zoning approved all of that Monday evening, so if approved tonight, this can all be put to bed,” said Hartley, who also sits on Truesdale’s Planning and Zoning Commission.