Having a storage lot next to neighborhoods and schools is undesirable, according to Wright City’s elected leaders. It might also be impossible for them to stop.

In early December, a Warren County government office issued building permits for several rows of self-storage sheds near the northwest corner of Bell Road and Westwoods Road. The buildings will be placed on a 17-acre property across the corner from Wright City Middle School.

City leaders, who said they learned of the permits only as they were being issued, became abruptly aware a concern that they have little power to address: The county government allows self-storage units (and several other types of businesses) to be placed almost anywhere in unincorporated parts of the county, without any public hearing or special permission.

That’s a revelation that has Wright City leaders scanning their boundaries and worrying about whether and where more storage units will be approved next to the city’s growing residential subdivisions. Plus, they’re taking note of several such facilities that are already popping up just a little further away.

“The citizens of Wright City have adamantly opposed new outdoor storage units within city limits,” commented Alderman Ramiz Hakim on Facebool. “The county has approved numerous outdoor storage units around us. ... This development directly impacts the quality of life of the people I represent.”

What’s the issue?

To understand what’s causing friction here, we need a very brief crash course on an area of law called “planning and zoning,” or “P&Z” for short.

P&Z laws are meant to ensure orderly development and prevent conflicts between neighboring property owners. P&Z designates every single property as a certain type of “zone” — such as agricultural, residential or commercial — and outlines what types of activities or structures are allowed in each zone.

City and county governments have completely independent P&Z laws, meaning the rules inside a city boundary can be completely different than outside.

So here’s the current issue: The county government’s P&Z rules for agricultural properties are very permissive, allowing a broad variety of businesses and activities that have little to nothing to do with agriculture. Many of these businesses require a public hearing and a special permit, but some don’t, including self-storage units.

To give just a few other examples, the county’s ag zones also allow animal auction houses, farm machinery sales/service lots, heavy construction and industrial equipment lots, and trucking terminals, all without any public hearings or special permits.

What Wright City wants

Wright City leaders say they’re starting to petition the Warren County Commission to tighten the county’s rules on what businesses are allowed without any input from the public.

Mayor Michelle Heiliger said that in response to initial outreach, the county commission has agreed to meet with all of the mayors within the county to discuss any concerns over planning and zoning. She commented that the county’s overall plan for future development is 20 years out of date compared to what local cities are currently experiencing.

“I would love to see them amend their policy on agricultural ground and (commercial) storage units. ... I think there should be a designation between those things,” Heiliger said, adding that the county should acknowledge each city’s preferences for future growth.

Warren County Presiding Commissioner Joe Gildehaus told The Record that he reached out to all of Warren County’s mayors individually after receiving the concern, and will have a followup discussion with all of them as a group in the near future. However, he and Northern District Commissioner Matt Flake said the commission doesn’t have any comment on whether those discussions will lead to any changes in the county’s planning and zoning rules.