The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has passed a bill that adds additional zoning protections for most commercial areas in Forest Park Southeast by establishing the Grove Commercial Area Special Use District (Grove SUD).
The Grove SUD overlays existing zoning district regulations and prohibits or restricts many potentially troublesome new businesses that otherwise might be allowed under existing zoning laws.
Examples of new businesses that are prohibited include: free standing package liquor stores, bars without a restaurant permit, drive-through restaurants and other establishments, "adult" book stores and movie theaters, pawn shops, check cashing and short-term loan establishments, blood donor facilities that pay donors for blood, motor fuel pumping stations, car washhes and outdoor pay telephones.
Conditional uses that require a public hearing include: automobile repair shops, parts stores and lubrication facilities, convenience food stores, tattoo and/or body piercing parlors and laundromats open to the general public between midnight and 6 a.m.
Amy and Amrit Gill of Restoration St. Louis originally suggested the new ordinance based on the success of similar legislation in the University City Loop and South Grand areas of St. Louis city. The Business Association of Forest Park Southeast worked for several months developing the proposal, which has been endorsed by the Forest Park Southeast Development Corp., Washington University Medical Center, 17th Ward Alderman Joseph D. Roddy and the City of St. Louis Planning Commission.
Click here to download the Grove SUD ordinance
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