O’Fallon approves annexation of Tall Tree Farm and Canine Country Kennel
At its Aug. 22 meeting, the O’Fallon City Council approved a petition for voluntary annexation of 161.6 acres located at 9260 and 10102 Hwy. DD. Much of this land is adjacent to the northwest boundary of the 6,950.8-acre August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area.
The land is proposed for development into the Villages at Busch Wildlife with 239 single-family homes to be built by Lombardo Homes. Similar development of this property was denied by St. Charles County in 2023.
The council voted 7-3 to pass a bill approving the annexation petition. Council members Deana Smith (Ward 1), Debbie Cook (Ward 5), and Linda Ragsdale (Ward 5) voted against the annexation. The petition was filed by Hamilton Weber LLC on behalf of Tall Tree Farm L.P. and Canine Country Kennel and Farm LLC.
The annexed land now joins O’Fallon at its southwest border. To become the Villages at Busch Wildlife, the land must be rezoned from agricultural to residential and site plans must be approved. That process requires presentations to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) and approvals from the council. That process will start at the next P&Z meeting on Thursday, Sept. 5.
During citizen comments at the Aug. 22 meeting, seven people spoke in opposition to the bill, with vocal support from some in the audience. Speakers in opposition to the annexation included residents from O’Fallon, St. Charles County, Wentzville and Defiance.
The speakers echoed concerns from previous meetings on the topic, including traffic density and deceased safety on Hwy. DD, removal of trees, light pollution, loss of the rural setting, lot sizes, the lack of commercial development in the proposed Villages at Busch Wildlife and school overcrowding, among other issues.
Speakers also said the financial analysis of the development will show the city will lose more than $240,000 each year with this development, because the cost of additional city infrastructure and services will be greater than the tax revenue.
“The (O’Fallon) Comprehensive Plan also requires evaluation of the development’s impact on the city’s finances,” William Carrier of Wentzville said. “Using a financial analysis method like the city of O’Fallon with its optimistic income and spending values, we determined the development will cost the city approximately $240,000 per year. Interestingly, the annexation agreement requires Lombardo to make a total $119,5000 contribution to the city during the building phase to partially offset city losses. The future shortfalls will likely lead to future tax increases for O’Fallon’s residents.”
One O’Fallon resident, Jamie Cronk, spoke in favor of the annexation.
“I have been a resident of O’Fallon longer than anybody on this council has been alive,” Cronk said. “I’ve been here 68 years and Hwy. 70 didn’t come here and Hwy. K was a two-lane road. I’ve lived through lots of development, lots of road improvements, and I’ve seen a lot of growth over the years, with some a little bit rocky in the early 2000s.
“I feel like this council does a spectacular job at what they do, with balancing property owner rights and adjacent properties. O’Fallon has continued to grow, but the growth has been controlled and done in a smart way.”
Attorney Drew Weber from Hamilton Weber LLC also spoke in favor of the annexation, as he had at the prior council meeting and P&Z meetings.
Weber will present the plans for The Villages at Busch Wildlife to to P&Z on Sept. 5, and he said he will request rezoning from Agricultural District to a R-3 Medium Density Residential District, to build 239 single-family homes on 160 acres, averaging about 0.68 acres per lot.
He said the smallest lot on the development will be 9,185 square feet (about one-fifth acre). Fifty less homes will be on the development than were proposed last year to the county, and 67% of existing trees will be retained.
Prior to the vote on the voluntary annexation, Smith said she was concerned about the cost-benefit for the city. Ragsdale said the development will affect all O’Fallon taxpayers and residents.
“You might not get your streets repaired because tax dollars will be deflected to the Villages,” Ragsdale said. “Why is O’Fallon taking on this burden?”
Cook agreed with Smith’s and Ragsdale’s comments, and said she was concerned about the annual cost to the city.
“We can’t get our streets repaired and curbs replaced now,” Cook said. “This doesn’t make financial sense. I want to see the plans at P&Z first. We should table this until after P&Z. Or we should push it back to the county.”
Nathan Bibb (Ward 3) said the services extension for this development will not be a problem, as services already are there and are being expanded, with development currently underway along Diehr Road toward Hopewell. Farther south, Bibb said development would not make sense, because of the lack of services.
Bibb said the term “high density” related to this development had been “spun to drive (opposition) turnout.” He also highlighted that the 67% tree retention is nearly three times what the code requires (only 20% is required for the proposed R3 zoning).
“Multi-family is specifically excluded” from this R3 zoning application, Bibb said, making it “medium density and not high density.”
Cook made a motion to table the bill until after the P&Z meeting, but it was defeated 7-3, and the council then approved a petition for voluntary annexation.