Planning & Zoning Commission


Meetings
  • Second Wednesday of each month
  • 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall
  • To view Agendas and Minutes, please click here 
  • To view current developments, please click here
The Planning and Zoning Commission, as provided for in State Statutes, is required as a part of establishing a Comprehensive Planning and Zoning Regulations. By state law, the commission must be comprised of no less than six and no more than 12 citizen members plus the Mayor and a representative of the Board of Aldermen. The Commission is staffed by the Director of Public Works.



Members


Members are appointed by the Mayor to four-year terms subject to approval of the majority of the Board of Aldermen. While the law does not require representation by ward, the City has chosen to have an equal number of representatives from each of the City’s three wards. It is the custom in the City of Des Peres for the Mayor to solicit from the individual members of the Board of Aldermen a list of names of potential appointees from their wards before making an appointment.

View additional information on the responsibilities and duties of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Members Wards Term Expirations
Anna Ahrens (Vice Chairman) Ward One June 30, 2021
Bryan McDonald Ward One June 30, 2022
Mark Ahrens Ward One June 30, 2020
Robert Barringer Ward One June 30, 2019
Mitchell Stevens Ward Two June 30, 2021
James Kennedy Ward Two June 30, 2022
John Oeltjen (Chairman) Ward Two June 30, 2019
Teresa Gwin Ward Two June 30, 2020
Will Mura Ward Three June 30, 2021
Anthony Pawloski Ward Three June 30, 2019
Tom Matheny Ward Three June 30, 2020
James Jontry Ward Three June 30, 2022
Alderman Barrett Aldermanic Rep June 30, 2019

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Establishment


Des Peres has established the Planning and Zoning Commission at the largest size allowed by state law in order to provide broad representation from all areas and interests in the City. By state law, members of the Planning and Zoning Commission must be residents of the City. Petitioners desiring review by the commission must have filed all of the required petitions and drawings by the fifteenth of the month in order to be placed on the agenda for the following month. The Commission traditionally uses a committee system to review individual petitions. All meetings of the committees and the commission are posted on the City website and are open to the public.

Making Recommendations


The Commission reviews and makes recommendations to the Board of Aldermen on all zoning requests, major development proposals, conditional use permits, and subdivisions. Any and all proposed amendments to the Zoning Code, Subdivision Code, Sign Code, and Landscaping Standards must be formally considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission prior to the Board of Aldermen taking action. If the Planning and Zoning Commission recommends against a specific petition, approval by the Board of Aldermen will require a two-thirds vote instead of a simple majority vote.

Comprehensive Plan


By law, the Planning and Zoning Commission is required to prepare and adopt a Comprehensive Plan. They are the final decision maker on the Comprehensive Plan. The Commission also has review and final authority for architectural design prior to construction of nonresidential and commercial buildings and for landscape review in commercial developments. The Commission can prepare special studies, review any annexation proposals, review major street projects, and adopt its own rules of procedure.