St. Charles City Council
300 North Second St
St Charles MO 63301
Dear Council Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the city’s proposed Riverpointe development project. I am writing on behalf of the Sierra Club. We oppose this project and encourage the Council to rethink this huge investment of public money.
A primary reason we oppose this project is its location. As described in project documents Riverpointe will raise over 100 acres of river side land from the floodplain. It is obvious that the project area currently floods frequently, and the type of development envisioned requires this engineering. Which is the reason it should not be pursued.
Existing developed river-side acres in the city already suffer from significant flooding. Climate change trends point to more extreme high-water years along the Missouri River. Flooding pressures will not decrease.
St Charles can benefit from its access to the river, but only if it approaches riverside use wisely. City planning should protect connected floodplain acres and focus on low impact uses along the river. Protecting the environmental integrity of the river is key to successful river-side projects.
Unfortunately, St Charles is not the only municipality in the region which is promoting unwise river-side development. The cumulative impacts from these projects will only increase flooding for all.
Bangert Island Park and the Katy Trail are widely used by city and county residents, some of whom are members of the Sierra Club. Riverpointe would adversely impact both these popular recreation features. Dredging fill from Bangert Island to raise floodplain acres so they can be transformed into concrete acres will only result in more flooding and polluted runoff. The planned containment basin* is no substitute for a more natural river, and it will not be adequate to contain or mitigate increased flooding.
This project is, to date, supported by funds from various pots of public money. Given the flood risks and the economic risks the Riverpointe plan provides, there is no guarantee that this project won’t end up being very costly to taxpayers. Is there any reasonable guarantee of sufficient future private investment? And would such investment be an addition to St Charles, or would it just subtract from other parts of the regional economy?
Although this project has been in the works for years, there has been no cohesive, overall presentation to the public with serious options for feedback and recommendations. The project is a large and complicated one with several phases and segments within phases. The public deserves a better opportunity to understand and comment on this plan for the use of their taxpayer dollars than the piecemeal approach which seems to be underway.
The current public health crisis we face makes it a particularly difficult time for public engagement on a project of this scale. And, the economic challenges our region faces during this crisis also raises questions as to whether this is the best commitment of public funds.
We encourage the City of St Charles to drop the Riverpointe Development project. If the city does not do that, we recommend that the city should fully inform, engage and give the public a voice in the future of this project.
Thank you for consideration of our comments.
Sincerely,
Caroline Pufalt
Sierra Club, Eastern Missouri Group
Volunteer conservation chair
Missouri Sierra Club
2818 Sutton Blvd
St Louis MO 63143 3010