GRHA Comments to USACE Against Apartment Complex Proposal
Maryland Heights – In April, Great Rivers Habitat Alliance submitted comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in opposition of a 404-permit request by Residential One LLC. The request is to destroy wetlands on a proposed Creve Coeur Apartment complex site located at 12000 Creve Coeur Mill Rd and 1 Gulfport Drive. GRHA has fought at every level of this project, testifying and submitting comments against this project to the Maryland Heights Planning & Zoning Committee and Maryland Heights City Council.
We fundamentally disagree with any development within the 100-year floodplain and find the Creve Coeur Lake Apartment Complex proposal particularly concerning and recommend to the USACE denial of this Clean Water Act Section 404 application and permitting for the following reasons: 1) needlessly endangers people, 2) downstream flooding, 3) negative impacts to Creve Coeur Lake Park and 4) the loss of 13 acres of wetlands.
Simply put, a high-density (high-rise), commercial/residential development in a former lakebed, with high frequency of flooding, next to one of St. Louis Counties’ most popular park (million-plus visitors per year), is just a bad idea!
While the loss of these existing wetland and floodplain acres is bad enough, bringing people to live in a floodplain and keeping people (families) in flood-prone areas is irresponsible and dangerous. We again ask; “Why assume the risk of life and property?” There are certainly more suitable areas to develop for multi-family dwellings.
In our comments, we respectfully requested the USACE to utilize its regulatory authority to deny the permit request to conduct grading and filling in waters of the United States, to construct this mixed use, multifamily residential and service retail development that ultimately will increase flooding problems in Maryland Heights and elsewhere, as well as put more than 1,000 people in harm’s way. Destruction of this precious ecosystem for a real estate deal and more tax revenue for Maryland Heights is not acceptable.