On Monday December 19, 2016 a meeting of the Lafayette Square neighborhood and Pulte Homes was held at the Sheet Metal Workers Hall on Chouteau Ave. Pulte gave a complete and thorough presentation of their proposed project followed by questions from the audience. The Pulte team then departed and the neighborhood residents (including 15-20 residents from the northwest quadrant) held a lengthy discussion of the project. At the end of the meeting the decision was to oppose the project and the voice to vote to disapprove was unanimous.
The undersigned residents of Lafayette Square are opposed to this development plan for the following major reasons:
1. The Pulte proposal violates more than 15 aspects of the city ordinance (Lafayette Square Historic Code). The city ordinance requires the use of an Historic Model Example (HME): the 3 story attached homes at 1824-34 Lafayette Ave are the only eligible HME. These developers have chosen a single family, 2 story home, as their HME which is disqualifying.
2. The Historic Code requires story heights to be minimum of 10 ft on first floor, and a minimum of 9 ft on the 2nd and 3rd stories. The proposed homes have only 8 ft 2 and 3rd floors preventing any modification that would result in homes that would fit into the neighborhood. The proposed homes are short and squatty making them inappropriate for the neighborhood
3. The site plan (plat) does not conform to the requirement in the historic code that requires all homes to face a street. They do not plan to put an actual street into the center of the project thus making compliance with this requirement impossible.
4. All Lafayette Square homes have a sidewalk in front of them making it possible to be an inviting part of this walking neighborhood. Homes that do not face streets with sidewalks make this development designed to separate itself from the neighborhood.
5. New homes are required to have brick on all facades: the proposed homes use siding on the rear façade.
Note: The city ordinance #69112 (Lafayette Square Historic Code) was revised and approved by the residents and the board of aldermen in 2012 in order to avoid non-conforming, new construction such as the currently proposed plan by Pulte.
