9 Home Occupations Gain Planning and Zoning Approval

Home occupation permit requests at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting usually don't too long to process.

The commission reviews the requests, asks a few questions, goes over contingencies and then votes. That was the case for s during Wednesday's July meeting. Quik Wit (online book sales), Mystic Hippo Media Publishers (author, book sales), Stitches by Sharon (embroidery), Tablet Elf (internet sales of tablet PCs and laptops), 2Q Solutions, LLC (marketing consulting) and KJB Construction (construction) all were approved with little resistance.

The other two requests, however, took some time to iron out. 

Cool Pools Outdoor Living was first up on the agenda. The swimming pool service wanted permission to operate the business from the home of the owners, Jeremy and Aime King. 

Two neighbors, Jeff and Cindy Bemis, voiced concern about the business. Producing a series of pictures, Cindy Bemis said she had no issues personally with the Kings, but had questions about the business. She said the work truck is loud and parks in the shared cul-de-sac. She also said that the King's employees park on the street and that the Kings have, at times, used two different trailers to store equipment. One trailer left the equipment out in the open. 

City ordinances only permit home-based business to have a maximum of two employees—including the owner—at the home and only one trailer. Also, items used for business, must be stored out of sight. 

The Kings said that a lot of the materials being stored outside had nothing to do with the pool cleaning business. Jeremy King said a new driveway was put in for his new, covered, trailer and the couple is building a patio in the backyard. 

After hearing from both couples, and another neighbor who supported the Kings, the commission decided to approve the request, but with added contingencies. 

First, all equipment must be stored out of sight either in the home, garage or the covered trailer. Second, the trailer must park on the side pad and not in the cul-de-sac. Third, only one employee is allowed to come to the house and that employee must park in the driveway and not on the street. The final contingency put the approval on a 90-day trial. If no complaints are made in 90 days, there will be no review. However, if city staff get complaints in the 90-day window, the approval will be removed. 

Once that was settled, Marlena Glenn of Marlena Babysitting came to the podium. Glenn said she was interested in become a babysitter for young kinds, specifically infants. She repeatedly said she had no interest in becoming a commercial center, but rather just wanted to take care of up to four kids in her home. She said she had two families in mind that she would like to babysit help.

Glenn's statements at times appeared contradictory. She said she wanted to care for only four kids, but mentioned two families with seven total kids. She explained it was an either/or situation and not both. Glenn then said she only wanted to take care of children under 12, but later said the families she had in mind had kids of different ages with some above 12 months. 

Glenn's proposed home business is literally next door to the JellyBean Island Learning Academy opposed to permit. They said the market in St. Peters is saturated with child care places and a business next door would cut into their business. Plus, JellyBean said Glenn's yard was in such disarray that it wasn't suitable for children. 

After showing pictures of the yard, the commission decided the yard need to be cleaned up before Glenn could start her business. With that contingency, Glenn was approved with an 8-2 vote. Gary Westhoff and Janet Shetterly voted against the permit. 

After those two issues, the rest off the meeting went off without a hitch. A record plat for the was approved and a zoning change was also met with no objections.