Comprehensive Plan

The City of Crystal Lake Park Comprehensive Plan

Approved April 5, 2007

Description of Crystal Lake Park

The city of Crystal Lake Park was previously called the Village of Crystal Lake Park until July 24, 1957 when it became a city. Crystal Lake Park is located in St. Louis County between Frontenac, Town and Country, and Des Peres. Some of the original homes from the time that the community served as a get-away for city dwellers remain and they provide the city with an interesting mix of log cabins and cottages. However, the city continually gained new homes between the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s which were architecturally significant in their time. Even now, new construction enlivens this small and friendly community. Today, residents enjoy strolling through our narrow streets and observing the myriad of homes that in sum reflect the changing tastes of homeowners over the last century. Despite what may seem an odd mixing of architectural styles, a unifying theme of this community is respect and commitment to nature. Residents work hard to maintain the health of older trees, while continually planting new ones (encouraged by a community tree program). Current residents hope that new developers recognize our appreciation of nature and build homes that compliment, rather than overpower the beauty of our trees and wildlife.

Introduction

The Comprehensive Plan for the city of Crystal Lake Park establishes a long-range vision for new homes and renovation of older homes. We neither anticipate nor desire commercial uses of property in the city. This comprehensive plan is a decision-making guide for public officials , residents, and developers. The plan provides a framework for making development and zoning decisions, and implementing public improvements. In addition, the plan captures the residents ' vision for Crystal Lake Park's future and identifies the strategies necessary to achieve that vision.

Planning Process

Public discussions among the members of Planning and Zoning and Board of Adjustment have taken place for nearly a year and a survey was distributed to residents in October. The goal of the survey was to get an idea of what residents liked and disliked about the character homes in the community. Survey results were read twice at the public Planning and Zoning meetings and they are posted on the community bulletin board. Planning and Zoning will hold public meetings in February and March of 2007 to discuss the comprehensive plan goals and to formulate an implementation strategy.

Key Issues

The following Key Issues resulted from the survey and public discussions of building in Crystal Lake Park:

  1. Housing

    • Variety of Home Styles The survey and discussions have emphasized an appreciation for a variety of architectural designs within Crystal Lake Park.

    • Size of new homes The survey showed that slightly more than half the respondents feel that many of the newly constructed homes are too tall and that the same homes are too close to the street. Another issue of concern is whether or not the city should continue to regulate square footage in addition to the legal setbacks.

    • Grade of Property The city wishes to maintain the topography of existing lots and ensure that new construction does not impede drainage to and from adjacent properties.

    • Regulation of Construction The city lacks a systematic penalty for violation of building procedures/plans and damage to city or adjacent property during construction.

    • Quality of Materials chosen for new construction and renovations. We need to make sure that choices enhance the quality of the community.
      We expect the residents of this community to maintain the      ir homes in accordance with Crystal Lake Park ordinances.
      The City of Crystal Lake Park would prefer not to have rental property.

  2. Environment and Conservation

    • Green Space The upsizing of homes is seen as a threat to the amount of green space in Crystal Lake Park.

    • An urban Forest Policy is needed

    • We wish to encourage recycling and energy efficient homes

  3. Community
    We wish to continue to provide activities and opportunities for community gatherings to foster a sense of community cohesiveness.

  4. City Property
    We wish to maintain our signs and streets. There are areas of the park that could be utilized for residents’ enjoyment. We currently have a drainage issue in a large portion of the park.

Comprehensive Plan Goals

Plan goals describe the desired outcomes achieved by implementing the comprehensive plan. Plan goals are used to guide development of Recommendations and the Implementation Strategy. The Goals for City of Crystal Lake Park shall be developed during the public Planning and Zoning meetings.

  1. Housing

    • Variety of Home Styles. In order to maintain the diverse architecture of housing in our community we would like all new construction to be uniquely designed for its location.

    • Size of new homes. To address residents' concern about the size of new homes we will revisit our ordinances to determine if current setbacks reflect what we envision as properly sized homes that respect the height of neighboring homes and preserve green space.

    • Regulation of Construction. First, we plan to assess our ordinances and create a schedule of fines for violation of ordinances. Next, we need to create a handout for builders explaining our expectations. Concurrently, we will be in touch with the city of Frontenac building inspectors and police to make sure that they know our ordinances and that they will enforce them per our agreement. Further goals include: requiring that all utility lines be buried for new homes and notifying neighbors by letter of requests for new construction.

    • Quality We may create a list similar to that of the city of Olivette to guide developers and homeowners in their choice of approved materials that are appropriate to the desired building location.

    • Maintenance We are considering hiring an outside source to enforce our current ordinances. We will find and fine derelict owners.

  2. Environment and Conservation

    • We will continue or residential tree program which provides owners subsidy for new trees purchased through our city program.

    • We aim to maintain the amount of trees we currently have and encourage the planting of hardwoods.

    • We will assess trees on city property in an effort to avoid costly problems that occur when trees fall.

  3. Community

    • We wish to promote community interaction and foster cohesiveness and a safe place to live.

  4. City Property

    • Proper maintenance and acessibility for all residents is our goal for the park, streets and signs. In addition, we want to enhance the park to encourage community interaction.

  5. Quality of Life

    • Our goal is to promote interaction among residents and provide a safe place to live.

Implementation Strategy: General Plan Implementation

  1. Plan Adoption
    The Planning and Zoning Committee should adopt the Plan.

  2. Plan Adherence
    Proposed developments and zoning changes should be recommended by the Planning and Zoning Committee and approved by the Board of Aldermen only if consistent with the goals outlined in this plan.

  3. Plan Maintenance
    The Plan should be reviewed regularly by the Planning and Zoning Commission and updated every five (5) years.

  4. Plan Availability
    The updated Plan should be made available electronically via the City website and hard copies should be available from the City Administrator or the local library.

  5. Code Revisions
    All revisions to the land use code must adhere to the goals put forth in this document.

Attachment: ComprehensivePlan.pdf