JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — In a 4-3 vote, the Jefferson County Council voted to approve a new McBride Homes Development.
The development would include about 100 new homes in the area of Highway FF and Highway W in northern Jefferson County.
“We appreciate the decision of the County Council this evening. We worked hard with and listened to the adjoining subdivisions to create a great community. This is a fantastic project and we are excited to bring new luxury housing to the area,” McBride Homes spokesperson Jeannie Aumiller said in a statement after Monday’s vote.
Concerned neighbors who attended the meeting said they are concerned the development is not “responsible.”
A group of about 300 residents had banned together to try to put a stop to the development. Their concerns were environmental harm, overcrowding on the roads, a lack of infrastructure to support the new development, and the possibility of worsening flooding.
Paul Bonacker lives off Highway W and said the flooding issues have drastically changed in the area since the addition of Windswept Farms and Marisol developments in the area.
“You had to have 5 inches for it to flood. Now, an inch and a half there’s water out there,” Bonacker said. “There’s so much concrete and asphalt, water goes straight to the river because it doesn’t have time to go into the ground.”
Elizabeth Sergel is now running for the first district seat.
“They may have won the battle, but they’re not going to win the war. We’re going to continue to keep pressure on the county council, and hopefully we’ll have different representation at the next meeting,” Sergel said.
Samantha Hoene and her family own a farm across from the new development. She said they had to stop farming some land the five generations had farmed for years because it was too saturated after new developments. She said she is concerned she will not be able to pass on the farm to the family’s sixth generation.
“We don’t want more subdivisions down the street just because people are willing to sell large plots of land. So our response is to keep going with the evidence we already found to get an attorney,” Hoene said.
Some residents said they plan to sue to stop future developments in the area.
