HB 262 -- St. Louis Growth Management Advisory Commission

Sponsor:  Auer

This bill establishes the Metropolitan St. Louis Growth
Management Advisory Commission within the East-West Gateway
Coordinating Council to study and develop recommendations on
growth management for the region including the City of St. Louis
and St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson, and Franklin counties.
The commission will hold public hearings, compile data, issue
preliminary and final reports, and be dissolved by June 30, 2001.

The 17 voting commission members include:  4 residents of the
City of St. Louis; 8 residents of St. Louis County, including 3
from unincorporated areas and 5 from different-sized
municipalities; 3 residents of St. Charles County, including 2
from different-sized municipalities; one resident of Jefferson
County; and one resident of Franklin County.  Appointments are
made by local authorities, and must demonstrate a balance
between areas that experienced increases and decreases in
average family income from 1980 to 1990.  The commission will
appoint 11 non-voting members representing or having expertise
in K-12 education, environmental sciences or a related
discipline, regional planning, development and local government
law, small business, large business, public transit, minorities,
regional churches, District 6 of the Missouri Department of
Transportation, and the Illinois portion of the St. Louis
metropolitan region.  There is also a non-voting state liaison
appointed by the Governor.  All members except the state liaison
and the representative from Illinois must be residents of the
study area.  Members of the commission serve without
compensation but will be reimbursed for actual and necessary
expenses.

The commission will develop policy and legislative
recommendations related to regional planning, including specific
consideration of citizen involvement; local control; regional
coordination; preservation of agricultural lands, forests, open
spaces, and other natural and historic resources; energy
conservation; improvement of air and water quality; and
provision of recreation, economic development, housing, public
infrastructure, and schools.  Regional planning methods to be
considered include the creation of a regional planning
authority; legislation to provide local authority for
development tax incentives, development impact fees,
alternatives for financing infrastructure, environmentally
sensitive development codes, and delineation of urban growth or
investment areas; and legislation to permit or encourage
coordinated regional planning.

The bill contains an emergency clause.