The seventy-eight page document is very specific but at the same time very general. Detractors will say that the plan makes no difference and that the politics of the County will ultimately determine what happens. That may turn out to be the case in some instances, but if it does, it means that someone in the governmental system will have disregarded the plan and must be held accountable. This plan is significantly different than one that would have been approved last October without the active involvement of the Association or the assertive posture taken by a nucleus group of the citizens’ committee. The persistence of that committee resulted in lower density recommendations in virtually every sub area as well as commercial restrictions on major portions of the Lindbergh corridor.
The effect of the study has already been observed in the guidelines established for recent projects. They are the Mobil Oil proposal, Mazander (Glen Eagle), Kemp (Portland Lake Estates) Wallace/Rees (Jamestown Forest) and Waldbart Nursery.
Support of area residents by membership in the Association and attendance at the public hearings has been extremely important in demonstrating to the County administration that residents in the unincorporated areas do have an interest in what happens in their community. Old Jamestown Association is one of the few effective residents’ associations in unincorporated St. Louis County.