In 2007, Open Space STL, along with many partners and coalitions was instrumental in getting 69.74% of the voters in the April 3 municipal election of St. Louis City to approve a change to the City charter so that no St. Louis park land could be sold, leased, or gifted without a citywide vote. This Friday there is a bill before the Board of Aldermen to sell a small downtown City park to be turned into a parking lot. However, the proposed Board vote is not legal.

A private entity, The Starwood Group, which bought the old Post-Dispatch building wants to turn the three-quarter-acre park into parking for its tenants and is offering $275,000 for the InterCoPlaza park, which was built in 1981 with $1.1 million in federal grant money.

While there have been ongoing problems with the park, those problems could be addressed or, if judged intractable by the members, the Board of Aldermen could decide to put the sale of the park to a citywide vote. But, according to the City charter, they do not have the right to sell any park land without that citywide vote.  The public deserves the right to vote on the future of any park - no matter its size - and deserves the right for the city to uphold its Charter and promise to the voters.

An attorney who represents Starwood, and now also the City Counselor, claims that the InterCoPlaza park is not a park as there has been no ordinance establishing it as such. Open Space STL was part of the process for drafting the charter amendment which clearly states:   

St. Louis Charter Article XXVI – City Parks Protection

Section 1 - Real estate for use as a public park.

Any real estate, now or hereafter owned by the City or any agency or instrumentality of the City, which is principally used or held out for use as a public park, shall not be sold, leased, given away or otherwise disposed of, and shall be used only as a public park, nor shall any structure be built in any such park to accommodate activities not customarily associated with park use or outdoor recreation, unless such sale, lease, disposal, gift or structure is approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon.

Open Space STL was also deeply involved in crafting very similar language for the St. Louis County charter amendment that passed in 2018 and the city of Florissant charter amendment that will be on the April 2026 ballot. Based on our extensive experience with these matters, no ordinance is necessary to create a park. Alderwoman Ann Schweitzer explored St. Louis park history and discovered that less than half the parks in her ward were created by ordinances and in some wards NONE of their parks were established by ordinance.  The intent of the charter amendment was to most certainly apply to all real estate that is principally used as a public park, not just real estate designated through an ordinance.  If that was the intent, then it would have explicitly stated that in the charter amendment. 

The hearing at which this sale is slated to be voted upon is to be held this Friday, October 24, at St Louis City Hall at 10:00 am. Members of the public may attend in the gallery but no members of the public will be allowed to speak, so it’s important that you contact members of the Board in advance of the meeting. To look up emails and phone numbers of the alders, go to https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/aldermen/representation/index.cfm

Citizens of Missouri have a right to have a say on the future of their parks - let’s ensure this right is upheld.

Thanks to Austin Huguelet of the Post-Dispatch for providing great reporting:
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/article_5ac16a1a-e2a1-40af-80ad-f8a54bcc8991.html?utm_source=stltoday.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Fpolitics&utm_medium=cio&lctg=fef30701bb4becb502&tn_email_eh1=78c6bbee713bf7b2d44427e83d222afa0fb3834966dfc84a95cd7132b1d6accf 

And to Margaret Hermes who helped contribute to this website article.