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BY CAROL ARNETT
Fish: yes. Storage pods and weeds: no. The Florissant City Council is set to welcome back Long John Silver’s restaurant to the location on Graham Road that was damaged by fire.

Debbie Stosz, with Picket, Ray, and Silver, the engineering firm working on the restaurant, came before the council in a public hearing at the last council meeting to request a rezoning for the property to allow the restaurant to rebuild. The property must be rezoned from one business zoning, B-3, to another, B-5. Councilwoman Karen McKay explained that the rezoning was necessary because the building must be demolished and another built.

Stosz said the new building would be approximately 1,850 square feet and have 37 parking spaces.

“I’m happy that you are committed to Florissant, especially in these tough economic times,” said Councilman Keith Schildroth. The property is in Schildroth’s ward.

Schildroth asked that a fence be added to screen the electric panel, gas meter, and other utilities on the building. Stosz said that the Planning and Zoning Commission had also requested a fence, and it would be added.

The proposed new restaurant will be similar in size to the current building. It will have one drive-through, with space for cars with large orders to wait without holding up the rest of the line. “We anticipate 60% of our business being drive-through,” Stosz said.

Mayor Robert Lowery said he was concerned because the building was boarded up and looked bad. “You are at the entrance to the city,” he said. He requested that the council pass the ordinance as soon as possible.

City Clerk Karen Goodwin explained that the ordinance was not available for a first reading that night because she had not yet received the minutes from the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

A request for another restaurant was approved. Edgar L Atwater requested a transfer of the special use permit for 3343 Parker Spur Road. This was formerly Pisano’s restaurant. Atwater’s parents own I’ve Got You Covered catering, and now he would like to open a restaurant called It’s All Good in the former Pisano’s. “A lot of people have asked us about opening a restaurant,” Atwater said.

Atwater said the restaurant would be family-style, and feature a variety of foods. He did not apply for a liquor license.

In other matters, the council held first readings on two bills dealing with the appearance of residences. The first bill will regulate portable outdoor storage units. Councilman Tim Lee introduced the bill.

“These units provide a good resource when moving in or out of a house or remodeling,” Lee said. But he added that the council often gets calls complaining about the length of time the units sit outside residences.

“We looked at what other communities have done,” he said, and created an ordinance to address the issue. Lee said that proposed ordinance would allow the containers for 30 days, but would give some discretion to the Director of Public Works to approve a longer time. The ordinance would also require a permit for the storage units.

Another bill would speed up the process for weed removal. Lee explained that the
current process when there are problems with weeds or grass, is that the city posts the property, the owners have seven days to appeal, and then the city abates the problem by cutting the grass or weeds. “If the problem persists, we go through the process again.”

If subsequent problems occur in the same growing season, the proposed bill would eliminate the need for the appeal process, Lee said. The city could immediately go in and abate.

Lee said this ordinance was in response to complaints that the city does not move fast enough on weed and grass removal. The council continued the bill until March 9.

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