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Florissant City Council Reschedules Hearing on Definition of a Family
By Carol Arnett
The Florissant City council is studying the city’s definition of a family. The city staff had recommended that the city study the issue to avoid problems that may arise as the definition of a family changes.
“The city of Black Jack went through an expensive lawsuit regarding this,” City Attorney John Hessel explained. The staff is asking the city “how to address the myriad of issues that can occur in today’s society.” He said there were several situations where unrelated people were living under the same roof, such as families with nannies, caretakers, or foreign exchange students.
Hessel said the city staff would like the council to come up with the definition of a family and then change the zoning and housing codes to reflect the definition.
Councilwoman Karen McKay asked that the city study other ordinances, including Black Jacks. “They have an ordinance that has withstood the scrutiny of the ACLU,” she said.
The public hearing was postponed until March 14.
In other matters, the council at its last meeting:
• Passed a bill clarifying the wage range, job classification and 2011 salary increase for full-time employees. Councilman Tim Lee explained that this will change the date used for the 2% raise that the council approved for employees in this year’s budget. “Under the old plan, employees were eligible on the first of the year,” he said. “This plan is tied to the hire date.”
• Passed a bill appropriating $5,800 to pay for services from the St. Louis County Municipal League. The city is joining a lawsuit organized by the League against Ameren about a rate hike that Ameren is proposing.
• Postponed a vote on the proposed Dollar General at Plaza Madrid Shopping Center. Councilman Mark Schmidt said that the developer was still negotiation with Dollar General. The issue of upgrading the parking lot has caused part of delay.
