Tree House Talk Dominates Town and Country Board of Aldermen Meeting

Talk of a neighborhood tree house was just one issue discussed at Monday night's Town and Country Board of Aldermen meeting, but it was the discussion that dominated the meeting.

Following is a wrap of of the board meeting:

The Tree House on Ridgemoor Lake Court

Town and Country resident Michael Orgel withdrew his application Monday night for a conditional use permit that would allow him to build a tree house on his property. However the debate surrounding Orgel’s tree house is far from over.

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Before the meeting, during the aldermen’s regular work session, there was a back and forth dialogue between Orgel and members of the city government. Orgel said he had made some changes to the design of his proposed tree house, such as reducing its size and lowering it about four feet. However, Orgel told Patch that he could not approve these new plans with his neighborhood trustees because one of the trustees, James Crowley, “did not receive the [new designs] in the mail in a timely fashion,” and the other trustee, Bob Fitzgerald, was in the hospital.

During the work session, Town and Country City Attorney Steve Garret told Orgel that his plans to build the tree house might more clear the necessary red tape more quickly if he withdrew his request for a conditional use permit that evening and took his new design to his neighborhood trustees. From there Orgel and the trustees could build a consensus and take the new plans to the other residents of the Windmoor Smith subdivision and then to the Town and Country Planning and Zoning committee for approval. If the new design is approved by Planning and Zoning, Garrett pointed out, then only a simple majority of five votes would be needed for the board of aldermen to approve Orgel’s resubmitted application for a conditional use permit.

At the board of aldermen meeting, before Orgel officially withdrew his application, Crowley spoke out against the building of the tree house. He asked the board “to not continue this” and also read a letter from another neighbor against Orgel’s tree house.

Orgel was not without his supporters at the meeting. In attendance was Marriette Palmer of Town and Country who told Patch, “What kind of city are we if we don’t allow a tree house?”

The issue of the tree house on Ridgemoor Lake Court dominated the meeting on Monday night, but was not the only item on the agenda.
   

A Third Sign for Wasabi Sushi Bar

A variance for a third wall sign was approved for the Wasabi Sushi Bar that is coming to the Town and Country Crossing shopping center near the intersection of Town and Country Crossing Drive and Woodsmill Road. Two signs have already been approved for the restaurant, one on its north and another on its south side. This third sign will be on the east wall of the building and, according to Don Kliethermes of Custom Sign Company, will measure only 26-square-foot. The other two signs that have already been approved will be 40-square-foot each.     

John Kim, a partner and CEO of Wasabi Management Co., Inc. said that the restaurant is expected to be open in June. 

Longview Farm Parking Committee

Finally, near the close of the meeting Ward Three Alderman Fred Meyland-Smith announced that Mayor Jon Dalton had formed a committee to look into at Longview Farm Park. Meyland-Smith, Ward One Alderman Lynn Wright, and former Town and Country Mayor Skip Mange will sit on the committee along with two citizens. The  committee’s first meeting  will be 7 p.m Mar. 17 at the and is open to the public.

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