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West Newsmagazine
is West St. Louis County's exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper. |
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Wildwood sued over Strecker Forest subdivision delaysBy Adam LampelThe city of Wildwood has been served with a lawsuit by the developer of the Strecker Forest subdivision to have the restrictions that have been placed on the development lifted. The lawsuit also seeks to recover the legal fees associated with those efforts. Claymont Development LLC is suing the city of Wildwood because of a moratorium placed on the development after several residents and City Council members expressed major concerns regarding contamination of the site. The Wildwood City Council, Wildwood Mayor Tim Woerther and Wildwood Director of Planning and Zoning Joe Vujnich are named in the lawsuit in their official capacities. The property is located adjacent to the Bliss property, which was deemed a Superfund site in the 1980s as a result of extensive contamination from agricultural chemical use. The city had been conducting interviews for legal representation regarding the Strecker matter prior to being notified of the lawsuit. A conflict of interest was recently made known after a relationship between the city’s attorney, Ron Golterman and Solutia Inc., one of the documented suppliers of the chemicals present on the Bliss property was discovered. Golterman may still be available to assist in the municipal aspect associated in the case, including zoning issues that may play a big part in the case. The lawsuit motivated the City Council to select a law firm, Morrison/Kistner, a pair of attorneys specializing in environmental law and municipality issues. “Since 1986, Mr. Kistner has personally handled hundreds of local government matters and disputes, involving issues in zoning, elections, finance, employment, health benefits, civil service, liquor control, building code enforcement and application, and sundry other areas of law concerning municipal bodies,” wrote Bruce Morrison via e-mail to the city. Kistner’s most recent notable victory came in June when he successfully challenged the city of St. Louis Police Department regarding the degradation of health benefits for city police officers. According to Morrison’s resume, he has litigated matters in state and federal courts and before regulatory agencies involving underground storage tanks, Superfund sites, petroleum delivery systems, property development, and insurance coverage for environmental law and practices with the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center. There was some debate among the City Council members as to whether a decision should be delayed in choosing representation. Wildwood City Council member David Sewell (ward 6) said he would prefer to meet with the top two candidates again for additional interviews in closed session. “It’s really hard to get a read on how people think and how they will move forward without really getting into a discussion,” Sewell said. Sewell said most of the information the city received was marketing-based and did not offer true representation of who the firms actually are in relation to this case. Ultimately, however, the City Council authorized the city administrator to enter into negotiations with Morrison/Kistner to move forward with matters related to the Strecker development.
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