Undeveloped St. Louis Mississippi River Waterfront Gets O.K. for Casino/Resort

The proposed St. Louis casino development is on a flood plain just below the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. The area was flooded much of the spring and summer this year. Google map.

On Nov. 17, 2009, the St. Louis County Council voted 4-2 in favor of rezoning 376 acres of wetlands south of the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area for development of a large casino/resort with a golf course and an estimated 8,000 parking spots. There are also plans for a wind farm.

The St. Louis area currently has five casinos. According to a news item in stltoday.com, gamblers spent 10 percent more at St. Louis-area casinos in October 2009 than in the same month last year, the biggest gain in a year and a half.

Prior to the council vote, a public meeting was held. Reportedly, more than 50 people spoke out against the development.

St. Louis area resident R.M. MacDougal wrote an editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch prior to the vote, urging against developing of this three-mile stretch of undeveloped Mississippi riverbank and flood plain.
''This land sits just below the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers,'' explained MacDougal. The river corridor from St. Louis to Ste. Genevieve is being considered for UNESCO World Heritage protection for colonial sites. This land is on one of the top avian migratory routes in North America and is merely 500 feet from a restricted, no-access migratory bird sanctuary.

''The proposed casino development sits directly on bottomland that was flooded much of the spring and summer this year. The flood plain is nature's way of handling the river's overflow. It helps keep St. Louis dry.

''Acting for the financial gain of a few people would exploit irreplaceable habitats for flora and fauna, natural wetlands, flood plain and the Mississippi River environment,'' he said.

Supporters of the development point to the construction and service jobs that will be created and the needed tax revenues.

Some residents of the township of Spanish Lake, the residential development closest to the proposed development, fear the ''sleaze'' factor of a casino in their close proximity.

The developers will have to complete an environmental impact study and solutions to constructing in a flood plain. They must also obtain a gaming license before construction begins.