ST. CHARLES COUNTY 鈥 The St. Charles County Council will decide the fate of a 109-home subdivision near St. Paul that has drawn the ire of neighbors, at its meeting Monday.
Tom Hughes, owner of the land development company Charlestown Crossing, is asking the county to approve a rezoning request that would allow his company to build 鈥淭he Bluffs at Riverdale鈥 subdivision on a 38-acre property sandwiched between Dyer Road and Highway 79 north of O鈥橣allon, according to county documents.
Hughes also owns T.R. Hughes Homes, a construction company that has built thousands of homes in the 最新杏吧原创 region.
鈥淲e鈥檝e never asked for rezoning on a property that makes as much sense as this one does,鈥 Hughes said. The property is near two other T.R. Hughes developments: Riverdale, a 677-home subdivision on 285 acres, and the Grove at Riverdale, a 102-home subdivision on 60-acres, which is under construction now.
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Neighbors have been vocal in their opposition to The Bluffs proposal, with the county receiving more than 50 letters and a petition against it signed by nearby residents. They worry the subdivision would negatively affect public safety and emergency response times, overcrowd existing roadways and worsen existing stormwater drainage issues.
The developer will continue 鈥渢o just creep like cancer into an area that does not have the roads and services to handle this seemingly never-ending greed for cramped development,鈥 resident Nataleigh Hennen wrote to the county earlier this year.
The St. Charles County Planning & Zoning Commission in February recommended the county council deny the rezoning request. The council was set to vote on the proposal in March, but officials with T.R. Hughes asked for the vote to be tabled so they could make changes to the proposal.
Hughes said his company鈥檚 proposal is unchanged.
鈥淲e tried to work with some of the residents to reach an agreement, but that didn鈥檛 go anywhere,鈥 Hughes said.
If the St. Charles County Council blocks the rezoning request, Hughes will be barred for a year from resubmitting the same plans to the county. However, Hughes could pursue annexation into nearby St. Paul, a city of roughly 3,600 people, or make significant alterations to the plan and resubmit it to the county.
If the project is approved, Hughes said construction on the new homes likely won鈥檛 begin until early 2026.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of images each week; here's a glimpse at the week of June 8, 2025. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
