The city of Crestwood is taking bids to see what it could cost to move a 200-year-old historic log cabin from Affton to the Historic Sappington House in Crestwood, doubling the number of Sappington houses at the site.
The nonprofit Sappington Foundation has raised nearly $100,000 to move the house, but no one really knows what it could cost since a similar log cabin move has not been done that often.
In March, aldermen approved a nonbinding letter of intent 5-0 to move the cabin after new owner Jim Freund offered to donate it if the city covered relocation. John Sappington was a cousin of Thomas Sappington, whose 1808 brick home is the centerpiece of Sappington House Museum.Freund has given the city until Aug. 1 to move the cabin or has threatened to sell it to a buyer outside St. Louis County.
A 200-year-old cabin is one step closer to possibly making the move to Crestwood after the Board of Aldermen approved an ordinance last week for an engineering firm to study what it would require to transport the cabin from Affton.
The 1816 cabin once owned by Joseph Sappington at 10734 Clearwater Drive is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Aldermen voted 6-2 April 20 to contract with consultant Case Engineering to review what would be involved in transporting and moving the house.
The study does not commit the city to actually moving the cabin to the Historic Sappington House Museum, 105 S. Sappington Road. The nonprofit Sappington House Foundation will cover the consultant fees which are not to exceed $26,000 using private donations the foundation has deposited with the city.
Crestwood has a new zoning code approved by the Board of Aldermen earlier this year that changes how the city handles zoning issues.
Aldermen unanimously passed the revamped zoning code Jan. 12, the culmination of an ongoing project since 2018 between the city and planning firm Peckham Guyton Albers and Viets.
The Planning and Zoning Commission formally adopted the draft ordinance from PGAV last year, beginning with the sign code.
The most significant revisions change zoning powers and create a special zoning district along Watson Road, known as the “Watson Road Overlay.” The new overlay district will apply to zoning for the redevelopment of the former Crestwood mall site proposed by Dierbergs and McBride Homes.
Plans to move a historic log cabin from Affton to Crestwood moved ahead as the Crestwood Board of Aldermen approved a letter of intent for the $200,000 relocation plan at a special meeting last week.
The board voted 5-0 with two abstentions March 30 to move forward with possibly moving a historic log cabin to Sappington House.
Ward 1 Alderman Richard Breeding, Ward 2 Alderman Mary Stadter, Ward 4 Alderman Tony Kennedy and Ward 3 Aldermen Greg Hall and Scott Shipley voted in favor. Ward 1 Alderman Mimi Duncan and Ward 2 Alderman Justin Charboneau abstained. Ward 4 Alderman Ismaine Ayouaz was absent.
The letter of intent is nonbinding, but shows the city is still interested in the project. Crestwood has until May 25 to make a final decision whether or
Candidate filing closed Tuesday for a number of governmental positions that are up for election April 6, setting up several competitive races across South County. One of the trends this year is that many incumbents did not file to run again, so there are a number of new faces across local city and school boards.
The Mehlville fire board and the Green Park mayoral seat will see competitive races this year. Incumbent fire board Treasurer Bonnie Stegman is being challenged by a former firefighter.
Aldermanic seats in Crestwood, Green Park and Sunset Hills are also up for election, along with three seats on the Grantwood Village Board of Trustees. Green Park and Crestwood will have a number of new faces on the Board of Aldermen, but no competitive races, while Sunset Hills will have competitive races in all four wards. And for the first time in recent memory, Grantwood Village will have competitive races.