Ranch vs. McMansion

"As Planning Director Paul Langdon, who just started in Creve Coeur nine months ago, explained to me, 'the market has left the existing Creve Coeur housing stock behind.' Simply put, there's a strong demand for much larger houses.

While the city is trying to develop some design guidelines, the ranch homes are not historic -- they're just what developed during a certain time period (which is what gives the neighborhoods their visual consistency). The city, noted Paul, needs to balance any design guidelines against the investment value people have in their property."

[Editor's note: Wayne Senville is editor of the Planning Commissioner's Journal, and is blogging daily about his fascinating trip across the United States on Route 50.]

Thanks to Rick Reinhard