Keep tall buildings out of St. Charles

I am disturbed by what I see as a serious disconnect between some of the leadership of our city and the residents.

It began with the First Street Development. Most of us involved expected the development to look like other buildings built by that development company in St. Charles. We were dismayed at the final plans that included four- and five-story loft buildings along the river. Many of us thought that no buildings could be built in town taller than the Baker Hotel. These modernistic buildings will not help the ambiance of our city or enhance our historic district.

Now there seems to be a large group that do not see anything wrong with what is being proposed by Mr. Shodeen. The impression that I have is that this group wishes St. Charles to become a smaller version of Schaumburg or Naperville. As one who chose to move into St. Charles rather than either of those, I do not wish to see this happen. I do not want that sort of traffic or density in St. Charles.

I accepted the trade-off of higher taxes here because I wanted to live in a smaller, more human-scaled community. I like our small town; I do not want us to become a highly urbanized area. My neighbors seem to feel the same way.

To the city council: I urge you to pass a resolution that formally states buildings in St. Charles may not be taller than the Baker Hotel and make it apply to any buildings that have not yet been started.

To Mr. Shodeen: You would find much less complaint from those of us who live near your proposed development if you would meet that height restriction. It would help if you would change the name of the development to reflect that it is not, nor will it ever be, the center of our city.

Mary C. Hannah

St. Charles