Join The Fight To Protect Our Parks: Your Voice Matters!

In recent months the Florissant City Council has seen it fit to trade 31 acres of “passive park land” from their largest park, Koch Park, for 43.7 acres of undevelopable swamp-like land adjacent to Sunset Park. Although this trade was made public and open for citizen comments, it became evident that the city council had already made its decision and would not be considering opposing voices. Approval was given to the Mayor of Florissant after unanimous approval to trade away over 40% of the second largest, and most utilized park in Florissant. While this decision may have been made in the best interest of the city, and not for the personal interest of those who may benefit from such a one sided deal, this decision was still made by only 9 of the 51,500 residents that live within the city limits. Your voice should matter in these community shaking decisions!

In 2018, Open Space STL faced a similar challenge in St. Louis County, responding with the Yes to Our Parks campaign. This campaign was successful in ensuring that parkland belonging to the people is controlled by the people, and requiring any decisions regarding disposal of land be put to a public vote. However, the City of Florissant, despite being encompassed by St. Louis County, is a charter city. Charter cities, having been established before the formation of the counties they fall within, are granted special status and allowed to govern themselves independently. As a result, while St. Louis County has rules in place regarding the disposal of parkland, the City of Florissant chose not to adopt these provisions into its city charter. This decision allows the city council and the mayor to dispose of parkland as they see fit, without requiring public input.

We urge you to join us in protecting our community spaces once again and promoting transparency in local government decisions. It is vital that any plans to dispose of park land be subject to a public vote. This land is funded by taxpayers like you, and your opinion should play a crucial role in its future. By involving the public in these decisions, we can ensure that the needs and desires of the community are adequately represented and respected. Help protect our community spaces and encourage transparency by joining the fight to save our parks! Demand any plans to dispose of park land be put up to a public vote. This land is paid for by you and you should have a say in what happens to it. This is why we will be circulating a citizens initiative petition, and we are calling on passionate volunteers to help us collect 3,000 signatures to get our initiative on the April 2025 ballot, ensuring our voices are heard in matters concerning our community. Join us in advocating for transparency by demanding public votes on the disposal of park land or find us scattered around the city in the coming weeks fighting for your voice to be heard.

Interested? Please contact us at alyssa@openspacestl.org or by phone at 314.835.9225. Make the change you deserve, make your voice heard!