It's kind of exasperating to realize that St Louis County, Missouri contains more municipalities than any other county in the Midwest (other than Cook County, IL.) Many of these burgs have just a few hundred residents, which hardly justifies their separate existance.
My plan is to carefully consolidate most of these 91 municipalities into larger, more cohesive areas-- 24 cities to be exact. These new cities will have the size and tax base to be self-sustaining, so they won't need to rely on neighboring cities for basic services like many do now.
A few, such as Wildwood, are already sufficient in size and are left unchanged.
In addition, six new cities are formed from mostly unincorporated areas. These are basically Census Designated Places that already have names and distinct identities, so the logical next step is to incorporate them, In the process, a few tiny free-standing municipalities are swallowed up by these cities.
In all ,there are 30 new cities which contain over 90% of the population of St Louis County. Here's the list of cities in order of new population:
1. Florissant (currently 51,387) annexes Black Jack and unincorporated areas to the north and southeast. Florissant continues to be the largest municipality in the county. New population: est. 75,000
2. Chesterfield ( 46,635) annexes Clarkson Valley, for a new population of 49,310
3. University City (36,847) annexes Olivette, Hanley Hills, Vinita Park and Vinita Terrace. New population: 48,485
4. Ballwin (30,264) annexes Ellisville, Winchester, and some unincorporated areas to the south. New population: est. 45,000
5. Webster Groves (23,230) annexes Rock Hill, Glendale, Shrewsbury and Marlborough. New population: 42,485
6. Clayton (12,825). A city (boasting an impressive skyline) that serves as a county seat for about a million people ought to be a decent size. So Clayton annexes Richmond Heights, Brentwood and Maplewood, for a new population of 39,348.
7. Kirkwood (26,936) annexes Des Peres (sorry Des Peres) and Warson Woods for a new population of 37,511.
8. Creve Coeur (16,500) annexes Town & Country, Westwood, Country Life Acres, Crystal Lake Park, and unincorporated areas to the north. New population: est. 37,000
9. Overland (16,838) annexes St John, Woodson Terrace, Breckenridge Hills, Charlack, Edmundson, Sycamore Hills, and unincorporated West Overland. New population: est. 36,250
10. Oakville (35,309). This Census Designated Place (CDP) incorporates as a city of 35,309.
11. Wildwood (34,831). No change.
12. Jennings (15,469). This is one case where a lot of those itty-bitty villages finally disappear. Jennings annexes Pine Lawn, Northwoods, Hillsdale, Wellston, Flordell Hills, Country Club Hills, Glen Echo Park, Velda City, Velda Village Hills, Uplands Park and Beverly Hills. New population: 34,500.
13. Ferguson (22,406) annexes Dellwood and Calverton Park for a new population of 28,983.
14. Bridgeton (15,086) annexes St Ann (now those two will get along!) and unincorporated Earth City. New population: 28,693.
15. Mehlville (28,219). This CDP incorporates as a city of 28,219.
16. Manchester (19,161) annexes Valley Park, Twin Oaks, and some unincorporated areas to the east. New population: est. 28,000
17. Bellefontaine Neighbors (11,271) annexes Moline Acres, Riverview, unincorporated Glasgow Village, and unincorporated Castle Point. And it shortens its name to simply “Bellefontaine”. New population: 26,872.
18. Concord and Sappington, both CDP’s, merge and incorporate, then annex Green Park. The name of the new city is "Concord Park". New population: 26,642.
19. Maryland Heights (26,339) remains essentially the same-- except that it annexes Champ, the absolute smallest municipality in St Louis County. New population: 26,351.
20. Hazelwood (25,523). No change.
21. Affton (20,535). This CDP incorporates and annexes tiny Wilbur Park, Lakeshire, St George, and Mackenzie. New population: 23,810.
22. Spanish Lake (21,337). This CDP incorporates as a city of 21,337.
23. Berkeley (10,063) annexes Bel-Ridge, unincorporated Carsonville, and what’s left of Kinloch. New population: 18,441.
24. Lemay (16,854), a CDP, incorporates and annexes Bella Villa. New population: 17,541.
25. Normandy (5,153). Here’s another chance to gobble up some small burgs. Normandy annexes Cool Valley, Bel-Nor, Bellerive, Greendale, Pasadena Park, Pasadena Hills, Norwood Court, Pagedale, and a few unincorporated areas nearby. New population: est. 16,000.
26. Crestwood (11,863) annexes Oakland and Grantwood Village for a new population of 14,286.
27. Ladue (8,645) annexes Frontenac and Huntleigh to form a new city of 12,451.
28. Fenton (4,285) annexes unincorporated areas west for a new population estimated at 12,000.
29. Sunset Hills (8,267) annexes unincorporated areas to the south. New population: est. 10,500.
30. Eureka (7,786) annexes the small portion of Pacific that lies in St Louis County, as well as unincorporated areas south. New population: est. 10,000.
My plan is to carefully consolidate most of these 91 municipalities into larger, more cohesive areas-- 24 cities to be exact. These new cities will have the size and tax base to be self-sustaining, so they won't need to rely on neighboring cities for basic services like many do now.
A few, such as Wildwood, are already sufficient in size and are left unchanged.
In addition, six new cities are formed from mostly unincorporated areas. These are basically Census Designated Places that already have names and distinct identities, so the logical next step is to incorporate them, In the process, a few tiny free-standing municipalities are swallowed up by these cities.
In all ,there are 30 new cities which contain over 90% of the population of St Louis County. Here's the list of cities in order of new population:
1. Florissant (currently 51,387) annexes Black Jack and unincorporated areas to the north and southeast. Florissant continues to be the largest municipality in the county. New population: est. 75,000
2. Chesterfield ( 46,635) annexes Clarkson Valley, for a new population of 49,310
3. University City (36,847) annexes Olivette, Hanley Hills, Vinita Park and Vinita Terrace. New population: 48,485
4. Ballwin (30,264) annexes Ellisville, Winchester, and some unincorporated areas to the south. New population: est. 45,000
5. Webster Groves (23,230) annexes Rock Hill, Glendale, Shrewsbury and Marlborough. New population: 42,485
6. Clayton (12,825). A city (boasting an impressive skyline) that serves as a county seat for about a million people ought to be a decent size. So Clayton annexes Richmond Heights, Brentwood and Maplewood, for a new population of 39,348.
7. Kirkwood (26,936) annexes Des Peres (sorry Des Peres) and Warson Woods for a new population of 37,511.
8. Creve Coeur (16,500) annexes Town & Country, Westwood, Country Life Acres, Crystal Lake Park, and unincorporated areas to the north. New population: est. 37,000
9. Overland (16,838) annexes St John, Woodson Terrace, Breckenridge Hills, Charlack, Edmundson, Sycamore Hills, and unincorporated West Overland. New population: est. 36,250
10. Oakville (35,309). This Census Designated Place (CDP) incorporates as a city of 35,309.
11. Wildwood (34,831). No change.
12. Jennings (15,469). This is one case where a lot of those itty-bitty villages finally disappear. Jennings annexes Pine Lawn, Northwoods, Hillsdale, Wellston, Flordell Hills, Country Club Hills, Glen Echo Park, Velda City, Velda Village Hills, Uplands Park and Beverly Hills. New population: 34,500.
13. Ferguson (22,406) annexes Dellwood and Calverton Park for a new population of 28,983.
14. Bridgeton (15,086) annexes St Ann (now those two will get along!) and unincorporated Earth City. New population: 28,693.
15. Mehlville (28,219). This CDP incorporates as a city of 28,219.
16. Manchester (19,161) annexes Valley Park, Twin Oaks, and some unincorporated areas to the east. New population: est. 28,000
17. Bellefontaine Neighbors (11,271) annexes Moline Acres, Riverview, unincorporated Glasgow Village, and unincorporated Castle Point. And it shortens its name to simply “Bellefontaine”. New population: 26,872.
18. Concord and Sappington, both CDP’s, merge and incorporate, then annex Green Park. The name of the new city is "Concord Park". New population: 26,642.
19. Maryland Heights (26,339) remains essentially the same-- except that it annexes Champ, the absolute smallest municipality in St Louis County. New population: 26,351.
20. Hazelwood (25,523). No change.
21. Affton (20,535). This CDP incorporates and annexes tiny Wilbur Park, Lakeshire, St George, and Mackenzie. New population: 23,810.
22. Spanish Lake (21,337). This CDP incorporates as a city of 21,337.
23. Berkeley (10,063) annexes Bel-Ridge, unincorporated Carsonville, and what’s left of Kinloch. New population: 18,441.
24. Lemay (16,854), a CDP, incorporates and annexes Bella Villa. New population: 17,541.
25. Normandy (5,153). Here’s another chance to gobble up some small burgs. Normandy annexes Cool Valley, Bel-Nor, Bellerive, Greendale, Pasadena Park, Pasadena Hills, Norwood Court, Pagedale, and a few unincorporated areas nearby. New population: est. 16,000.
26. Crestwood (11,863) annexes Oakland and Grantwood Village for a new population of 14,286.
27. Ladue (8,645) annexes Frontenac and Huntleigh to form a new city of 12,451.
28. Fenton (4,285) annexes unincorporated areas west for a new population estimated at 12,000.
29. Sunset Hills (8,267) annexes unincorporated areas to the south. New population: est. 10,500.
30. Eureka (7,786) annexes the small portion of Pacific that lies in St Louis County, as well as unincorporated areas south. New population: est. 10,000.