St. Louis Regional Planning and Land Use Policy

Regional planning and land use policy in the St. Louis metro area operate through a fragmented network of municipal, county, and bi-state authorities — a direct consequence of the city-county separation that has defined the region's governance since 1876. This page explains how land use decisions are made, which agencies hold authority at each level, the common scenarios where planning intersects with development and infrastructure, and the boundaries that determine which rules apply to a given parcel or project.

Definition and scope

Regional planning, in the St. Louis context, refers to the coordinated management of land use, transportation corridors, housing density, environmental protection, and infrastructure investment across a multi-jurisdictional territory that includes the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, and — for federal transportation and air quality purposes — portions of the Illinois metro counties including Madison and St. Clair counties.

Land use policy is the narrower discipline within that umbrella: the rules governing how individual parcels may be developed, subdivided, rezoned, or preserved. In Missouri, land use authority is a creature of state statute, primarily Chapters 89 and 64 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, which delegate zoning and subdivision control to municipalities and counties respectively. The City of St. Louis, as an independent city outside any county, exercises both municipal and county-level zoning powers within its 61.9 square miles (U.S. Census Bureau, City Area Measurement).

Scope and coverage limitations: This page addresses planning and land use policy within the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri, and the regional coordination mechanisms that extend into southwestern Illinois. It does not address zoning ordinances specific to the 88 municipalities within St. Louis County — each of which maintains its own zoning code — nor does it cover planning in Jefferson County, Franklin County, or Lincoln County, which fall outside the primary urbanized planning area. Illinois-side jurisdiction, including the authority of Madison and St. Clair county governments, is referenced only as it intersects with bi-state planning coordination and is not covered in full on this page.

How it works

Land use and regional planning decisions flow through at least 4 distinct institutional layers in the St. Louis metro:

  1. State statutory framework — Missouri's Chapter 89 (municipal zoning) and Chapter 64 (county zoning) authorize local governments to enact zoning ordinances, establish planning commissions, and regulate subdivision plats. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) provides environmental review standards that intersect with land use approvals.

  2. City of St. Louis — The city's zoning code is administered by the Building Division and the City Planning Commission. Major rezonings require Board of Aldermen approval, connecting land use directly to the aldermanic ward system. The St. Louis Development Corporation manages economic development overlays including enterprise zones and redevelopment area designations.

  3. St. Louis County — The County Department of Planning administers zoning for unincorporated areas, which cover roughly 20 percent of the county's land area. The County Council acts as the legislative body for county zoning amendments, while the 88 incorporated municipalities each apply their own codes internally.

  4. East-West Gateway Council of Governments — The East-West Gateway Council serves as the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the bi-state region. As an MPO, it is required under 23 U.S.C. § 134 to produce a long-range transportation plan and a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), both of which carry binding consequences for federal funding eligibility. Its planning area spans 8 counties — 5 in Missouri and 3 in Illinois.

The interaction between these layers means that a single large development project may require zoning approval from a municipality, environmental sign-off from MDNR, and transportation impact review coordinated through the East-West Gateway process — with no single authority holding complete jurisdiction.

Common scenarios

Rezoning petitions are the most frequent land use action in the city and county. A property owner or developer petitions the relevant planning commission, which holds a public hearing and issues a recommendation to the legislative body (Board of Aldermen in the city; County Council or municipal council in the county). Approval typically requires demonstrating consistency with the applicable comprehensive plan.

Tax increment financing districts represent a distinct land use tool. The St. Louis TIF process allows redevelopment authorities to capture future property and sales tax increments to finance infrastructure within a defined district. TIF plans require a finding of "blight" or "conservation area" status under Missouri's Chapter 99 statutes, which places a quasi-judicial determination at the center of what is otherwise a planning decision.

Special taxing districts — including community improvement districts and special taxing districts — layer additional planning obligations and revenue streams onto defined geographic areas, often without voter approval beyond a petition threshold set by property owners.

Bi-state infrastructure projects, such as light rail expansions operated through Metro Transit, require coordination between Missouri and Illinois planning authorities and must be reflected in East-West Gateway's federally approved TIP before federal dollars can be committed.

Decision boundaries

The most consequential distinction in St. Louis regional planning is city versus county jurisdiction. Because the City of St. Louis separated from St. Louis County in 1876, there is no overarching county government with authority over city land use. The city plans entirely independently. This is a recurring friction point in regional coordination efforts documented by the East-West Gateway Council in its long-range planning documents (East-West Gateway, Moving Forward 2050).

A secondary boundary runs between incorporated and unincorporated county land. Within incorporated municipalities in St. Louis County, county zoning does not apply — each municipality's own code governs. Only in unincorporated St. Louis County does the county planning department hold primary authority.

The St. Louis Land Bank occupies a specific decision boundary: it holds title to tax-delinquent and abandoned parcels and can dispose of them under streamlined procedures that bypass standard rezoning timelines, making it a parallel track for redevelopment decision-making distinct from conventional planning channels.

For broader context on how these planning mechanisms fit within the region's overall civic structure, the St. Louis Metropolitan Area Governance overview provides the institutional framing, and the homepage maps the full scope of metro-level coverage available across this reference.

References

Read Next

St. Louis City-County Separation: Origins and Impact ANA › United States Authority › Missouri State Authority › St. Illinois Metro Counties in the St. Louis Region ANA › United States Authority › Missouri State Authority › St. St. Louis Zoning Code and Land Use Regulations Louis Zoning Code and Land Use Regulations St.