FAQs
What Benefits are there to having a User Account on the website?

By registering for an account on the Commission’s website, you have the ability to subscribe to meetings, proposals, and map plans posted to the website. As a subscriber, you will receive an email notification whenever an update is made to the meeting, proposal, and/or map plan(s) to which you’re subscribed. In addition, as a registered user you can sign up to follow a city (or cities) and a zip code (or zip codes) AND receive an alert whenever anything is posted to the website that matches your subscriptions.

E.G. You live in Ballwin or near Ballwin and want to be notified whenever Ballwin posts a proposal or map plan or there’s a meeting where Ballwin is on the agenda. With an account, you can sign up to receive email alerts as soon as anything is posted.

Lastly, you can manage your subscriptions and your user profile easily within your account page.

What is the role of the Boundary Commission?

The primary role of the Commission is to review proposals from municipalities, the county or county residents seeking various types of boundary changes of areas wholly or partially within the county.

Who defines the work of the Commission?

The work of the Commission is defined by the state legislature and is found in Chapter 72.400 – 72.423 R.S.Mo.

What types of boundary changes come before the Commission?
  • Annexations
  • Incorporations
  • Consolidations
  • Transfers of Jurisdictions between municipalities and/or the county
Can a proposal which has been disapproved by the Commission be resubmitted?

Yes.  A proposal which is resubmitted with changes will be considered a new proposal.

Are there other Boundary Commissions in the State of Missouri?

No. St. Louis County is the only county in the State with this type of commission. It was formed to oversee orderly incorporation in the county.

Who can initiate a boundary change?

By law and under the requirements of the law, the governing body of a municipality or the county can initiate a boundary change proposal for annexations, transfers of jurisdictions, disincorporation and consolidations Or in cases of incorporations a petition with signatures of 15% of the registered voters in the last gubernatorial election can seek boundary changes.

Can an individual citizen or group of citizens initiate a boundary change before the Commission?

Generally, the answer is no. The only occasion under the law where that could happen is in a proposal for an incorporation of municipalities. Otherwise, there is no direct route to the Commission for proposing a boundary change.

If help is needed to prepare a proposal, will the Boundary Commission help me in the preparation?

The Commission and its staff are not able to assist you in designing your proposal, but we do recommend that you contact our staff when you have questions regarding filing criteria, review process, explanations of the Rules and their requirements, etc. St. Louis County Planning Department will provide information they have available to help you develop a Plan of Intent.

What is involved in submitting a proposal for boundary change?

The Rules of the Commission which became effective April 15, 1999 set forth what information is expected with each proposal. Generally, each proposal requires the same basic information, with the core element being the “Plan of Intent.” Depending on the type of proposal, you may be asked for additional information that is unique to that proposal, e.g. a petition for incorporation proposals.

Where are proposals submitted?

Proposals are to be submitted to the Boundary Commission office at 225 S. Meramec, Suite 821T, St. Louis, MO, 63105 between 9 a.m.-Noon and 1-3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The date a proposal is actually received in the office of the Boundary Commission is considered the official submittal date.

Where do I find out what is to be submitted?

The Rules of the Commission set forth what is required of each type of proposal.

What is the Plan of Intent?

The Plan of Intent is generally intended to provide the Commission with the information necessary to address the eleven (11) mandatory review factors.

What are the eleven (11) mandatory review factors the Commission must consider?
  1. Impact on tax base or ability to raise revenue
  2. Legal description in standard form by metes and bounds
  3. Ability to accommodate the orderly incorporation of the county
  4. Present level of major services provided by municipality or other provider
  5. Proposed time schedule to provide services
  6. Current tax rate(s) of area subject to proposal
  7. Sources of revenue
  8. Extraordinary effect the boundary change will have on the distribution of tax resources in the county
  9. Proposed zoning of area
  10. Compactness of area; e.g. service delivery, community of interest, etc.
  11. Effective date of proposed boundary change
Is there any single factor which will influence the Commission's decision on a proposal?

Each factor will be considered equally. Some factors appear to be more informational while others are more quantitative. When considering a proposal, they will all be given appropriate weight in making a decision.

Once a proposal is submitted, when will the proposing agent know whether it is approved or denied?

The law requires the Commission to complete its review of a proposal within nine (9) months of the official submittal of the proposal. However, the review of a proposal for a Simplified Boundary Change must be completed within four (4) months of the date of official submittal.

What is the difference between a Boundary Change proposal and a Simplified Boundary Change proposal?

A Simplified Boundary Change is the only time when the Commission is asked to approve a change in boundaries without that change being submitted to the voters. Otherwise in all other cases, the Commission only acts to approve or disapprove the question of whether a proposal should be placed before the voters for their action and final determination.

Simplified Boundary Changes come in which three (3) forms?
  1. Annexation – where a petition signed by 75% of the property owners in the area seek annexation to a particular municipality. The municipality is the proposing agent for such a proposal.
  2. Transfer of Jurisdiction between municipalities – this is a situation where jurisdiction is transferred between municipalities, leaving each municipality a separate legal entity.
  3. Transfer of Jurisdiction between municipality and the county.
What happens after a proposal is submitted to the Commission?

First, all proposals will be reviewed to determine if all the required documents are there. If not, the proposing agent has eight (8) working days from the official date of submittal to correct any deficiencies/omissions. The proposal will be considered complete and ready for public hearing unless the Commission at a regular meeting rejects the submittal as being incomplete. Such a rejection is not on the merits of the proposal and does not prevent resubmittal.

When is the Public Hearing?

The Commission will set the public hearing date. The hearing must occur within 81 days of official submittal.

Where will the Public Hearing be held?

The Commission will determine the location of the public hearings. It is their desire to hold them at a site that is either within or near to the area covered by the proposal. When an emergency declaration exists (such as COVID), the Commission will conduct the public hearing virtually and livestream it to the Commission’s YouTube channel.

Is there a defined order of business for the public hearing?

The Rules outline an order of business for a Public Hearing. Public comments may be limited if circumstances require it.

When does the official record of the Public Hearing close?

Written, in addition to oral, comments are welcomed during a Public Hearing. Any written comments received within twenty-one (21) calendar days after the close of the Public Hearing will be accepted as part of the official record.

What happens after the Public Hearing?

After the close of the Public Hearing, the Commission will begin its deliberation on the merits of the proposal. These deliberations generally will be at their regular monthly meetings. Depending on the volume of proposals, special meetings may be required to meet the time limitations for making a final decision.

How will the Commission determine whether a proposal should be accepted or rejected?

The Commission, upon reviewing the entire record, and in consideration of the eleven (11) mandatory review factors, will render its decision on the merits of the proposal.

How many Commissioners must vote in favor of a proposal?

The Rules require an affirmative majority votes of those present to approve or disapprove a proposal. The Rules also require that no vote will be taken unless the Commission has had an opportunity to review a preliminary finding in advance of the vote and unless a minimum of Commission members are present for the final vote.

How will I know if a proposal has passed or failed?

There is no formal procedure to notify residents. When the Boundary Commission comes to a determination about a specific proposal, they issue a Summary of Decision notifying the proposing agent and St. Louis County.  Residents can check the Boundary Commission website, subscribe to notifications, or call the Boundary Commission or the proposing city.