What’s on Warrenton’s September 15 Board of Aldermen Agenda — and What Happens Next

The Warrenton Board of Aldermen will meet Tuesday, September 15, at 6 p.m. at the City Annex, 202 West Walton Street.

Neither item is appearing for the first time. Both have already moved through earlier stages of the city’s planning process. Tuesday’s meeting is where the Board of Aldermen gets its turn — and understanding what the Board is actually being asked to approve helps residents know what to watch for next.

Warrenton Crossing: The Corner of Highway 47 and Booneslick Moves Forward

The Board will consider Bill No. 37-26, approving the preliminary and final plat for a subdivision known as Warrenton Crossing.

The approximately 405-acre property is located near the northwest corner of East Booneslick Road and Highway 47 and is currently zoned C-2 Highway Commercial.

According to the ordinance, property owner Dana Moloney submitted the preliminary and final plat for review, and the Warrenton Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval at its September 3 meeting.

If the Board approves the ordinance Tuesday night, it will accept that recommendation and approve the subdivision plat.

That is important — but it is also important to understand what a plat approval does not tell us.

A subdivision plat establishes the legal layout of a development: where the individual lots are located, how land is divided, and where things such as easements, streets or other infrastructure may be situated. It does not necessarily tell us which businesses are coming.

So if you have been driving past that corner wondering whether a particular restaurant, retailer or other business is preparing to build there, Tuesday’s vote will not necessarily answer that question.

What it does is move the property another step closer to being ready for development.

The next things residents should watch for are individual site plans, infrastructure work, building permits, utility connections and other filings associated with specific projects. Those are often the documents that begin revealing what is actually planned for individual lots.

Development rarely arrives at City Hall as one giant decision labeled “approve this new shopping center.” It happens in stages.

The plat is one of those stages.

A Conversation About Proper Cannabis Has Now Become a Citywide Ordinance

The second development item is Bill No. 38-26, which would amend Warrenton’s rules governing the hours of operation for marijuana dispensaries.

This one has an interesting history.

The discussion began with the possibility of allowing Proper Cannabis in Warrenton to operate later — potentially 24 hours a day.

But the ordinance now before the Board is broader than one business.

Rather than granting Proper Cannabis a special exemption, the city has drafted a change to its municipal code that would establish rules applying to qualifying marijuana dispensaries generally.

Under Warrenton’s existing ordinance, marijuana sales cannot occur between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

The proposed amendment keeps that restriction for normal indoor dispensary sales but creates an exception.

A qualifying dispensary could conduct sales 24 hours a day through a drive-through or walk-up window, provided the facility is not adjacent to property used for residential purposes.

That means the proposal is not simply “make the dispensary open 24 hours.”

The retail floor would still be subject to the existing nighttime restrictions. The new provision would allow overnight transactions through a drive-through or walk-up operation.

Planning and Zoning considered the amendment on September 3 and recommended it to the Board of Aldermen.

Tuesday night, the Board will decide whether to make that language part of Warrenton’s municipal code.

Why 24-Hour Sales Could Make Sense for Warrenton

From WCCRD’s perspective, responsible development does not mean opposing every new idea.

It means asking whether a proposal makes sense for the community, whether the rules are clear and whether the benefits and impacts have been considered.

There is a reasonable economic argument for this one.

Warrenton already has a licensed dispensary. The business already exists, and the city already receives tax revenue from marijuana sales.

Extending drive-through or walk-up sales into overnight hours could allow Warrenton to capture purchases that might otherwise be made somewhere else.

Our location makes us especially attractive.

Warrenton sits directly along Interstate 70 and Highway 47, with a constant flow of travelers, truck drivers, commuters and residents from surrounding communities moving through the area.

A business operating during hours when competitors are closed has the potential to draw customers from outside the immediate city limits.

And those visitors do not necessarily purchase only one thing.

Someone coming into Warrenton may also stop for gasoline, food, or another purchase while they are here, meaning the potential economic effect is larger than the tax collected on a single dispensary transaction.

There are legitimate questions whenever businesses extend into overnight operations — including traffic, security and impacts on nearby residents. The proposed ordinance attempts to address at least part of that concern by prohibiting 24-hour operations when the facility is adjacent to residential property.

In this case, allowing a tightly regulated business that is already operating in Warrenton to capture additional overnight sales appears to be a relatively low-cost opportunity for the city to increase economic activity and tax revenue.

The Role of Local Government

Most major changes in a community happen through a series of smaller governmental decisions.

The corner at Highway 47 and Booneslick does not transform overnight. First comes planning. Then subdivision. Then site plans. Then infrastructure. Then permits. Then construction.

Likewise, the possibility of a business operating 24 hours does not begin with a final vote by the Board of Aldermen. A conversation becomes proposed language. Planning and Zoning reviews it. A public hearing occurs. A recommendation is made. Then the Board considers the ordinance.

Watching only the final construction — or only the final vote — means missing much of the process.

That is one reason WCCRD will continue breaking down local agendas and explaining not just what government is voting on, but what the vote actually means and what comes afterward.

Residents do not have to become experts in zoning codes or municipal procedure to participate in local government.

The Warrenton Board of Aldermen meets Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the City Annex, 202 West Walton Street.

A new business also appears to be preparing to open downtown. The Board will consider a liquor-by-the-drink license for Six Point Manor, LLC at 209 E. Booneslick, the former Hopewell Winery location. The application lists beer and wine service and Friday and Saturday hours. WCCRD has reached out to the owners to learn more about their plans for the space and will share additional information when it becomes available.