Livable Community Master Plan

The 2024 Livable Community Master Plan is now publicly available! Thank you to everyone who contributed to and shaped this plan, including residents, the Livable Community Master Plan Steering Committee, the Livable Community Master Plan Citizens Advisory Taskforce, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Clayton Board of Aldermen.

The plan will be presented to the Clayton Board of Aldermen for formal adoption by resolution at the regularly scheduled Board Meeting at Clayton City Hall on Tuesday September 10, 2024.

Details about the Board Meeting, including the agenda and Zoom link, can be found by selecting the September 10 meeting at the following link: https://www.claytonmo.gov/government/boards-and-commissions/board-of-aldermen/

The Livable Community Master Plan is a joint effort between the City of Clayton's Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Public Works. This plan aims to set forth a vision for the future of Clayton's parks and recreation resources, as well as how we get to those places via streets, sidewalks, and the public realm. This plan will update the 2007 Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the 2009 Bikeable Walkable Communities Plan.

The Livable Community Plan is built around three community priorities that emerged throughout public engagement: Vibrant and Inclusive Programming, Safe and Thoughtful Connections, and Activated and Adaptable Public Spaces.

To support these priorities, the plan proposes four Goals to continue to enhance the City of Clayton as a top Livable Community in the next ten years:

1. Leverage public space as a platform for gathering and connection.

2. Make it easy for people of all ages and abilities to walk or ride to their destination.

3. Partner with the community to meet Clayton’s goals of equity and sustainability now and in the future.

4. Strategically embrace Clayton’s role as a recreation hub for both the community and the region.

Each of these goals is supported by strategies the city can use to advance the broader goal. Each strategy is supported by a handful of specific actions that can be accomplished in the next 10 years. The plan sets forth an ambitious vision for the future of Clayton – bringing that vision to life will require thoughtful collaboration between the city, the community, and external partners and stakeholders, all of whom play an essential role in making Clayton livable for all.

The community has already played a critical role in shaping this plan. In the first round of public engagement, attendees at an in-person open house and pop-ups around the city shared their dreams for the future, the challenges they see today, and validated the plan’s understanding of existing conditions. In a second round of engagement, survey recipients and in-person open house attendees weighed in on priorities and preferences across a number of topics in the plan. Finally, in the final round of engagement, in-person open house attendees shared feedback on draft recommendations for the future and identified what mattered most to them in the next ten years. A Steering Committee made up of staff, stakeholders, and residents played a critical role in guiding the plan’s final outcomes. A Citizen Advisory Task Force acted as an advisory body to review content at each stage and ensure the plan meets the needs of Clayton residents.

Take a look at the complete 2024 Livable Community Master Plan here!

Through public open houses, surveys, pop-ups at events, and online tools, the Livable Community team spoke to hundreds of Clayton community members to understand what matters most to you! The Community Engagement Summary is now available on the right sidebar of the Livable Community Master Plan Homepage (under "Project Documents") and includes a full summary of the community's priorities for parks, programming, and connectivity in Clayton.

Throughout conversations with the community, three major themes emerged:

1. The Clayton community wants safer and more comfortable routes to walk and bike in Clayton.

2. People desire more diverse programming, especially cultural and arts programming, in parks and public spaces.

3. Shaw Park and Oak Knoll Parks, the biggest parks in Clayton, are major destinations - people opt to travel longer distances to go to these parks instead of parks closer to them.

What do you think about these ideas? Do these resonate with your priorities for the future of Clayton? Let us know in the Comments & Questions section!

Thank you for your feedback!

Thank you to everyone who joined the Clayton Comprehensive Plan and Livable Community Master Plan Public Open House in March 2024 at the Center of Clayton! We shared proposed design ideas, a new zoning plan, and a vision for Clayton's parks and public realm.

At the public workshop, the Livable Community shared ideas for flexible programming spaces in Clayton parks, along with draft recommendations across four goals:

1. Leverage public space as a platform for gathering and connection.

2. Make it easy for people of all ages and abilities to walk or ride to their destination.

3. Partner with the community to meet Clayton’s goals of equity and sustainability now and in the future.

4. Strategically embrace Clayton’s role as a recreation hub for both the community and the region.

Stay tuned for a summary of engagement data!

Help Us Plan for the Future of Clayton!

How would you improve Clayton parks, recreation, and walking and biking infrastructure? The Livable Community Master Plan team is gathering input on how to make Clayton a vibrant place to live, work, and play - and we need your thoughts!

Please take 3-5 minutes to share your thoughts with a short survey at https://claytonsurvey.org/. The survey closes on February 9, 2024.

On December 5th, the City of Clayton hosted a community meeting at the Center of Clayton to solicit feedback and thoughts related to the two ongoing planning projects. This meeting was a joint effort between the Clayton Tomorrow 2040 plan and the Livable Community Master Plan. We have created a virtual version of the community meeting to expand participation to those who were unable to attend in person. Click the link below to participate in the virtual meeting!

Virtual Joint Community Meeting!

Were you at the St. Louis Art Fair last weekend? If so, you may have seen the City of Clayton’s table at the corner of Forsyth and Central! The Livable Community Master Plan team was out and about gathering your stories and ideas alongside the Comprehensive Master Plan team, and we learned so much about your favorite parks and how you walk and bike in Clayton.

We also caught people on the way to games at Shaw Park and in between classes at the Center of Clayton. People from all walks of life told us their stories in response to the question “what is your favorite park in Clayton, and how do you get there?”

The Livable Community Master Plan team, including Clayton Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff, will be out at the Hanley Park Fall Festival to learn more about your ideas on Thursday September 14th. We hope to see you there!

Do you value the City's parks and care about creating a walkable and bikeable community? We have an opportunity for you! The City needs community members to serve on the Citizen Advisory Task Force, which will assist and provide feedback to staff and the project consultant in reviewing and analyzing existing conditions and the proposed Livable Community Master Plan. To apply, please complete the application form.