The City of St. Peters requires all developments to establish escrow agreements.

Developers must guarantee the completion of all improvements required by the approved site plan after the site plan has been approved and all inspection fees have been paid, but before the issuance of any grading or building permits or the approval of the record plat. The developer must also guarantee the cost of restoration should the developer fail to complete the approved improvements and maintenance of such improvements.

View Ordinance No. 5629 (PDF), passed August 11, 2011 for more detailed information.

After site plan approval, but prior to grading or building permit issuance, or record plat approval, the developer shall guarantee the completion of improvements. The developer can either:

1. Complete and dedicate the improvements and establish a maintenance escrow; or
2. Establish a deposit agreement (construction escrow). A maintenance escrow will be required prior to full release of the construction escrow.

Deposit options are Cash or Letter of Credit (LOC). Choose one of the following links for correct form.

• Deposit Agreement for Maintenance of Site Improvements with Cash Escrow (PDF)
• Deposit Agreement for Maintenance of Site Plan Improvements with Letter of Credit (PDF)
• Deposit Agreement Guaranteeing Site Improvements with Cash Escrow (PDF)
• Deposit Agreement Guaranteeing Site Improvements with Letter of Credit (PDF)

 Letters of credit:

• Must be from a local bank.
• Shall be good for at least one year from its date of issuance.
• Shall state that “any balance remaining at the expiration shall automatically be deposited in cash with the Treasurer of the City”, unless replaced by a new letter of credit prior to expiration, or the city releases the escrow in full.
• The developer shall pay a non-refundable fee of $200 for submitting a LOC.
• A $100.00 non-refundable fee is due for any amendment or extension to the LOC.

Amount of Deposit – All estimates shall be based off of St. Louis County's unit price list which can be found at: www.stlouisco.com; when on the St. Louis County web site select “Property and Roads” then “Transportation” then “Publications-Design Criteria Manual” and finally ”Chapter 9 Schedule of unit prices for establishment of escrows and bonds”. For items not included on the County’s Unit Price List, the submitting engineer will need to provide an estimate for the city to review.

1. Construction Deposits
   • Residential – 100% of the cost to construct all required Improvements, including detention basins, grading, restoration and siltation/erosion controls.
   • Commercial or Industrial – 100% of cost to construct all required public improvements and a restoration sum:
     • 0-1 acres = $ 5,000
     • 1-3 acres = $15,000
     • 3-5 acres = $25,000
     • 5-10 acres or more= $50,000
2. Maintenance Deposits – 15% of the cost to construct all required improvements, plus 100% of the restoration sum.

• Extensions to the two-year completion period: As a condition of an extension to complete public improvements, the City has the right to require the recalculation of escrow amounts to ensure that the amount of the funds held is adequate to correct any outstanding deficiencies or incomplete construction.

Inspections

CCTV Inspection: Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) inspections for sanitary and storm sewer mains to be dedicated to the city shall be required prior to the release of any escrow funds for the sewers. If the developer elects to have the city camera the mains, the cost is $1.00 per lineal foot of sewer main. Any areas of sewer main needing to be reinspected shall be assessed the same charge ($1.00 per lineal foot of main reinspected). The developer has the option to hire someone else to conduct the CCTV inspection. See the Code (ordinance 5629) for specific required information required if this option is taken.

Inspections must be completed within 20 business days when a written request has been filed with the city with the following information:

• Each category an inspection is requested for.
• Certification from a MO professional engineer that the improvement to be inspected is completed and being maintained.
• A verified statement from the developer or their rep. attesting that the info. in the inspection request is true and accurate.

Nothing shall preclude the inspectors from completing additional inspections at their own discretion or as a courtesy to the Developer.

Construction Escrow Release

The City Engineer can release any amount up to a maximum amount of 95% of the escrow amount for each category (streets, water, sanitary sewer, etc.) upon completion and dedication of each category of improvements. The final 5% release, for the entire escrow amount (all categories) shall not be released until all categories of improvements have passed inspection, have been dedicated, AND a 15% maintenance escrow has been established.

Maintenance Escrow Release

 The maintenance escrow shall be released in full after passing a final inspection which is to be performed either:

• One year after BOA approval of the Instrument of Dedication (IOD); or
• One year after occupancy permits have been issued on 95% of the lots in the subdivision plat, and the BOA has approved the IOD.

Escrow Agreements and surety bonds approved and provided prior to February 1, 2012, shall continue to be governed in accordance with their terms and the provisions of the St. Peters Code in effect at the time of their approval.

Escrow Agreements and surety bonds approved and provided prior to February 1, 2012, that need an extension or that are to be replaced, must comply with the new code.