In recent summers, a snow cone trailer outside Bradley Fuel (14298 Ladue) gave families from the Green Trails neighborhood a reason to walk down Ladue Road, linger for a while, and cool off with a frozen treat.
Then, in 2024, the city of Chesterfield said it had to go.
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Now, a proposed city ordinance could bring the trailer back before the summer is over, temporarily suspending enforcement of a restriction that prohibits outdoor sales at the neighborhood service station.
The measure, introduced by newly elected Ward I Councilmember A.J. Moll, advanced out of the Planning and Public Works Committee last month on a 3-0 vote with one abstention. It is expected to come before the full City Council as soon as next Monday. If approved, the ordinance would authorize the city’s planning director to temporarily suspend the outdoor-sales restriction through September 30 while a permanent zoning amendment is pursued.
“This is the No. 1 issue that I campaigned on,” Moll says. “It’s the issue that got me upset enough to run for office.”
What sounds like a simple question—Why not let a snow cone trailer post up outside a gas station?—has become entangled in the property’s zoning history and a longer-running dispute between its owner and the city.
Bradley Fuel sits in an unusual pocket of commercial property surrounded largely by homes. The service station dates to the days when the area included a golf course, years before Chesterfield incorporated in 1988. Its site-specific zoning requires sales to take place indoors and references items such as tires, motor oil, and automotive equipment. Because the language is not limited to those products, the city determined that it also prohibited the snow cone trailer.
The neighboring commercial properties do not have the same restriction, according to Moll. “The intent was not to have tires and motor oil and all this,” he says. “But the intent of the law is not the law.”
Bradley Fuel owner Thomas Bradley says the trailer operated at the station for about three years. Its operator was a Green Trails Elementary school bus driver who knew many of the neighborhood children, and Bradley says he allowed the business to use the property without charging rent.
“We would get a lot of phone calls from kids asking, ‘What time does he open? What days is he going to be there?’” Bradley recalls. “After COVID, the neighborhood really needed a chance to come together, and that provided everybody with that chance.”
The arrangement ended after city officials determined the trailer violated the outdoor-sales restriction. Bradley says he was warned that continuing to host it could jeopardize the station’s business license.
Former Councilmember Mary Monachella says the snow cone violation surfaced during a broader code-enforcement review that began after an adjacent property owner complained about vehicles from Bradley Fuel being parked on his lot while awaiting service. Monachella says she supports a properly permitted snow cone trailer, but believes any change should move through the city’s normal zoning process rather than a temporary suspension.
“As a councilmember, I swore an oath to uphold the law and serve with integrity,” Monachella says. “This means advocating fairly for every resident in Ward 1, including those on opposite sides of an issue, and enforcing our ordinances impartially. I am no longer on the City Council. However, then and now, I totally support a snow cone trailer or truck that is legally parked and satisfies St. Louis County’s health and food requirements. I am not in favor of temporarily overriding ordinances unless there is an emergency. If changes are needed, they should follow the city’s regular procedures.”
The temporary ordinance is meant to bridge the gap while Bradley Fuel pursues a permanent zoning change. If the council approves the measure, Bradley hopes that the wait will be short.
“I’m hoping the very next day the trailer can show up,” he says.
