CLAYTON • The Board of Aldermen approved a new zoning district and development plan for Centene’s campus expansion Tuesday night, clearing the biggest hurdle to the health care company’s plans to bring another 2,000 employees to downtown Clayton.

The unanimous vote caps months of review before the city’s plan commission. Many residents had expressed concern the huge campus along Forsyth Boulevard was too much too fast and would clog Clayton’s streets with traffic.

Ultimately, the prospect of a unified plan for high-rise office buildings, a hotel and some residential and retail space on some of the last remaining undeveloped land in Clayton won over city leaders.

“You can’t always decide not to do something because you’re afraid of the future,” said Alderman Ira Berkowitz.

While Tuesday’s vote approved new zoning and the broad outlines of a development plan, each of four individual phases still requires architectural review and approval.

Meanwhile, there was little discussion of the potential public incentives that Centene wants. A state estimate put the total public assistance for the almost $1 billion project at $147 million over 20 years. Centene estimates the total value of incentives at between $88 million and $135 million.