City commission recommends Palace rezoning approval

Last edited 9:17 a.m., June 21, 2017

Springfield’s Planning & Zoning Commission recently voted in favor of a recommendation to City Council that would rezone the recently shuttered Palace theater.

The change — which will be up for debate during a public hearing at council’s July 10 meeting — would rezone the vacant theater inside Chesterfield Village to a general retail district from a planned development. P&Z’s recommendation approval on June 15 also would allow for churches and other places of worship.  

Life360 Church’s purchase of the Palace is contingent on the rezoning.

The purchase proposal had led to organized petitioning by neighborhood residents.

According to P&Z meeting notes, the reasoning for petitioning has included the loss of sales tax revenues and residents’ view a church near Chesterfield Village homes and restaurants was not a good use of the land. More than 40 pages of signatures were turned in to P&Z.

Chesterfield Village developer Larry Lipscomb said the neighborhood’s fight against the rezoning efforts is inappropriate.

“That’s our town,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of churches.”

Lipscomb said he offered Palace owner Warren Theatres the chance to buy the building, but company officials declined. Warren Theatres’ lease of the property switched to month-to-month terms last year.

“It’s just the ebb and flow of business,” he said. “It can’t stay the same forever.”

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