Chimney Rock lawsuit against city clerk dropped

A lawsuit filed last year involving the planned Chimney Rock subdivision in Galloway Village has been dropped.

Dan Clark, the Galloway Village resident behind the lawsuit, filed a voluntary dismissal without prejudice on Jan. 22 through his attorneys, according to Greene County Circuit Court records. Clark in May 2025 sued Springfield City Clerk Anita Cotter after she rejected his referendum petition with nearly 2,000 signatures seeking to repeal City Council's approved preliminary plat measure for the Chimney Rock subdivision; Cotter communicated to Clark by letter that administrative decisions are not subject to referendum. 

The court filing does not list a reason for the dismissal. Evans & Dixon LLC attorney Kirk A. Kaczmarek, who represented Clark in the case, declined to comment when reached this morning.

Springfield Business Journal is seeking comment from the city of Springfield.

In August, Judge Joshua Christensen of the Greene County Circuit Court put the case on hold pending council's decision on a revised preliminary plat for the planned Chimney Rock subdivision, according to past reporting. 

Council in September voted 7-1 in favor of the dedication of public streets and easements for the Chimney Rock subdivision. The 8.7-acre Chimney Rock development, from JCRS Development LLC, is planned near Battlefield Road and Lone Pine Avenue. 

The lawsuit, and some of the public opposition, focused on whether council unlawfully approved access points for the Chimney Rock subdivision that neighbors say were prohibited under an existing conditional overlay and whether residents were improperly denied the right to challenge that decision through a public referendum, according to past reporting.