City Beat: Battlefield Kum & Go plans draw opposition

Last updated at 7:37 p.m. Aug. 15.

Springfield City Council is tasked with deciding whether a convenience store is a good fit for the northeast corner of Kimbrough Avenue and Battlefield Street where West Des Moines, Iowa-based Kum & Go LC wants to build a new location. If neighbors of the 777 Office Building have their way, a proposed zoning change to move the project forward would be squashed.

At the July 29 council meeting, Springfield Planning and Development Director Ralph Rognstad said the Planning & Zoning Commission on July 11 approved the proposal to rezone 777 E. Battlefield Road to general retail from the current office zoning.

The commission’s 6-2 vote followed concerns voiced by several neighbors to the north regarding water runoff and increased traffic from the proposed store.

One neighbor, William Cheek, who previously served a six-year stint as a Planning & Zoning commissioner, attended the council hearing and spoke in opposition to the zoning change.

“The property in question is adjacent to the residential [zoning] to the east and north, and it is across the street from an existing park on the left. This will, in one sense, be an isolated retail location,” Cheek said of the office property at the northeast corner of Kimbrough Avenue and Battlefield Road. “The existing office classification is more appropriate adjacent to single-family residential than the proposed retail zoning.”

Cheek said the store would increase traffic on Kimbrough and create more congestion around Cowden Elementary School. He also said stormwater runs to the north toward South Creek, and he criticized the zoning commissioners for not requiring the rainwater to be diverted toward Battlefield Road.

Kum & Go representative Josh House said at the meeting the plans are part of the chain’s efforts to invest $24 million through 2015 in renovations at select stores among its 46-store footprint in Greene County

He said the company had been considering upgrades at the nearby 3030 S. Jefferson Ave. store when the more visible office building at 777 E. Battlefield Road became available.

“This is a great opportunity to provide frontage on Battlefield,” House said.

He said the company would assess the feasibility of diverting rainwater to the south, and it planned to build a 6-foot privacy fence and plant 42 trees in the buffer zone along the north side of the property to reduce neighbors’ safety, noise and lighting concerns.

Rognstad said a traffic study was not required for this rezoning because the change to general retail from office would likely create little additional traffic. Considering Kum & Go isn’t a destination retailer, House said it would mostly pull in traffic from the Battlefield corridor, which already records traffic volumes of more than 30,000 cars a day.

In the July 11 Planning & Zoning meeting minutes, Brad Thessing of Thessing Commercial Properties LLC, who represented property owner Griswold Enterprises LLC, said the office building was 50 percent leased.

Tenants at the 14,675-square-foot office facility have included Childer’s Law Firm, staffing company Aerotek and Farmer’s Insurance. Thessing, the real estate broker representing both the owner and Kum & Go, said on July 30 he wasn’t sure which tenants still occupied the property.

He declined to disclose the sale price or listing amount. According to Greene County assessor records, the taxable appraised value of the property is $1.47 million. Owner Griswold Enterprises also owns the building at 2113 W. Republic Road, home to Las Margaritas Mexican Restaurant in Chesterfield Village, and the Applebee’s building at 1855 E. Primrose St. Thessing said the owner was working to relocate 777 Office Building’s tenants.

Council is expected to vote on the measure at its Aug. 12 meeting.

Beacon Village
Another agenda item at council’s Aug. 12 meeting, the developer of affordable housing at 3902 W. Helen St. is seeking a loan through the city’s Comprehensive Housing Assistance Program.

Earlier this year, developer The Kitchen Inc. was approved for $924,000 in 10-year state and federal tax credits to help keep rents down at the Beacon Village apartments, which is designed to serve two special needs populations: formerly homeless individuals and persons with developmental delays.

The bill introduced would create an exception to the Comprehensive Housing Assistance Program boundaries, which do not extent west of West Bypass Avenue. The Beacon Village project is located northwest of Chestnut Expressway and West Bypass on West Helen Street.

The bill, if approved, would allow the city to issue a loan that could be used for a storm shelter and energy enhancements at the apartments.

The proposed loan amount had yet to be determined as of July 30, according to city loan officer Bob Jones, but he said the loan would likely be less than $100,000.

Moon City inspiration
Planning Director Rognstad introduced a bill that would allow neighborhoods to establish their own live/work overlay districts in residential areas.

The proposal was prompted by a desire among artists living in the Woodland Heights neighborhood north of Commercial Street to create signage and sell their wares out of their homes.

If the bill is approved, Woodland Heights residents could put together a more formal plan for the Moon City Creative District, which Rognstad said could incorporate a 16-block area.

The overlay district is designed for small businesses that operate out of residences. Parameters include structures no larger than 5,000 square feet, with less than half devoted to work space, and businesses that employ up to five.

“(The requirements) are not quite as stringent as you would find in a commercial situation. There is a lesser standard because there are limitations on workers and [building] size,” Rognstad told council members.

Councilmen Doug Burlison and Jeff Seifried voiced support for the proposal designed to enhance business development opportunities.

“I think this has the potential to be a pretty fantastic zoning classification and help put people to work who might not have the ability to do that right now,” Burlison said.

A second reading and vote is scheduled for the Aug. 12 meeting.