City Beat: CID amendment proposed for Farmers Park

Plans to reimburse green developer Matt O’Reilly for roughly one-tenth of the project costs associated with his $24 million mixed-use Farmers Park development took a step forward at the July 16 Springfield City Council meeting.

Council considered a bill to expand the boundaries of the Shoppes at James River Community Improvement District to include recently purchased city-owned land and allow for $2.6 million in new reimbursable expenses on the property planned for O’Reilly’s residential, office and commercial development.

On May 7, council approved the purchase of five acres of city-owned property for $430,000 to Green Circle Projects LLC with the understanding that the CID in place since 2009 would be amended. The bill introduced July 16 would allow a 1-cent sales tax inside the district to reimburse O’Reilly for storm-water drainage improvements, the construction of roads and trails, public utilities, street and trail lighting, public plazas and fountains.

Springfield Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith said the city issued a request in January to sell its land adjacent to the Shoppes at James River, which is anchored by the Hilton Garden Inn and Houlihan’s South at the corner of Glenstone Avenue and Republic Road.

Republic Road LLC, the development company of commercial real estate agent and Shoppes’ creator Tom Rankin, and O’Reilly’s Green Circle Projects worked together to offer a proposal, Smith said.

On April 9, O’Reilly provided council details of the plans for the 12-acre development centered around a farmers market as a resolution was introduced to consider the sale of the city-owned property, which included a roughly two-acre water-detention basin.

Smith said O’Reilly, who is known as a sustainability advocate and owner of outdoor gear retailer Dynamic Earth, is now moving forward with plans to improve storm-water collection at the detention basin. She said O’Reilly purchased the land as a way to increase the green space on the development property.

“There were two tracts of land. There was the tract that has the regional storm-water detention basin, and there was a tract of vacant land. We had to buy all of that property when we needed to build the storm-water basin, so our intent was always to sell the vacant tract. But when we started talking about it, there was some indication from Mr. O’Reilly that he would be interested in buying all of it, because then he could use the storm-water basin as part of his required green space and make the rest of his development more dense,” Smith said.

With the establishment of the Shoppes’ CID in 2009, Rankin could receive up to $2.4 million from the district sales tax to cover costs associated with the construction of the Houlihan’s and Hilton Garden Inn.

If the bill introduced July 16 passes, O’Reilly would be eligible to receive up to $2.6 million in construction costs associated with Farmers Park, allowing the sales tax to cover roughly $5 million in development costs through 2059.

O’Reilly’s plans include the development of apartments, retail, office space and an outdoor plaza built around Farmers Market of the Ozarks Inc., which started operating in the space between Houlihan’s and Hilton Garden Inn in April.

No members of the public spoke on the proposal. Council is expected to vote on the matter July 30.

Future battles
Ten unscheduled speakers concluded last week’s meeting to address matters yet to come before council. Nearly all of the speakers expressed concerns about a bill said to be in the works that would combat discrimination against members of the homosexual and transgender communities in the city.

The bill, which was drafted at the request of Council’s Plans and Policies Committee following a 2011 report by the Mayor’s Commission on Human Rights, is designed to protect the rights of individuals who could face discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, according to City Attorney Dan Wichmer. The ordinance, which has yet to be placed on council’s calendar, would make it unlawful for nonreligious based institutions in the city to discriminate against individuals with regard to employment, public accommodations or housing.

“I think this would be taking away the unalienable rights of employers,” Springfield resident Chris Jerman said in objection, adding that employers frequently make discriminating decisions such as choosing not to hire an improperly dressed person who applies for a job.

Others opposed to the bill, such as Mary Burn, cited health concerns and a need to protect the identity of the traditional family.

Should council hear and pass the ordinance, Wichmer said the Mayor’s Commission – a volunteer advisory body – would followup on discrimination claims and, after investigation, could submit a report to the prosecutor. Wichmer said religious-based organizations would be exempt from the ordinance. Should the prosecutor determine a violation has occurred, a citation would be issued and could be fought in municipal court, with fines set at a maximum of $1,000, he said.

“Race, sex, national origin, pregnancy, age and disability are already covered by state and federal discrimination laws,” Wichmer said, pointing to the types of situations the Mayor’s Commissions might currently investigate.

Wal-Mart concerns
Council also heard from east Springfield resident Fred Hamburg, who lives near the intersection of Sunshine Street and Blackman Road. Hamburg said he and other neighbors are concerned that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning a 24-hour grocery store near their homes. He told council that when plans for the nearby Sam’s Club location were passed, neighbors fought to include a condition that the company or future property owners could not build a 24-hour store near the intersection.

Smith and Wichmer confirmed at the meeting that no retailer would be able to build a store that operates between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. at the intersection.

Hamburg said it has long been rumored that Wal-Mart had plans for a Neighborhood Market at the intersection, but he did not know of any specific plans. Springfield Principal Planner Mike MacPherson said no zoning changes regarding the intersection had been brought before the Planning and Zoning Commission as of July 17.

Wal-Mart spokesman Daniel Morales said there were no plans to report.

“We are always looking for ways to serve our customers. At this time, we have no news to share on any new projects in the area,” Morales said via e-mail.