Springfield City Council considered a center city rezoning package 30 months in the making at the Aug. 26 council meeting. If approved, the proposals promise incentives to businesses and residents investing in redevelopment projects.
Three bills designed to update zoning and encourage investment in the College Street corridor would collectively declare 53 acres blighted between Grant Avenue and Kansas Expressway. The bills, which received public hearings, also would offer tax abatements for property redevelopments and establish the West College Street District.
According to the bills, the district is designed as a mixed-use, urban area with three subsections – a live-work area, a residential area and mixed-use area – intended to attract an eclectic mix of businesses, architecture, artist studios and residents consistent with the College Street Corridor Plan council approved a year ago.
On either end of the district, industrial-commercial zoning would be established for Mother’s Brewing Co., 215 S. Grant Ave., and the George & Joann’s Antique Mall property, 555 S. Kansas Expressway. In all, 20.6 acres of property would be rezoned under the proposal.
In April 2011, council requested city staff review zoning in the West Central Neighborhood. During the next year, an analysis report was generated, followed by a series of public meetings, according to information submitted to council. On Aug. 27, 2012, council approved the College Street Corridor Plan, which called for a zoning ordinance that met the current and future needs of the corridor and would allow flexibility with future development. Springfield Planning & Development Director Ralph Rognstad said at last week’s meeting the West College Street District is the result of those efforts.
“(Mother’s Brewing) currently has three zoning districts on it – there’s center city, commercial services and multifamily. This would consolidate it all into one district, and that would work better for their expansion plans in the future,” Rognstad said.
Springfield Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith said the corridor plan includes mixed uses for the area that has ties to historic Route 66. As part of the plan, a blight study was conducted that found, among other conditions, aging water pipes, dilapidated sidewalks and, during the past 10 years, 59 percent of the principal structures declared as dangerous buildings, Smith said. With a blight designation, businesses and residents could seek 100 percent tax abatement for improvements for 10 years, she said, assuming the improvements would increase the taxable assessed value of the property.
Two public speakers addressed council in support of the initiative.
Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance and president of the West Central Neighborhood Alliance, said the changes are welcome.
“We greatly appreciate the investment of time and talent the city has made in this area,” Worley said. “Not only is some of our infrastructure well out of date, but our zoning doesn’t reflect the uses that have evolved over 30 years. This much more reflects the current uses.”
All three bills related to establishing the blighted area and the West College Street District are scheduled for a vote at the Sept. 9 council meeting.
CU rate hikesSeveral members of the community expressed concern about a series of rate hikes coming down the City Utilities’ pipeline.
CU officials introduced a pair of ordinances relating to its fiscal 2014 operating budget and long-term plans to increase electric rates in fiscal years 2015–17. CU’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Total receipts for the upcoming year are projected to come in at $553.2 million, 16 percent higher than the $478 million in fiscal 2013. Roughly $52 million of that increase is planned to fund environmental compliance efforts at the Clearwell and Blackman treatment plants.
In its long-term plans, the utility provider also projected electric rate increases of 5.9 percent in fiscal 2015, 3.9 percent in 2016 and 3.7 percent in 2017. CU said residential customers with average usage will see their bills increase by $5.41 per month in fiscal 2014, and by $3.75 per month during the following two years.
Mike Finch, CU’s chief financial officer, said rising energy costs and a stiff regulatory environment are at play.
“Rates are simply a reflection of our costs,” Finch told council members.
Mike Peters, chairman of the Board of Public Utilities, said the rate hikes don’t mean the cost of utilities in Springfield is not competitive with the rest of the country.
“No one likes to see rate increases. They impact everyone in our community. But if there is good news, it is that even with the proposed changes, the electric rates in Springfield would remain among the lowest in the country,” Peters said.
According to 2011 data from the Energy Information Administration provided to council, the average retail price for electricity was 11.72 cents per kilowatt hour, while the rate in Springfield is currently 7.93 cents per kwh.
Still, 10 members of the public told council they opposed the increases, citing a history of rising costs. In 2010, electric rates increased 18 percent, with 2 percent to 3 percent rises in the years since, and in October, the first in a series of water rate increases will take effect.
Resident Erin Magoon said she understands the need for increases but noted CU has a corner on the Springfield market.
“When McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Nabisco or whoever wants to raise their prices, they have other competitors they have to think about. If Hy-Vee wants to raise its prices, there’s Dillions or Wal-Mart, but there’s no opportunity for other choices [with CU],” Magoon told council.
