City Beat: Council eyes new plat for development at heart of lawsuit

A subdivision that is the subject of a lawsuit was back before Springfield City Council at its Sept. 8 meeting.

Council heard first reading of a bill to accept the dedication of public streets and easements in the proposed Chimney Rock subdivision, a 9-acre development generally located at 3040 S. Arcadia Ave. in the Galloway Village neighborhood. The project is proposed by JCRS Development LLC, registered to Jeff Childs and Riley Shantz.

A newly revised plat for the subdivision lowers the number of single-family residences in the development to 29 from 40 from the plat approved by council in February.

The new plat would remove a connection between Arcadia Avenue and a road proposed to be constructed, Carson Avenue, and it also includes a turnaround referred to by staff as a hammerhead. That road design is a modified capital-T shape with one side of the T’s crossbar having a broader curve to allow access for emergency vehicles.

Some neighborhood residents expressed objections to the road design.

Sonja Shaw spoke up to say that the new plat is an improvement because of its decreased density, but she is concerned about the new public street, Carson Avenue. She described the hammerhead as a blind curve, and she noted the geography is not suitable to handle the volume the neighborhood would offer. She also expressed concern about line of sight not being sufficient for drivers and called the design a significant safety hazard.

Tammy Fulk called the hammerhead a violation of a previously approved conditional use permit. That permit, approved in 2018, included a condition prohibiting access from the land onto any residentially zoned property.

The city is involved in a lawsuit over the proposed development. Neighborhood resident Dan Clark attempted through the petition process to overturn council’s decision by bringing the matter to city residents for a vote. City Clerk Anita Cotter rejected Clark’s petition on the grounds that the plat action is administrative in nature and therefore not subject to the referendum process. Clark subsequently sued Cotter, and that case was paused by Judge Joshua Christensen Aug. 25 pending council’s action on the revised plat.

Steve Childers, the city’s director of Planning and Development, said various developers were looking at the project.

“Through the conversations between the potential purchasers and the developer, this is the one that was most suitable for the negotiation, and therefore they actually were going to reduce the lots to allow for more custom homes,” he said.

Childers added that another option was for a developer to develop a greater number of lots into single-family rental homes, but in the plan currently being considered, houses would be sold instead of rented.

The revised plat was unanimously approved by the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission Aug. 14 and is recommended by staff.

A council vote is scheduled Sept. 22.

City Utilities rates
Council heard the first reading of bills to approve the fiscal 2026 budget for City Utilities of Springfield and to schedule an increase in electric rates for residential customers. CU’s 2026 fiscal year starts Oct. 1, the ordinance states.

Both measures were first introduced to council at a joint meeting of the two bodies on Aug. 14.

Electric rate increase for residential customers would amount to 3% starting in April 2027 and 3.6% starting in April 2028. The impact on commercial and industrial customers would vary by rate class, usage and load factor.

The proposed budget for CU anticipates operating revenue of $588 million in 2026, compared with a projected $551 million in 2025 and actual $522 million in 2024.

Jenson used the opportunity of the budget presentation to query CU leadership about possible changes to the transit system, as CU operates the city’s bus system.

He asked Board of Public Utilities Chair Louise Knauer if she would agree that CU provides the best possible transit system possible within CU’s resource-constrained environment.

Replied Knauer, “As you all know, the utility runs the transit system for the city of Springfield at an operating deficit, but I think we provide as strong system as possible that we can within the constraints that we’re under.”

Jenson said he agrees that CU does the best possible job it can with a well-run system within a city that is geographically large and has a high transit need.

“I do think that it’s important that we recognize that that can be true while also recognizing that we are not meeting the needs of our community,” he said.

Council is scheduled to vote on the CU budget and proposed rate increase on Sept. 22. 

Other action items

• A $500,000 Brownfields Job Training Grant application was approved for submission to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The grant would fund training programs for environmental jobs in the community.
• Developer McField LLC is seeking to reopen Ebbets Field Sports Bar & Patio at 1027 E. Walnut St. Council held a first reading of an ordinance for a conditional use permit for the property. The property’s previous conditional use permit has expired. Sydney Davis, who according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting purchased the business and building with husband Jerrad Davis, said they are hoping to be open by spring of 2026. Council is scheduled to vote on the bill Sept. 22.
• First readings were held on two other zoning measures: 3 acres at 5585 S. Robberson Ave., to a planned development from general retail, as requested by Springfield Land & Development Co. LLC, and 1 acre at 2808 N. Fort Ave. to residential townhouse from single family, as requested by Tip Top Homes LLC. The Robberson property is proposed for use as a multifamily residential development, and the Fort property would be developed as town homes, according to city staff.
• Council approved a $160,000 grant agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to provide additional funds for the South Creek Greenway construction project from Fremont to Glenstone Avenue.
• The first reading was held on an intergovernmental agreement with the Ozarks Transportation Organization to construct an extension of the Ward Branch Greenway Trail. The city’s 20% match for the project is $99,337, and the measure would allow the city to accept donations for it. The project also includes easements and support from CoxHealth and Burrell Behavioral Health, and OTO has appropriated $400,000 in federal funding for the project. A vote is set for Sept. 22.
• Council voted to accept a $100,000 grant renewal from the Missouri Children’s Trust Fund for use by the Springfield-Greene County Health Department for its Family Connects Program, which serves families of newborns in the county.
• An appropriation of $370,000 of accumulated interest from the level property tax bond project fund was approved for an office and maintenance building project in Hazelwood Cemetery.
• First readings were held on accepting grants from the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, one in the amount of $50,000 for the creation and support of apprenticeship programs and the other for $460,000 for temporary employment opportunities aimed at storm cleanup and recovery in Webster County.
• A joint funding agreement of just over $71,000 was accepted from the U.S. Department of the Interior to operate six stream gages.