City Beat: Council sends planned development back to P&Z

A planned development proposed for a rural northeast corner of Springfield brought a crowd of more than 100 to the Aug. 11 Springfield City Council meeting.

Although many in the crowd filled out blue cards indicating their desire to address council about the development, public comment was postponed when the measure was remanded to the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission. That body voted 6-2 on July 17 to reject the development, though city Planning and Development staff recommended its approval.

The measure being considered by council sought a zoning change for the property that had been annexed earlier this year and still bore the Greene County zoning designation of an agricultural district.

A development group listed as East Division Development LLC et al. is seeking to build a residential subdivision on the 48-acre site located at 3830 E. Division St. The subdivision would include a mix of single-family, two-family and multifamily uses with a total of 530 residential units.

When the council bill was introduced, Councilmember Abe McGull made the motion to return the matter to the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission. That motion was approved by an 8-0 vote, with Councilmember Bruce Adib-Yazdi absent.

McGull said the developer requested the remand to present new information to P&Z about the project.

“I have a pretty good feeling that it has to do with a lot of the comments and input that the citizens have about this project,” McGull said of the request to remand.

In minutes from the July 17 P&Z meeting, included in council members’ information packets, residents’ concerns centered on issues of density in the proposed development, as well as traffic, noise, lighting, drainage and accessibility for emergency services.

Development group East Division Development was registered with the Missouri Secretary of State’s office in March 2024 by Gary R. Rauscher of Santa Cruz, California.

Neighborhood meeting notes by engineering firm Olsson Inc. identify the developer as Napredak Builders LLC, a company with offices in the John Q. Hammons Building, and Santa Cruz, California-based Canyon View Capital, whose website describes itself as a privately held corporation that manages and operates over $1 billion of multifamily real estate value in the nation’s heartland – including Stone Creek Falls on the edge of Republic.

In introducing his motion to remand, McGull said it is his expectation that the developer meet with the neighborhood prior its next appearance at a P&Z meeting.

Councilmember Craig Hosmer clarified with city staff that the developer does not have to have a public meeting, but the option exists. That’s a good opportunity to work out differences between the developer and the neighbors, Hosmer said.

“This does affect their neighborhood – it affects their property values – and I think it’s important that we give them an opportunity to have their say in front of the developer,” he said.

After the vote to remand the matter, council took a break to allow audience members to depart both the meeting room and an overflow area that had been opened to accommodate the crowd. Most of the room emptied out at that point.

In the minutes from the P&Z meeting, Will Hoey of Olsson explained that the intent is for a low-density development, creating a step-down from single family units to a villa-type middle model and then to four-story apartment complexes.

Olsson engineers also noted plans to widen Division Street and provide new traffic signals near the proposed development and to improve water detention on-site.

Resident objections centered on density. Keith Abercrombie said he was concerned that more than 530 residential units making up the planned development would be unsightly amid surrounding single-family neighborhoods.

Kathie Christie, vice president of the Hickory Hills Property Owners Association, voiced concerns about high-density development forever altering the suburban country nature of the neighborhood, according to the P&Z report. She added that the development does not meet the needs for entry-level housing, while also voicing concerns about increased traffic.

Other residents expressed concern about traffic, noise, lighting, drainage and accessibility for emergency services. They also pointed to a perceived failure of the planned development to conform with the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan, which designates the area as a traditional neighborhood intended for single-family homes.

The two P&Z commissioners supporting the development were Bruce Colony and Dan Scott.

Colony, who supported it with reservations, said it was the type of development envisioned in Forward SGF.

“I know it’s tough for people to live in single-family neighborhoods to think about having apartment complexes move in … but I think that’s kind of where we’re headed on some of these bigger open areas,” he said in the meeting minutes.

Scott was quoted in the meeting record as saying there was a lot of good potential with the project, and he proposed a motion to limit the building height to three stories. That would eliminate 74 units from a proposed 428, leaving 354 apartments. That amendment was approved.

Commissioner Chris Lebeck expressed objections on several grounds, saying, “Simply put, I think this is too big and too much for this area.”

Lebeck said the plan works against the Forward SGF goal of encouraging homeownership in the city’s neighborhoods, as well as its emphasis of creating quality places.

“This again cuts against the comprehensive plan because it is deteriorating a good place in the city of Springfield and its current form,” he said.

Lebeck said the most concerning part of the plan is the impact on vehicular and pedestrian traffic. He characterized the area as a “traffic mess” without a clear answer on how it will be fixed before additional residents are placed in the area.

“Until this question is effectively answered, I think it would be simply irresponsible to approve this in its current form,” he said.

North of the proposed development lies the Springfield Underground. Council previously approved a planned development for 402 acres on the surface of the underground warehouse with industrial, commercial and multifamily uses envisioned.

Church expansion
A first reading and public hearing were held on the rezoning of 10 acres of property owned by Schweitzer Church at 2456 E. Sunshine St.

The rezoning would designate all 10 acres as general retail with a conditional overlay. The property has three zoning classifications now: single-family residential, general retail and highway commercial.

The church is seeking to construct additional off-street parking for a growing congregation. Combining the property into a single zoning designation would allow the church to have a single heavy buffer at its property’s perimeter, rather than several internal buffers on the property.

The project would create 51 new parking spaces, according to a church representative.

The move is opposed by several property owners, mainly because the proposal directs traffic away from the church with a driveway on East Stanford Street, behind the church property.

Currently, the church has three entrances on Sunshine Street. The rezoning proposal would close two of those.

William Phillips, who lives at 2717 E. Stanford St., was one of three speakers expressing opposition to the rezoning.

“Right now, they have three entrances on Sunshine, the major arterial road that was designed to handle volumes of large commercial traffic,” he said. “Their Growing Together campaign intends to close two of them and replace them with a new entrance right in the middle of Stanford, a small residential street that we call home.”

Phillips said the project would move traffic onto a narrow residential street without sidewalks.

“It has no infrastructure in place to accept such a rise in traffic, but the neighborhood is nevertheless expected to absorb the impact of this permanently,” he said.

Phillips said the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan promotes thoughtful transitions between land uses, walkability and the protection of neighborhood integrity.

“I believe this proposal undermines all three,” he said. “Future projects in the city may look to the precedent set by this council as proof that if you want a bigger parking lot, single-family homes are an acceptable casualty of war.”

Spencer Smith, pastor of Schweitzer Church, said he feels for the church’s neighbors. He noted there is an existing exit already on Stanford, and the proposed closure of two exits on Sunshine is at the city’s request.

He said the church believes the change is in the interest of the neighborhood, the church and the community.

Councilmember Brandon Jenson said he believes it is good that the church is growing to the extent that it requires more parking space, but he is sympathetic to concerns of the neighbors.

“I personally hate to see the conversion of residential property to surface parking lots,” he said. “It’s one of the worst uses of land that we have in terms of its productivity.”

The measure is scheduled to be up for a vote on Aug. 25.

Other action items

• Other zoning measures were also given a first reading at the meeting. Elevate Lives is seeking the rezoning of nearly 4 acres at 1100 E. Kearney St. from residential townhouse and highway commercial to medium-density multifamily residential and highway commercial with a conditional overlay. Plans call for the former Robberson Elementary School to be converted into a hub for nonprofits, a day care and housing units. A vote is set for Aug. 25.
• Boehm Family Trust is requesting the rezoning of 10 acres in the 4000 block of South Jonathan Avenue in southwest Springfield to expand an existing residential development. Khan Family Properties LLC is seeking a rezoning of just over an acre at 2800 N. Kansas Expressway from general retail to highway commercial to operate an auto dealership. And an event venue is proposed for half an acre at 2961 E. Republic Road with a zoning change from single-family residential to limited business district with a conditional overlay.
• Council OK’d a proposal to remove a cap on the number of events at which alcohol can be served downtown and on Commercial Street. Such events had been limited by city code to 12 per year. An amendment to the measure, proposed by Mayor Jeff Schrag, raises the maximum alcohol level of beer to 8% from an originally proposed 5%.
• Applicant Czrina Moreno is seeking a conditional use permit to allow a day care center in a vacant commercial building at 1212 N. Broadway Ave. A vote is set for Aug. 25.
• Council eliminated a requirement to publish notice of retail liquor applications in a general-circulation newspaper in the city. Previously, city code required publication in five consecutive issues. The city will rely on posts in the vicinity of the property and by mailings to nearby residents. Previously, the city advertised in The Daily Events, a publication owned by Schrag, but that practice was discontinued upon his taking office.