City Beat: Loren Cook Co. earns city waiver rights

Springfield City Council stood at odds with the Planning and Zoning Commission at the Sept. 14 council meeting when it approved a bill allowing exceptions for developers seeking to sidestep the city’s sidewalk requirements.

The bill, which was approved unanimously, was prompted by the expansion plans of Loren Cook Co. at 2015 E. Dale St. City code requires construction of a nearly half-mile long sidewalk before Loren Cook could build a 7,100-square-foot addition to its sprawling headquarters. The company was seeking to create 20 jobs.

Vice President Loren Cook II said at an earlier public hearing that sidewalk requirements, which are holding up a city building permit, could cost the company $40,000.

The bill allows a city development committee to approve exceptions to the January 2014 code revision that requires developers build sidewalks along all new commercial construction.

Previously, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission opposed amending the current rules. According to Planning and Development Director Mary Lilly Smith, some commissioners were against lessening sidewalk requirements, while others were against its review committee having to determine what projects would be granted exceptions.

City Council members, however, were clear there should be a path for those pursuing economic development in the city.

“This is what I call the sidewalk to nowhere,” said Councilwoman Kristi Fulnecky, adding the sidewalk requirement in the largely industrial area amounted to bad business. “This issue is exactly why I ran for office. I think governments can place, in some situations, too many burdens on businesses.

“We definitely need this waiver process. In a capitalistic society, businesses create jobs and need their capital to hire and expand. I don’t think as a city we should stand in the way of business expansion.”

Before also supporting the measure, Councilman Justin Burnett said he’d like to see a city committee develop an exception to the blanket sidewalk requirement so similar businesses don’t have to go through a waiver process.

Councilmen Ken McClure and Craig Hosmer and Councilwoman Phyllis Ferguson each expressed concerns about the process being too cumbersome, but Smith felt similar instances would be rare. She added council could address the problem in the future should developers begin to routinely request waivers. Loren Cook’s next step is to request a waiver from the city’s administrative review committee.

Pilot Flying J
A new truck stop has a green light for development at the western edge of town near the Springfield-Branson National Airport. Council unanimously approved a use permit allowing a truck stop at the corner of Chestnut Expressway and Interstate 44.

Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Travel Centers LLC, which does business as Pilot Flying J, plans to develop a truck stop on 12 acres at 4901 and 4939 W. Chestnut Expressway, according to information in the council bill.

Pilot Flying J claims to be the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America with more than 650 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada, according to PilotFlying.com. By comparison, other large national truck stop chains Love’s Travel Centers & Country Stores has over 350 locations, and Travel Centers of America has over 250 stores. Both Love’s and TA operate centers in Strafford.

Pilot Flying J spokeswoman Anne LeZotte declined to confirm development plans, but information provided to council shows four representatives of the company attended a July 15 neighborhood meeting and provided sketches of the development to attendees.

More Bear Village
An ordinance amending the Madison and Kimbrough Redevelopment Plan to allow tax abatements along East Grand Street between Kimbrough and Roanoke avenues passed 7-2 after Hosmer let his objections be known. Councilman Mike Schilling also voted against.

According to the council bill, immediate plans include a 24-unit apartment building at the northeast corner of Grand and Roanoke Avenue that would accommodate roughly 80 residents. Future plans for Bear Village Apartments developer Bryan Properties LLC include constructing up to three additional four-story, multifamily structures, which may house around 330 residents.

“This is an abatement project. I think we’re incentivizing people to build apartment complexes, which don’t create long-term jobs. They are diminishing our tax base – a tax base that supports our schools, supports our educational institutions, supports people with disabilities,” Hosmer said.

In 2011, council approved the original development plan, which gave Bryan Properties 10 years of tax abatements on a $20 million three-phase development plan. The company later reported total build out could top $30 million across seven phases. According to Springfield Business Journal research, citywide, over $50 million in estimated tax abatements have been secured for center city projects since 2009. The incentives have spurred over $140 million in development and around 3,000 units.