Though it changed a development company’s plans, the city’s zoning process seems to be working the way it should, according to Stu Stenger, a developer with Ron Stenger Cos.
Stenger is developing a multimillion-dollar, 49-unit senior apartment complex at 3302 E. Catalpa St., just west of U.S. Highway 65. At the Dec. 16 Springfield City Council meeting, Stenger told council members he had to scale back plans to appease nearby residents.
Stenger said he had originally hoped to build 96 units across three buildings, each three stories high.
“That was not well accepted. So, we took their concerns and went back to the drawing board,” Stenger told council. “This is where we ended up. I think this is a great example of how your system is set up to have the neighborhood meetings, listen to concerns and then come up with a compromise.”
No members of the public voiced opposition during council’s hearing of Stenger’s proposal to rezone 5.3 acres just west of Highway 65 to low-density multifamily residential from a single-family residential district.
Springfield Planning and Development Director Ralph Rognstad said city staff recommends approval, and the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommends approval.
“We believe this is a good development for this area with it being next to 65. We don’t believe there is really a market there to build single family. The traffic has gotten more intense along there, and we don’t think that would occur,” Rognstad said.
After the meeting, Stenger said should council approve the rezoning at the Jan. 13 meeting, construction likely would begin in March. He said the single-story apartment complex would be built in phases. He declined to estimate the cost of construction but said it would be a multimillion-dollar project.
“We’d build it a couple of buildings at a time, so hopefully we’d have something to lease in the fall,” Stenger said, adding the property is currently home to a residence and a dilapidated barn.
The sale of the site, which is owned by CSN Properties LLC, is contingent upon the zoning change. Stenger said Stenger Cos. would own and operate the 55-plus complex.
“When it is approved by council, we’ll close on the property and start the development,” Stenger said, declining to disclose the agreed upon purchase price.
According to Greene County assessor records, the taxable appraised value of the property is $86,300.
Ron Stenger Cos. is planning a 49-unit senior living apartment complex on East Catalpa Street.
Downtown debateMore than two hours of council’s roughly three-hour meeting was devoted to four related bills designed to make the downtown area more patron-friendly.
The result of efforts by a city task force, which included members of the business community, the bills address behaviors some feel are prohibitive to business growth. City Manager Greg Burris said the proposals are not designed to punish any one group, but several speakers felt one or more of the bills amounted to discrimination.
The bills propose expanding a prohibition on panhandling to 20 feet of a business entrance, as well as restricting passive panhandling citywide – for example, standing with a sign on a street corner to ask for money; prohibiting skateboarding on Park Central Square sidewalks; prohibiting food distribution without a health department permit; and making it illegal to use tobacco products on the square with exceptions for those at businesses with outdoor seating.
Joe Jenkins, co-owner of Jenkins Diesel Power Inc., said he regularly visits downtown and safety is a concern.
“I don’t think the area is safe at night,” he said. “The litter that results from weekend nights of binge drinking is offensive. The panhandling from people seemingly healthy enough to work but who are one-third or one-fourth my age is unsettling at best and scary at worst.”
Live Free Springfield member Dave Meyers opposed outdoor restrictions on smoking and an extension of panhandling rules.
“We have an ordinance on the books,” Meyers said of current law that restricts panhandling to 15 feet from a business. “Is it being enforced? If it is, then why are we doing this? If it is not, then why don’t we enforce it?”
He said by allowing smoking on business patios, the city was effectively discriminating against those with money and those without.
“We need to err on the side of freedom,” he said.
Several individuals spoke against the food-handling ordinance, saying it unfairly targeted the homeless and would stand as an obstacle to those who were trying to help them.
“How are you going to enforce this? Is it going to be illegal for me to hand my friend a sandwich?” speaker Casey Alvarez said, adding those giving food to the homeless are likely preventing crimes and reducing drains on city resources.
Downtown property owner and task force member Craig Wagoner said the proposed rules were a result of compromises.
“Will these solve all our problems? No. But hopefully, this will solve some of them,” he said.
The measures are scheduled for a vote Jan. 13.[[In-content Ad]]
