Council annexes 200-plus northwest acres

Springfield City Council unanimously voted Oct. 18 to annex 212.33 acres of private property north of West Chestnut Expressway to Interstate 44, after eight property owners requested annexation.

The property contains industrial warehouses and storage facilities and is zoned for manufacturing. The land includes portions of Interstate 44, West Chestnut Expressway, Westgate Avenue, Miller Avenue, Calhoun Street and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad right of way.

The Fire Department has expressed three concerns about the annexation, led by an inadequate number of fire hydrants on the property. City staff is addressing the hydrant situation and the required number of fire hydrants will be installed, said Evelyn Honea, director of information systems. Honea was sitting in at the meeting for City Manager Tom Finnie.

Other Fire Department concerns are related to staffing and a fire protection plan for the area. Springfield Planning and Development staff is working in conjunction with the Metropolitan Planning Organization to prepare the Northwest Springfield Development Study. That study, city officials say, will help in preparing a fire protection plan. Staffing levels will be addressed in next year’s city budget.

The Fire Department has requested six new positions in the next budget cycle, and the Police Department expressed a need for one or two additional officers.

The financial impact to Springfield Public Works is broken down as: $600 annually for signing and marking existing streets; $1,400 annually for signing and marking future streets; $3,500 annually for street maintenance; and $8,722 annually for public grounds right-of-way services, including street cleaning.

Bike rack business

In a bill City Council unanimously approved, new city businesses are now required to install bike racks in new development.

According to Christian Lentz, Springfield senior planner, for most businesses the new ordinance requires one or two bike racks, each accommodating two bikes. City specifications say two bicycle spaces are required for businesses providing up to 50 automobile spaces. The specifications escalate to six bicycle spaces for businesses providing up to 300 car spaces.

Based on city research, the average cost for a bike rack is $150 plus installation, Lentz said.

“For most businesses, we’re talking about an extremely small investment,” he said.

Bike racks must be in close proximity to the main entrance.

“There is a lot of flexibility written into the ordinance,” Lentz said. “It’s up to the developer whether they want to locate it in the automobile parking area or on some other pervious surface area or landscaping area.

“Worst case scenario, the bike racks could take the place of an otherwise required automobile parking space, if they couldn’t find some other acceptable location on site.”

Last fall, council learned Springfield had failed in its application to be designated a bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Bicyclists, partly due to the city’s lack of community-wide bicycle parking standards. This news initiated council’s action, Lentz said.

The city also might work toward adding bike lanes on city streets, part of the long-term plan in the Vision 20/20 transportation plan.

“We see the bike racks as an implementation step of the comprehensive plan,” Lentz said.

Apartment development

Despite questions about Park Place Property Investments LLC’s plans to develop an apartment complex at the northwest corner of Kansas Expressway and Sunshine Street, council voted 6-2 to rezone land in order to facilitate the development.

The 10.74-acre parcel is within the Wilson’s Creek watershed, leading council members Mary Collette and Bob Jones to vote against the rezoning bill.

Apartment developer Sam Coryell’s proposal subdivides the parcel into lots for apartment and commercial development. Coryell owns apartments to the north.

Though approved by council, zoning is pending the recording of Park Place Property’s final plat at the Greene County Recorder’s Office and completion and approval of a traffic impact study of the area, performed by Springfield Public Works and Missouri Department of Transportation. Further development of the area could generate up to 9,400 daily vehicle trips, according to preliminary studies.

Coryell is required to extend Elfindale Street across Kansas and to construct a traffic signal at Marion Avenue and Sunshine.

According to the bill, the proposal “will provide for a balance of high-density residential and commercial development and create a compact community within this quadrant of the Sunshine and Kansas Expressway intersection.”

There were no speakers at the meeting.

Happy birthday

Council recognized Councilman Ralph Manley for his 81st birthday, to which Manley said, “Age is a matter of mind; if you don’t mind it doesn’t matter.”

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