Springfield City Council yesterday unanimously approved a zoning change designed to move along O’Reilly Automotive Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ORLY) plans to expand its Queen City headquarters.
Yesterday’s action, an extension of a rezoning
approved by council on May 16, rezones 0.41 acres located at 2263 E. Cherry St. to a heavy manufacturing district from a medium density multifamily district.
During council’s July 25 meeting, the bill was presented by Director of Planning and Development Mary Lilly Smith, who said the rezoning would permit construction of O’Reilly’s planned second office building by providing parking and an access drive to Cherry Street from the company’s headquarters to the north.
Councilman Craig Hosmer questioned the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision to rezone the space as a heavy manufacturing district, rather than a less restrictive designation.
“Why are we changing to heavy manufacturing if it’s going to be parking?” he said at the time. “It seems like we’re expanding the permissible use of that property further than we need to, to do what the developer wants to do. “
During the July meeting, Smith said the rezoning effort would only allow the space to be used for parking, and planned to look into why P&Z decided to rezone the area under the heavy manufacturing category.
In an email to city council members, sent after the July 25 meeting, Smith gave council a list of reasons P&Z decided on rezoning the designation:
• It is consistent with the zoning to the north and west of the subject property.
• The lot will be combined with the larger headquarters tract, which is zoned heavy manufacturing. P&Z typically requires developments on multiple lots to combine the lots, and the policy is that lot combinations must have the same base zoning district.
• The use of the space is limited to just off-street parking and access. No manufacturing or other uses can occur on the property.
• The underlying heavy manufacturing zoning district will provide greater protection for the adjacent residential multifamily zoned property by requiring a significant buffer yard. The applicant is proposing a 40-foot buffer yard. The buffer yard between office zoning and a medium density multifamily district can be as small as 15 feet.
• Rezoning the Cherry Street tract to an office district would require the larger heavy manufacturing tract provide a buffer yard between the heavy manufacturing and office tracts when developed even though they are being developed as one project.
Smith said the space would include 21 parking spots.
At yesterday’s meeting, the bill passed without discussion.
