Council OKs Southern Hills Village despite protest

City Council approved the preliminary plat of Southern Hills Village in southeast Springfield in its Sept. 27 meeting, despite protests from Southern Hills residents and the disapproval of the Planning and Zoning Commission because of the neighborhood's problems with stormwater flooding and erosion.

Council passed the ordinance 6-2, with Mayor Lee Gannaway, Councilwoman Teri Hacker, and Councilmen Bob Vanaman, Gary Gibson, Ralph Manley and Bob Chancellor voting in favor, and Councilwoman Shelia Wright and Councilman Russell Rhodes voting against.

Councilman Tom Carlson was absent from the meeting.

Hacker acknowledged the residents' concerns that Southern Hills Village could add to the problems with flooding and erosion in Southern Hills, but said it would be unfair to deny the plat for those reasons alone when there are flooding and erosion problems in neighborhoods all over the city.

Hacker proposed a luncheon meeting for council to discuss the possibility of applying for a grant to begin taking action against the "huge issue of stormwater drainage."

Before council unanimously approved City Utilities' 2000 operating budget, Mayor Lee Gannaway asked James Fossard, who chairs the CU board's finance committee, to discuss with the board the possibility of CU continuing to absorb the cost of utilities service for the Springfield-Greene County Library District's utilities.

CU recently discovered the library district's buildings are not under city ownership and therefore no longer qualify for the free utilities CU grants to all city-owned buildings.

Gannaway cited the $240,000-plus CU recently spent on its public image campaign and said CU could in no way better enhance its image than by granting the library district free utilities, which could amount to $90,000 a year.

Gannaway said he has considered trying to transfer ownership of the library buildings back to the city, which would allow CU to continue to grant the library district free utilities. Questions were raised as to the legality of this transfer of ownership, but Gannaway seemed confident the library's utility problem could be solved with the cooperation of the CU board.

In other business, council heard a first reading on a bill to rezone two-thirds of an acre of land at 519-529 E. Cherry from a residential high-density multifamily district to a planned development district, which would allow a 24-hour day care center to operate next door to the Family Violence Center Harmony House.

If the rezoning is approved, Busy Bees Child Care Center would care for children who have been affected by violence in the home and may need overnight care while their parents work.

Council also heard first readings on bills to rezone about 3 2/3 acres of land on the south side of Battlefield Road between Clifton Avenue and Cox Road from a heavy manufacturing district to an industrial commercial district, and to rezone about a tenth of an acre on the east side of National between Walnut and Elm Streets from a general retail district to a single-family residential district.

The land at National between Elm and Walnut once housed the former Fire Station No. 3, and more recently, the Backdraft bar, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The new owner of the building wants to convert it to a single-family residence and home office, which drew approval from Wright, who said the building did not provide adequate parking as a business and that a residence and home office would be the perfect fit for the location.

Council also approved the preliminary plat of Oak Terrace on the east side of Lone Pine south of Sunshine, 5-3, with Gannaway, Hacker, Wright, Vanaman and Chancellor voting for, and Rhodes, Manley and Gibson against.

A resolution approving the final development plan of the Wonders of Wildlife Museum on the Bass Pro property at Sunshine and Campbell was passed 7-0, with Gannaway abstaining because he serves on the museum's board.

A second-reading bill amending the City Code, Article I, Zoning to define a temporary vendor, and to include temporary vendors as temporary users in general retail, highway commercial and commercial services districts only was also approved unanimously.

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