Last edited at 8:20 a.m., March 27, 2014
Springfield City Council last night voted 8-1 to approve a zoning change on 20 acres south of Kansas Expressway and Republic Road, a move that puts the site in the mix for the construction of a veterans clinic.
Before the vote, Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky called for an amendment to the bill that would increase the amount of green space and address water runoff concerns expressed by neighbors to the south. Though the amendment was unanimously approved, Rushefsky herself balked at supporting the measure in full at last night’s meeting.
The amendment called for 30 percent green space on the property comprising two 10-acre tracts, if they are developed together. If they are developed separately, the northern tract could meet current general retail standards of 20 percent green space, and the southern tract, which had been zoned single-family residential, would need to provide 30 percent green space, in keeping with current standards.
Springfield architect Geoffrey Butler said this morning he has worked on behalf of the landowners the past four months to secure the zoning change to general retail with a conditional overlay district. He said council’s approval makes this land the most likely location for the planned 92,000-square-foot Veterans Affairs clinic.
“What I can tell you is that, for one, the VA will develop a clinic in Springfield by the end the of 2016 – the last date they threw out – and No. 2, this appears to be the best piece of ground for that," Butler said.
Three national developers are pitching their clinic proposals to the VA.
Butler said vacant land east of Kickapoo High School, as well as property south of the Library Center on South Campbell Avenue, also have been named as possible VA clinic sites. However, he feels both are unlikely to be selected.
“While there is probably 15 to 20 acres of land (east of Kickapoo), guess who owns it? Cox,” Butler said, adding he worked on rezoning that property for CoxHealth years ago, which he still understands is part of the health system's long-range plans for use. “It is not selling to anybody, much less a clinic. … So, that’s out.
“The other property is south of the library at Weaver and Campbell,” he said. “That property is zoned single-family. That property is not platted, and that property is going to have some major infrastructure costs – sewer, water, electric, infrastructure improvements.”
Butler, a principal of architecture firm Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Inc., said he requested the amendment on behalf of the landowners – Judith M. Groover Trust and Warner Family Trust, each with 10-acre parcels at the 1800 block of West Republic Road – after the public hearing on March 10. The amendment, he said, ensures that water runoff issues would be addressed no matter how the land develops.
