Planning director pleased with citywide remapping, rezoning project 

Last edited 1:33 p.m., Oct. 27, 2025 [Editor's note: A misspelled name has been fixed, and clarifications have been made.]

The rollout of the citywide remapping and rezoning project has gone smoothly, according to Springfield Planning and Development Director Steve Childers. 

Childers suggested property owners take advantage of opportunities to visit with his staff. Springfield Business Journal reported earlier this month that property owners were scheduled to receive a letter with their new zoning designation in mid-October through an initiative of Forward SGF, the city’s comprehensive plan, to bring about better alignment between the city’s zoning map and its development code. 

In an Oct. 20 interview with SBJ, Childers said his office has put together a call center that responds to calls at all office hours, including lunch. 

“I think we’ve offered a lot of opportunities,” he said. 

The remapping and rezoning project is immense, Childers said, and it covers the entire city. As a result, his staff did not send out individual notifications to property owners, as they would with a typical rezoning, but instead sent a standard letter to 50,000 recipients. 

“We knew it would be massive,” he said. “There’s no physical way that would individualize that many letters or anticipate the specific questions that anybody might have.” 

He added, “When you’re dealing with a rezoning, you have to take each and every property uniquely; in a case like this where it was so massive, there was no way we could have done that, not knowing what the circumstances are on every single property in the city.” 

Childers praised his staff for the planning that went into handling such a large task and for its execution. By Oct. 20, he said they had received more than 400 calls. They still have their regular work to do, as well, he said – like preparing explanations of zoning changes for the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council. 

“We’re trying to just work on projects and not slow anybody down, and in the meantime, you had 400 phone calls of questions, and you don’t really know what they’re going to be,” he said. “Some might take two minutes … and some have many more questions, which might be a little more complex.” 

A typical zoning change would provide notification letters to the owner of a parcel and to those neighbors who own property within 185 feet of it.  

The letter is addressed “Dear Property Owner,” and it opens by explaining the zoning district transition is in keeping with Forward SGF, passed in late 2022, as well as the new land development code that was adopted in March. 

The letter notes that certain designations will remain the same. They include single-family residential (R-SF), manufactured home community (R-MHC), center city (CC), Commercial Street (COM), government and institutional (GI) and heavy manufacturing (HM). 

The letter states, “It is important to note that, while other zoning classification names are changing, existing development rights will be maintained and, in some cases, will expand compatible permitted uses where increased design and development standards would lessen the land use’s impact on surrounding properties.” 

A recent council discussion highlighted a pinch point in the rezoning, which will include some changed restrictions with new zoning classifications. An ordinance to rezone property at the corner of Sunshine Street and National Avenue at the request of developer BK&M LLC was remanded at the company’s request to P&Z to try to beat the rezoning clock by adding hotels as an acceptable use to its proposed conditional overlay district. 

BK&M is seeking Office 2, a rezoning designation in the city’s current slate of options, but that classification will be swept with Office 1 and limited business into commerce mixed use, or C-MX1. C-MX1 limits the size of hotels permitted among its uses.

Principal Planner Alana Owen said her office’s chief concern was to reach everyone who would be impacted. 

“We wanted to make sure that we were notifying everyone – giving everybody equal opportunity to know that there’s something going on, whether it’s their property or it could be someone around them, rather than take the chance of making an individual error, leaving someone out or not having the information correct,” she said. “We felt that it was more effective, actually, to send the letter as it was sent.” 

The letter includes a QR code and a written-out URL, either of which takes a recipient to the website that explains the remapping and rezoning with an interactive map. 

Comfortable with process 
Childers said he feels “absolutely comfortable” with the communication method. 

“The reality is, we can’t assure that everybody is going to understand or take the due diligence that they need to take to take advantage of the opportunities we give them,” he said. “If they can’t understand a QR code, they have a phone number, and I almost bet everybody knows how to use a phone.” 

He added that there are no guarantees with a project of this size. 

“I do feel very confident that we made every effort to make ourselves and the city accessible to anybody that wants to know more,” he said. 

When it was noted the city could have taken the rezoning more slowly – zone by zone or neighborhood by neighborhood – Childers said the key was time. 

“The new zoning code cannot be fully implemented until the remap is complete. If we would have taken bit by bit like you said, it would have taken over another year,” he said.  

The reason for the remapping is to streamline development standards to go along with Forward SGF, said Melissa Hart, assistant director of the city’s office of Public Information and Community Engagement. It would not have worked to roll in the zoning changes neighborhood by neighborhood, she said. 

Childers agreed, saying a stepped approach would have resulted in an imbalance in the city’s ability to consistently enforce the new code. 

Childers said the new zoning should be easier for everyone, with fewer classifications, and with design guidelines embedded into city code. 

“It was a lot for anyone to manage – neighbors, staff, developers,” he said. 

Asked if properties would lose some of the protections of the former zoning classifications – considerations like setbacks, buffer zones and more – Childers indicated design guidelines in the new zoning code would serve that protective function. 

“We find ourselves in this situation as planners all the time. You’re not wrong, I’m not wrong, the neighbor’s not wrong, the developer’s not wrong – no one’s necessarily wrong,” he said. “It’s just our goal as a progressive city – as a city that recognizes that we can and should raise the bar and do a better job – is that there are ways for different land uses to coexist adjacent to one another if you have those design guidelines in your code as a protection for everybody.” 

He added that protections like buffer zones are still there, and P&Z and council will still have to make decisions on whether uses are appropriate. 

“Their job is still their job,” he said. “We just hope to be able to get it to them a little faster – get it to them well packaged and clear.” 

Childers said he doesn’t believe any government will be able to move at the speed of business, but Springfield is always trying to bring efficiencies to its processes. And he noted different businesses move at different speeds. 

“For every criticism we may get, there are 30 projects we have going on at any given time where the applicant is pleased as punch to be working with us,” he said. “Our region – and specifically Springfield – does a pretty good job of getting projects through the pipeline.” 

He cautioned that there would likely be issues to iron out throughout the process. 

“Is this going to be perfect? Likely not, but again, I’ll say with confidence that we’ve made every effort to make ourselves accessible to the public,” Childers said. 

Information online 
At the website dedicated to the remapping and rezoning project, an interactive online map allows people to enter a Springfield address to learn the current zoning designation, which the map refers to as the “old zoning,” and the designation the city would like to change it to, referred to on the map as “new zoning.” 

The actual zoning change requires council approval, a two-step process that includes a public hearing in one meeting and a vote in a subsequent meeting. State law requires the approval of two-thirds of council, or six of the nine members, for zoning changes if a valid protest petition is filed, or a simple majority otherwise.

A joint public hearing by the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission and council is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2026, and a council vote is set for Feb. 9. Both of those meetings are scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Regional Police-Fire Training Center, 2620 W. Battlefield St. 

Prior to that, the city will hold five remapping meetings – one in each council zone and a final citywide meeting. Each will be 4:30-6 p.m., and anyone in the city may attend any meeting, according to a news release from the city. Planning and Development staff will be present to answer questions, but no formal presentations are planned. 

Meeting locations are as follows: 

• Zone 1, Oct. 28, The Library Station, 2535 N. Kansas Expressway
• Zone 2, Oct. 30, Pittman Elementary School, 2934 E. Bennett St.
• Zone 3, Nov. 10, Chesterfield Family Center, 2511 W. Republic Road
• Zone 4, Nov. 5, Kickapoo High School, 3710 S. Jefferson Ave.
• Citywide meeting, Nov. 13, Elections Center, 1126 N. Boonville Ave.

Those who cannot attend the meeting are encouraged to contact Planning and Development staff during business hours at 417-864-1300 or to email them at forwardSGF@springfieldmo.gov.