Preapproved house designs a new objective for Springfield City Council 

Making it easier for developers to build on vacant lots is a newly approved objective of Springfield City Council.  

With a Dec. 16 vote, council declared its goal to preapprove a bank of housing designs for new home developments within established neighborhoods. The preapproved designs, if chosen, would allow houses to be built sooner, without having to await design review.  

At its Dec. 16 meeting, council added the objective by amending the document that lists six top City Council priorities passed in May 2024. The objective is added to the priority titled quality housing options, which is a new addition to the list. 

City Manager Jason Gage said council tasked its Community Involvement Committee with arriving at a specific list of recommendations to achieve the new priority. 

The new objective is to create preapproved, neighborhood-compatible housing designs to expedite permitting for private infill housing projects. The language passed by council states the implementation of the objective would reduce construction costs and complement existing municipal housing programs. Gage said city staff will start work on developing the designs. 

City spokesperson Cora Scott said the Planning & Development department will oversee the infill design process, beginning with guidelines for use on city-owned properties that are being surplussed. 

According to Gage, infill development is a need in Springfield. 

“We have a lot of infill situations with empty lots and try to come up with some designs that can expedite those that are interested in putting housing back into primarily core areas of our community,” Gage said. 

He added that the committee will look at other objectives council can consider adding in 2025 around establishing quality housing options. 

Councilmember Monica Horton asked Gage whether the proposed Springfield land bank would play into the priority. The Missouri legislature granted permission for Springfield to establish a land bank – designed to return vacant properties to private use – in its 2024 session. 

Gage said he expects the land bank to bubble up as a council priority on its own, but he sees the preapproved infill designs as one among several complementary tools. 

“They cross over in the sense that when you think about trying to provide incentives to develop these infill lots where there used to be a house and the house is gone and you want to do something with it, or perhaps even to have one demolished and put one in,” he said. 

Councilmember Brandon Jenson asked if there is interest in exploring incentives that could provide support for people who may have a vacant lot adjacent to their house to build there, and not just for established developers. 

“[We’re] trying to make sure that this is a program and a resource that’s available for everybody and not just those that typically do develop in our city,” Jenson said. 

Gage said property tax incentives are uncommon for neighborhood infill construction, but a land bank could be beneficial in eliminating some of the cost against the lot. 

“I do think along the way there’ll be conversations of lots of different incentives and tools and how they can be combined to see what we can do with these infill lots,” Gage said. 

Council priorities are adopted each year prior to the July 1 start of the fiscal year. Six priorities are identified, with specific objectives listed under each. In addition to quality housing options, the priorities for the year that started in mid-2024 are quality of place, governance and legislative engagement, fiscal sustainability and accountability, economic vitality and public safety.  

The December council meeting was Gage’s last as city manager after six years in the position. He resigned in October with an effective date of Jan. 11.