Rezoning sought for high-density development on north side

A proposed development on the north-central edge of the city would replace a 104-acre patch of dense woodland with a high-density, mixed-type housing development, if Springfield City Council approves a rezoning measure.

A public hearing was held at the June 9 council meeting on Hulston Subdivision, a proposed planned development on undeveloped land in the 3200-3400 block of North Farm Road 159, also called North Vernon Road. The property is currently zoned single-family residential.

It’s the kind of development that is being actively encouraged for center city neighborhoods with community meetings on missing-middle infill. The plans include a mix of five use types: multifamily dwellings, a general retail district, mixed residential and small-format single-family detached dwellings.

But this is a rural setting – the properties abutting it raise cattle and mow hay, according to one neighborhood resident who spoke up during the public meeting. The plan would yield a density of 9.5 dwelling units per acre in an area where adjacent neighborhoods have lots sized at 10,000-18,000 feet, according to resident testimony during the public hearing.

The rezoning was requested by Hulston Investments Inc. and Laura Hawkins-Morris et al., according to the staff report on the measure.

Justin Crighton, Springfield assistant director of planning and development, told council the property is one of the last large, undeveloped pieces of property within city limits.

Although its current zoning designation is for single-family housing, the area is designated for mixed residential in the city’s comprehensive plan.

“We do have a large amount of community input for this one,” he said, noting residents have expressed concerns about traffic and flooding.

City staff recommended approval of the planned development, but the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission declined to recommend it by a 4-4 vote.

Forward SGF goals
Derrick Estell of Toth & Associates Inc., representing the applicant, said the development has gone through many iterations while incorporating city staff and public input and trying for alignment with the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan, which calls for both more housing and more variety in housing types.

He noted a quarter to a third of the development is dedicated to public open green space, including stream buffers, sinkhole buffering and other uses.

“There are very few hundred-acre tracts of land left in Springfield,” he said.

This has led to infill development, which is hard to plan for, but being able to plan for a large new development allows better planning for infrastructure to serve it and the surrounding neighborhood, Estell said.

Councilmember Monica Horton, who represents the project area, said she envisions the project as a catalyst for further development on the north side.

“This is a missing piece,” she said. “We have the pride of the north side which is Historic C-Street, but I’m also thinking about what other areas we could use as a value-add to the north side and looking at mixed-use development and really steering away from sprawl development.”

Estell pointed to the southeast portion of the layout, labeled Area E, which is dedicated to small-format single-family housing.

“It’s probably important to mention what we have shown in Area E is essentially a bottom limit,” he said. “That’s as small and as dense as we could go, which is what we accounted for – kind of a worst-case scenario when we’re looking at traffic impacts to the infrastructure.”

He noted there is flexibility to go with larger-format homes if that makes more sense.

Stu Stenger of Ron Stenger Cos., representing the developer, said his company typically builds single-family subdivisions, but they looked at the proposed development from a different perspective.

“On this one, when we came in and we talked to staff, we kind of said there’s an opportunity here,” he said.

Stenger said the game has changed in the development world.

“Land costs, infrastructure costs, building costs – people just can’t afford what they used to be able to afford, so what do you do? You change what you offer, and you’ve got to shrink the lot size,” he said. “You might have a smaller square-footage house or a smaller square-footage apartment, but you still have to provide some housing.”

Commenters divided
A lively public comment period with 12 participants alternated between two types of speakers: neighborhood residents expressing myriad concerns about the development and members of the development community speaking in praise of it.

Resident Phillip Watts told council the numbers were not realistic. He said developers are planning to build 574 apartment units, 84 small-format houses on 2,000-square-foot lots and 219 single-family houses on 4,000-square-foot lots.

“In comparison to the existing subdivisions around this, this is going to be at least three times or greater density than everything that exists around this,” he said.

He said the existing density averages two-and-a-half dwelling units per acre.

“If this was happening in the middle of your neighborhood – if this was all being proposed there right next to your house – would you not be concerned about the effect it might have on the quality of your life or your children’s safety? Would you not be concerned about the effect it might have on your property values?” he asked. “This is nothing like what exists in that area at this time.”

Megan Herzog, executive director of the Springfield Contractors Association, also addressed council.

“I’m here to speak in support of consistent thoughtful growth as it’s called for in Forward SGF and a development process that offers clarity and fairness to everyone involved,” she said.

She added that new development can raise concerns, and those conversations are important to the process.

“At the same time, Springfield continues to grow, and we need to make room for that growth by encouraging a range of housing options for homeowners, renters and the future workforce,” she said.

Herzog said it’s important for the development process to remain consistent.

“When projects that meet technical requirements and have city staff recommended approval and are not supported, it sends a strong message that Springfield does not welcome responsible investment,” she said. “It also creates uncertainty for those looking to build here and makes it incredibly difficult for all citizens to know what to expect out of developments and growth opportunities.”

When rules feel unpredictable, she said, the city risks losing the opportunity for smart, sustainable investment.

Other neighborhood residents raised myriad concerns. Robert Bornert was wary of commercial development included in the design, noting that not all business types are in the best interest of neighborhoods. And Kimberly Arnel expressed concerns about the intensity of the project, including its traffic, and how it might diminish what she called the peace, health and welfare of current residents. She added that expansion to streets serving the project would cut into residents’ front yards and bring noise.

Developer Ben Shantz, who said he was appearing as a private citizen, said the proposed development has been given a lot of thought and has undergone several iterations. He added that the plan is exactly the type of thing that council championed when it passed the new zoning code for the city.

“I cannot think of a better way to marry those different goals that we have embodied in our codes and in our comprehensive plan than this type of development right here, because it’s thoughtful, it’s mixed-use, it contains multiple types of place types, housing types,” he said.

Amy Blansit, founder and CEO of the Drew Lewis Foundation Inc., which is working on its high-density Blue House Project in the Grant Beach neighborhood, also spoke out in favor of the project.

Blansit said people today do not want to maintain 10,000-square-foot lots; instead, they want small lots, low maintenance and connectivity to neighborhoods. Larger lots can also exclude people who cannot afford them, she said.

She also pointed to the fact that the developer is a Springfield native who said his family has been in the area for 100 years and who has been developing property for 50.

“This is in line with the democratic process that created the Forward SGF comprehensive plan,” she said. “It’s being led by loyal Springfield residents who are interested in developing our community in a way that I want to live and grow and retire.”

Jim Bumgarner is both a neighborhood resident and a developer who said he has been building houses for 40 years.

“What they’re wanting to develop this as is definitely wrong,” he said.

He said the parcel is in a rural area surrounded by coveted subdivisions.

Pointing to Area E, he noted some of the lots are only 2,000 square feet.

“I don’t know how you can even build a house on something that small, as a builder myself,” he said.  “This is going to be way too dense.”

Council is scheduled to vote on the rezoning measure on June 23.