Walnut Street district requests split

All businesses in Springfield's 18-acre Walnut Street-West Urban Conservation District are subject to the same rules. But some of those business owners claim that equal treatment creates an unfair burden for redevelopment – and those business owners have taken their case to Springfield City Council.

“For years, people who have owned property on National Avenue have tried to improve their properties by making an application to the Landmarks Board, hiring architects, going to hearings, redrawing plans. And most of the time … these applications have been denied,” said Bob Sweere at Monday night’s council meeting.

Sweere, owner of SFS Properties LLC, 302 S. National, said he was representing National Avenue business owners during the public hearing for a bill that would divide the district into two sub areas.

Sub Area A would include properties that front the 900–1200 blocks of East Walnut Street. Little would change in terms of zoning ordinances for property owners inside Sub Area A, according to the bill.

But for properties within the 200-300 blocks of South National Avenue – which would become Sub Area B – the bill says property owners wouldn’t need to obtain a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Landmarks Board for maintenance, and larger and taller signs would be allowed on National, where traffic moves faster.

“Just to cut to the chase on this, this is the common sense approach that National is different than Walnut and should be subject to different rules,” said Mayor Jim O’Neal.

The bill will be up for a vote at council’s April 5 meeting.

Read more about Springfield City Council in SBJ's March 29 issue.