What happened in Olathe could have happened in Blue Springs.
When the Jay Wolfe Auto Sales group purchased several area Saturn dealerships, including the one in Blue Springs in 1995, they thought the deal was sound and secure.
But in April, General Motors eliminated the brand, leaving Wolfe to question the future of the South Outer Road business. They converted it to a used car dealership and crossed its fingers.
But on Monday, the future got brighter for Wolfe, who owns and operates several Jay Wolfe Auto Sales and Service businesses in the Kansas City area.
Wanting to remain in Blue Springs, Jeff Wolfe, manager for the Blue Springs dealership, had two requests: rezone the 3.8-acre property from general business to regional commercial zoning that would allow for car sales and service and grant a conditional use permit that will allow paint and vehicle body work.
The plan calls for one new paint stall and the conversion of four of the 10 service bays to be a body shop.
Yet for the good news, some commission members wanted assurance that any unsightly vehicles be kept out of sight, especially since the site is near 15th Street and residential homes. Both Susan Culpepper and Chris Henning wanted the most assurance, with Culpepper asking for a few trees to be planted on the south side of the property to serve as a kind of buffer.
At one point, Henning asked for as many as 150 additional plants, but later amended the suggestion, saying that he’d thought that had been the consensus of the commission.
“I don’t want a forest planted there,” Culpepper said, adding that the medical facility next door had to adjust to landscaping requests made by the commission and that she wanted to be fair. “Just a few trees.”
Wolfe said preliminary estimates placed landscaping suggestions at $50,000, but he said that was too much for him to bear. He later agreed to approximately five shade trees.
“We’re trying to keep 25 jobs in the city,” Wolfe said.
As for unsightly and/or damaged cars, Wolfe agreed to locate those cars on the west side of the property, or out of sight of South Outer Road and 15th Street. Wolfe also said the vehicles will not be “totaled,” for those vehicles are serviced at the Kansas City, Kansas, location.
Commission Member Ken Billups thanked Wolfe for keeping the dealership open – especially in difficult and uncertain financial times
“I’m glad you’ve kept it open and not closed it like the one in Olathe,” he said.
