Hold on projects extended

Some significant changes may be in store for area developers of multi-family housing, and until those changes are accepted, the 90-day moratorium against new projects in Blue Springs has been extended for another 60 days.

The recommendations, based on several group meetings during the past 90 days, will be included in the city’s Unified Development Code, or UDC. They are proposed as amendments to the city’s existing zoning regulations and as the creation of design standards.

One of the most significant zoning changes would be to allow builders to construct a maximum height of three stories. In addition, builders would be required to include 40 percent open space on the property (a 30 percent increase), and follow requirements for garage placement.

The proposed changes also would require developers to meet with neighbors in the area to discuss future plans at the site, as well as meet with the police department to determine how landscape and building construction can better deter crime. Even future managers will be encouraged to take a managing class in order to keep better control on the property.

Mike Parker, a local developer who served on the task force, said the city is behind in many aspects of the proposed changes but that work during the past 90 days has been fruitful.

“I’m pleased with how developers have reacted to the proposed changes,” he said.

The changes are not automatic. During the next 60 days, at which time the moratorium remains in effect, a public hearing and approval process will be held at a Planning Commission meeting and again before the City Council.

Council Member Sheila Solon said the changes could be put into place n as little as 40 days.

The design standards alone was cause for some celebration. For Solon, who assumed the lead of the Multi-family Task Force in May, the creation of design standards is a concept embraced by neighboring communities and, until now, dismissed altogether in Blue Springs.

By adopting the standards, Solon said, the city is on its way to creating multi- family housing units with more variety and individuality. Gone is the “blank wall” concept (the large wall space commonly seen in four-plexes); gone will be the short driveway leading up to a front-facing garage (the length required is now a minimum of 25 feet); and gone is the isolated cluster of multi-family projects, to be replaced by projects connected with sidewalks and more interconnected.

Only Council Member Ron Fowler questioned if developers might be hesitant now to invest in property in the city. With the new standards, he said, wouldn’t that just mean more investment money?

Not necessarily, said Parker, who said preliminary talks with area developers have shown they are in agreement.

“We all know that multi-family is not good in the city,” Parker said. “We need to raise the bar. We don’t have any Class A buildings in this city.”

Council Member Sissy Reed, who voted against the 60-day extension, said she is concerned that average rent costs will now increase.

But again Parker said the amount will not increase too dramatically. If anything, he said property taxes will improve, aligning the city with Lee’s Summit, the city the task force modeled the changes after.

Mayor Carson Ross said the 60-day moratorium extension is necessary to the proposed change. He said it gives developers and the public the opportunity to speak in favor or not for the plan.

“We’d be back where we started if the moratorium expired tonight,” he said.