Guest Column: What happened to the parkway plan?

“Stick to the plan” or “settle for whatever!”

I had a discussion with a Blue Springs City Councilman who indicated that my opinion of what people want on Adams Dairy Parkway may be out of date. My opinion differed from his, and he probably has talked to more people than I have, so I began to wonder which of us is right. Maybe you can help.

I had written an e-mail to the council expressing my concern about a rezoning request that comes before it Sept. 8. The developer of Parkway Estates is asking to reduce the minimum size of houses to be built on 77 lots from 2,200 square feet to 1,400 square feet. This is in addition to 79 lots in the same area that are already zoned for 1,400-square-foot houses. These houses will cover the ground between Adams Dairy Parkway and Taylor Road, from behind the fire station to Moreland School Road.

I suggested to the councilman that this wasn’t the “estate style” housing we were promised in the concept plan for the parkway. He told me that “times have changed, and the vision of the parkway has changed, too.” He insinuated that I was out of touch with what my neighbors want.

Maybe I am, but I remember when the citizen committee was formed to develop a plan for the proposed Adams Dairy Parkway. People from many geographic areas and economic levels in Blue Springs worked hard to develop that concept. They came up with a plan to create a corridor from the north end of town all the way to the south end, and it would showcase some of the best Blue Springs has to offer.

We would have the retail area concentrated around the I-70 interchange with some multifamily housing around the edges. Moving out from the retail area, we would have light industrial and office businesses, community buildings, and “estate style” housing. We have done well following the plan, until recently.

The “estate style” housing was specified to address a problem that came to light during the development of the city’s comprehensive plan in the early 2000s. Surveys suggested Blue Springs was doing very well addressing the housing needs of families from the time they bought their first homes to when they reached the upper middle of the corporate ladder, but when families hit the top-rung executive levels, they were moving away to Lee’s Summit or Independence. We needed more “high end” executive housing.

When Adams Dairy Parkway started to become a reality, Mayor Greg Grounds and the City Council insisted developers conform to the plan the committee developed. Blue Springs became known as “hard to get along with” among developers, but we still attracted quality projects and got what we demanded, until recently.

Over the last few years the economy has taken a turn for the worse, but does that really mean it’s time to abandon the plan? Do we really want to look around when the economy improves to find that the parkway now showcases only liquor stores, gas stations, payday loan businesses, and high-priced starter homes and duplexes, or do we want to stick to the plan?

If you have an opinion on this, I wish you would go on record now. It’s easy to do if you go to the city’s website and look on the left side, where it says contact the mayor and council. You don’t need to write much. Just go to the subject line and type in either “Stick to the plan” or “settle for whatever.”

Maybe the councilman will find out he is right. I think he will find out he is wrong and that we still want what we have always wanted. Only you can say.