- Cape Rolling Out Bloomfield Road Art Trail (8/21/19)1
- Donors Pledge Almost Two Grand To Replace SEMO's Possibly Sentient ‘Gum Tree' (8/16/18)
- SEMO and The Will To (Become A Consultant) – Part 2 (6/14/18)
- SEMO and The Will To Do (You Really Want To See That Legal Notice?) – Part 1 (6/4/18)
- Judge, Jury... Trashman (6/1/18)
- Diary of Cape Girardeau Road Deconstruction (5/11/18)
- Trying To Save A Tree From City “Improvements” (4/30/18)2
Are SEMO Parking Lots Violating City Zoning?
It seems that parking has always been a challenge at SEMO. There are invariably more people wanting to park than conveniently close spaces available at the University.
It was that way when I was a student there in the 1980s and it certainly appears that way today when you drive through campus on any Monday through Thursday when classes are in session. On Fridays and the weekends finding a spot to park is not so much an issue.
Last Friday the University Board of Regents approved a plan to tear down 5 buildings along Broadway for additional parking on the south end of campus bordering Pacific Street.
The administration's proposal to the Regents was for a gravel parking lot.
Gravel?
They proposed a gravel parking lot in a commercially zoned business district? Was this even legal, I pondered? Could the University blatantly be ignoring the city's zoning ordinances?
I wonder if this same thought occurred to the Regents since they did approve the parking lot, but they rejected the gravel solution. Instead, they recommended paving the lot even though it is more expensive.
However, the fact the administration actually proposed putting a gravel parking lot directly on one of the city's main business thoroughfares still bothered me. Would a gravel lot have been a violation of zoning laws?
After studying the city ordinances I concluded that the only thing the University would have violated by putting in a gravel parking lot on Broadway was good-taste.
The current city zoning code is rather vague about parking requirements in the commercial zoning districts. Only zone C-4 stipulates, "parking...shall be paved with hard-surfaced material." The only location in Cape that has a C-4 designation is essentially West Park Mall. This area along Broadway is zoned C-3 or Central Business District which neither mandates any off-street parking or if it must be paved.
Legally the Regents could have said, "Gravel is too expensive for these trying times. Tear the buildings down, paint some stripes on the dirt and call it a day."
Even though SEMO's plan to put in a gravel parking lot directly on Broadway was completely legal, I noticed while perusing the zoning ordinances that many of the University's other existing parking lots appear to be in violation of city code.
Almost all of SEMO and its various parking lots are located in city Residential zoning districts. While there are specific usages allowed by the city for Residential districts, a parking lot is not one.
However, the city may allow a parking lot in a Residential district with the issuance of a special-use permit.
But there's a catch.
Parking lots that have been allowed in Residential districts must meet several requirements including "no charge shall be made for parking within such a premise."
One could surmise that since most of SEMO's parking lots are located in Residential districts that legally the University shouldn't be charging for parking permits which they have done for years. I think a permit cost about $40 annually when I was a student.
I wonder if this means I might be entitled to a refund?
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My Google Search Results are fantastic this week. I shot up to 855. This is likely due to the fact that we switched systems last week. I will not be surprised if this drops off, but for the moment I am basking in the upsurge.
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