Commission OKs Hunter's Lane condo development

A condominium development that worried Hunter's Lane residents was endorsed by Cape Girardeau's planning and zoning commission Wednesday.

But Wayfield LLC partners took a long road to earn board approval. The company's original plan, rejected by the city council in June, would have included 43 units. Developers scaled back to 36 units and met with most area residents before returning to the city.

"We're really, really happy with this," said Stacy Mansfield, a Wayfield managing member. "We didn't really have to scale back. We decided the plan we chose, after reviewing it, didn't really lay out like we wanted."

Hunter's Lane homeowner Bo Shantz appeared at Wednesday's meeting, asking for project specifics.

"I'm going to be staring at this development," Shantz said Thursday. He said his big concern was the prospect of looking at a business, because the land is zoned for commercial use, or at low-rent apartments.

"When I bought and built out here, Hunter's Lane was about eight feet wide, a gravel road, with no city water, gas or cable," he said. "I came in a bought my property, brought in a six-inch water main and a gas main. We widened the road, and I paid for my half of it to be paved. It's fair. I wanted all those things."

He worried, he said, that developers would install small apartments across the street, then sell the facility to an off-site manager.

"You just like to have some safeguards in place," he said. "If you have a nice enough establishment and want to turn it into a rental property, you have got to turn in a pretty good dollar [to live there]. Then you have some pretty nice people moving in there."

Shantz said that although though he'd like more details on Wayfield's plans, he'd also like the planning and zoning commission to create stronger guidelines for developers who request special-use permits.

Although Shantz said he's not sure if he'll appear at the Oct. 1 public hearing when the city council decides Wayfield's request, he said he's glad he went to the planning and zoning meetings.

"Maybe because I did dig in my heels, they realized they had to be more forthcoming with information," he said. "Maybe it just helped them clarify their minds. Maybe that would have come without me."

Mansfield said the delay cost his company between $10,000 and $15,000 in loan interest and re-engineering. He said construction could start within 60 days of the city council's approval. The entire development could take more than three years to complete, he said. The council will vote on the project Oct. 1.

Other action

• The commission also endorsed Carlos Ratliff's special-use permit request to built a parking lot at 622 N. Sprigg St. with the stipulation that he include a barrier around the lot at least six feet high.
• The board will advise the City Council to reject Heather Soohon's special-use permit to operate a day care for a maximum of 20 children at 2126 West Cape Rock Drive. Soohon's home is in a residential district and board members cited traffic concerns. The City Council will consider Soohon's request at its Monday meeting.
• The joint Cape Girardeau/Jackson study meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Osage Community Centre, 1625 N. Kingshighway.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127