Jackson residents will get a chance to speak their mind on a proposed ordinance designed to control development along the East Main Street extension if the board of aldermen approves a motion on its Monday agenda.
The proposed overlay district rules won approval this week from the Planning and Zoning Commission. The measure would limit the size of signs in near the new Interstate 55 interchange, set rules for landscaping and appearance of commercial buildings and control traffic flow between businesses.
While the proposal could be applied anywhere in the city, it has been developed because all of the land along the East Main Street extension is slated for commercial zoning. Votes on rezoning the land, and actually applying the ordinance to the newly zoned areas, would come later.
"This is only creating the new code section," said Janet Sanders, building and planning administrator. "It is not applying it to anyone's property."
Monday's agenda also includes motions to set public hearings on the proposed special-use permit for a baseball field in developer Ron Clark's Nine Oaks Subdivision, rezoning part of the land in Nine Oaks to allow denser development and amending city ordinance to allow commercial buildings more than 35 feet tall.
If approved, all of the public hearings would be held May 21, the same night set for a vote on Mayor Paul Sander's veto of a measure abandoning a street corridor in Clark's proposed development.
The public response to the proposed development rules will be an important test of whether residents want controlled or uncontrolled development along East Main Street, Sanders said. If there are no overlay district rules, once the area is zoned for commercial use, the city will have little say on what kind of businesses build there.
"If there is no opposition, they may vote on it that night," Sanders said. "If there is significant opposition, they may want to wait to discuss that opposition."
The hearing on the baseball field brought out a few dozen people to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Supporters told the commission the baseball field would provide an urgently needed addition to city recreation. Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog contributed $25,000 toward construction of the field and has promised more if it is approved, Jack Litzenfelner Sr. told the commission.
Erica Sokolski, who lives near the proposed ballpark, said she is worried about noise and light late at night.
Before sending the proposal to the aldermen, the commission imposed 13 conditions, including a requirement for two rows of evergreen trees at least 15 feet tall to shield it from nearby homes. Other restrictions include setting an 8:30 p.m. cutoff for starting games and construction of permanent restroom facilities at the ball field. The initial proposal called for using temporary facilities until a proposed community center slated for a nearby lot could be completed.
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