Jackson quarry annexation area rezoned industrial

A special meeting of the Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday approved previously tabled requests by Heartland Materials quarry and landowners to rezone 242 acres for industrial use, pending annexation to the city.

The prospective annexation area includes the quarry and lands owned by Joe Hoffmeister, Hoffmeister Farms and Hoffmeister Real Estate bounded by Interstate 55, U.S. 61 and County Road 601. An annexation application was made Oct. 5 with simultaneous requests for rezoning and a special use permit to allow heavy industrial and mining operations.

The Heartland quarry is already permitted by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to operate on the land. Actions by planning and zoning were delayed Oct. 12 pending further study.

Since then, the board of aldermen approved the annexation application and set a public hearing on the issue, as legally required, for the next regular meeting Nov. 7, at which time people living in the area can raise objections.

Jackson planning and zoning superintendent Janet Sanders said Thursday that three more voluntary annexation applications have been received by the city, all industrial interests, that would border the proposed annexation area. Strack Excavating, which was approved last month for a 76-acre limestone mining operation at Fruitland and operates a limestone quarry off Highway 74, is one of the three.

Sanders said it is important to review applications in sequence, as the success of the new applicants depends on the approval of the Heartland parcel. In general, for land to be eligible for voluntary annexation, it must be "contiguous and compact" to existing corporate limits, meaning that there cannot be unincorporated areas between the city and the parcel that have not been given annexation opportunity. As areas are approved, new adjoining areas become eligible.

"It is like a line of dominoes," Sanders said. "If the first one doesn't go, none of them can."

Fruitland resident Tom Sutterer questioned Oct. 12 the ability of the city planning and zoning commission to make official decisions about county property.

"That's planning," said Sander, explaining Thursday that approval of zoning requests that depend on future actions by the city is sometimes necessary so that business people can confidently invest in proposed projects.

It is a common misconception that industrial sites may not be zoned next to residential areas, Sanders said. Within city limits, industrial zones cannot be created next to existing residential zones but residential areas can be made next to established industrial zones.

Unincorporated areas such as Fruitland are not regulated by ordinances that control land use, so there are no zoning restrictions that prohibit creating industrial areas in newly annexed lands that border private homes.

Sanders said the city is anticipating the possibility of more applications for voluntary annexation as city limits expand.

"It is a very interesting and very rapidly changing situation," Sanders said.

salderman@semissourian.com

388-3648

Pertinent address:

101 Court St, Jackson, MO