Neighborhoods wary of effects of business park

Despite a compromise between Cape Girardeau City Council members and people living in the Whispering Oaks subdivisions about the rezoning of a neighboring business park, concerns remain.

The city council Monday unanimously approved the removal of a section of land north of County Road 618 from a proposed rezoned area after people who live in the neighboring Whispering Oaks subdivisions complained about the possibility of heavy industry operating near their homes.

While the council's action satisfied some property owners' demands, worries linger about how the new zoning, which will allow light manufacturing and distribution facilities, could change the area's makeup.

The area lies in the southeastern part of city land closest to two residential subdivisions, Whispering Oaks and Meadows of Whispering Oaks. Other property included in the area to be rezoned for the business park is east of Interstate 55 north and south of La Salle Avenue.

Removing a section of land from the rezoned area and rezoning the rest of the business park from C-1, or general commercial, to M-1, or light manufacturing/industrial, was a compromise between the council and residents.

"It appeared that everyone concerned was satisfied with leaving that area C-1," Ward 4 city councilwoman Loretta Schneider said of the land north of County Road 618 that was not rezoned.

However, Mike Ingram, president of the Whispering Oaks homeowners association, said the compromise was not what the subdivisions were looking for.

Ingram said the problem homeowners had with the original plan was the property around County Road 618 is zoned R-1, or residential; across the street from the residential area, the property was to be zoned M-1. People in the subdivision live in single-family houses, and he said more commercial operations would add traffic, noise, smells and different types of trash pickups, affecting property values.

The maximum height of facilities built on property zoned M-1 is 40 feet, excluding silos and smokestacks, which can be taller. M-1 zoning allows for light manufacturing, warehouses and storage and distribution centers. The agenda for the council's Monday meeting said the rezoning was needed because the city is marketing the property to these types of businesses.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger at the council meeting Monday said the business park would "never be a smokestack type of development."

Council members Monday said the overall plan for the business park is to have a campus-type theme, including walking trails, green space and ponds near businesses and smaller-scale distribution centers.

According to Rediger, tentative plans for the business park's first possible tenant are to house it in a complex of three upscale brick buildings. City officials would not comment on the potential tenant Wednesday.

To build an industrial facility in the midst of a residential area is "normally not done," Ingram said. "We don't want single-family dwellings to have industrial [businesses] right across the street."

A C-1 zone, which the removed area will remain, will allow commercial businesses such as bakeries and doctor offices there.

Ingram said the rezoning property directly associated with the East Main Street/La Salle Avenue interchange wasn't hard for property owners to stomach. He said residents of the subdivision are more concerned with the lack of knowledge on the city's plans for the business park and what potential businesses might creep into their neighborhood.

Cape Girardeau city planner Ryan Shrimplin said some people who attended the council meeting asked whether certain businesses for the area to be rezoned M-1 could be barred, such as a recycling center or a vehicle paint shop. Shrimplin said the council questioned the legality of doing so, and council members did not appear comfortable excluding certain uses for the rezoned area.

Ingram said questions remain unanswered about the business park since the property was bought by the city of Cape Girardeau in late 2012, including future development and requirements of rezoning notification.

"The idea was if your property was going to be affected, most people are not involved in this kind of stuff unless they see activity," he said. "If the whole process is under the table until a vote, it's hard to make an informed decision."

Shrimplin said the rezoning process begins with the Planning and Zoning Commission, which makes recommendations to the city council after holding its own public hearings. There are no requirements for public notification of those meetings.

When a rezoning question goes before the council, the city is required to put a notice of the time and place of the public hearing in a newspaper 15 days beforehand.

The planning services division voluntarily sends every adjacent property owner a letter about the hearing, and signs about the public hearing are posted on-site. In this case, signs were planted on the north and south sides of LaSalle Avenue.

"It generally works pretty well," he said, and people come to the city council meetings to share their concerns, as was the case in Monday's city council meeting.

"Hopefully they came away with a sense of satisfaction, that they were given the opportunity to participate in process and discuss their views and express their ideas, and that the council was responsive," Shrimplin said.

The council must approve a second and third reading of the rezoning ordinance at its next meeting before the change is made.

adowning@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

La Salle Avenue, Cape Girardeau, MO

County Road 618, Cape Girardeau, MO