New Jackson zoning for offices considered

PUBLIC HEARING

By Sam Blackwell ~ Southeast Missourian

JACKSON, Mo. -- The city of Jackson is considering an approach to zoning rarely found in other communities in the state.

At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider amending the city code to add professional office district zoning.

The zoning would not permit retail establishments to locate within the zone but would allow a wide variety of professional offices. Those include health-related, financial, governmental and educational services, churches, nursing homes, municipal facilities and child care centers. Restaurants, drug stores and gift shops would be permitted if they are part of a permitted business.

Whether a business should or should not be located in the zone comes down to one question, says Rodney Bollinger, the city's planning and zoning supervisor and interim public works director.

"Does the business have a cash register, do they sell things over the counter? We wanted professional services," Bollinger said.

Neighbor complaints

The possible need for a zoning designation that falls between commercial and residential arose late last year when neighbors complained about a request by the Southeast Missouri Medical Center Inc. to rezone 19.1 acres of property on the southwest corner of Broadridge and West Independence from residential to commercial. The nonprofit corporation planned to sell plats for professional offices, but the commercial zoning allows for other kinds of businesses to be located in the zone as well.

Neighbors were concerned about the anticipated increase in traffic, and the Jackson Board of Aldermen denied the request. Mayor Paul Sander appointed a committee to study the idea of a professional office zoning designation.

Bollinger says the committee could not find any similar zoning in local cities. Springfield and Columbia are the only cities he found in the state that have professional office districts.

The Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission actually had studied the issue in 1995 but took no action. To some extent the proposed professional office zoning was built on the work the commission did then.

While awaiting the new zoning, which Sander predicts will be approved, the Southeast Missouri Medical Center Inc. has proposed a 5-acre residential project called Independence Center to be located at the southern end of the property. The development, which includes traffic-slowing cul-de-sacs, creates a buffer zone between Cantaberry Estates and the remaining 15 acres of the medical center tract.

Jackson dentist T. Wayne Lewis, president of the corporation, says a professional office zoning will be sought for the remaining land if the change to the city code is approved. The corporation wants to sell plats to businesses that qualify under a specific category in the zoning. "Everything we do will be health related," he said.

A nursing home or assisted living facility would be in line with Jackson Manor, the nursing home the corporation already operates.

Future plans

The corporation also is interested in providing land if the city ever decides to locate a fire station in that part of Jackson.

"Hopefully this is a win-win for the whole city," Lewis said.

Sander thinks professional offices are a bit different from other businesses. "Many do not generate the traffic and drive-through sort of atmosphere," he said. "There are areas of the city where that specific type of office zoning defined as a dentist or doctor or accountant would not be nearly as offensive close to a residential area as a drive-through restaurant or convenience store."

If approved by the commission Wednesday, the zoning proposal would go before the board of aldermen for a public hearing before being put to a vote.

Bollinger thinks the solution should please both neighbors and developers.

"This is exactly what the doctor ordered," he said.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182