NO REZONING FOR VICTORIAN ESTATES; DEVELOPER WITHDRAWS REQUEST FOR HEARING

A local developer has withdrawn a rezoning request and saved the Cape Girardeau City Council from a difficult decision at tonight's meeting.

Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman R.J. McKinney said Larry McCulley has withdrawn his request for a rezoning of Victorian Estates Subdivision. That will negate the need for tonight's scheduled public hearing to discuss the request.

McCulley had asked to change an approved R-1 plat for his subdivision on 14 acres of land east of the Highland Heights subdivision near Perryville Road. Since the city was planning to take some of his property for the Walker Branch stormwater drainage project and a new sewer trunk line, he requested a rezoning so he could place more homes on smaller lots.

R-1 requires a minimum 10,000-square-foot lot per home. McCulley wanted to increase the number of houses in the subdivision from 47 to 52. He has said the homes would sell for at least $100,000, while homes in the adjacent subdivision are now selling for an average of less than $80,000.

McCulley was not available for comment Sunday evening.

Becky Essner, who lives on Stoddard Street in Highland Heights, had organized opposition to McCulley's request. She and 30 of her neighbors attended a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing in July to speak out against the plan.

Essner said Sunday in a telephone interview that she was happy the proposal was withdrawn but did not want McCulley to think she was out to get him.

"We realize we can't tell him he doesn't have the right to develop his own property. We want to make sure that all the surrounding neighborhoods are R-1. We don't want to lose that integrity," she said.

Essner said some of the residents in her neighborhood are also concerned about another piece of McCulley's property. She said Red Oak Subdivision near the south end of Ricardo Street was clear-cut several years ago and has remained mostly undeveloped. Essner said this has caused water drainage and erosion problems for a lot of residents on the south side of Ricardo.

Essner said she would like to see the development of Victorian Estates continue as planned so that some of the streets into her neighborhood would go through.

Victorian Estates would connect Stoddard, LaWanda and Recardo streets with an extension of Clark Avenue, making the area more accessible to emergency vehicles and completing a grid of the water system.

Essner said she was relieved that the request was withdrawn. She said a large group of residents was planning to attend.

"There were a considerable number of us at the Planning and Zoning meeting and we thought that helped, and we wanted to make sure that we had a good number show up for the City Council meeting," she said.

The council also will be considering a proposal that could effect future growth in the city. The Historic Preservation Commission is requesting the council's approval of a $12,000 grant application from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The grant would pay for an appraisal of the city's historical resources and submit guidelines for development in areas with historic homes. Commission Vice-Chairman Brian Driscoll said the city has lost some historic sites to development.

"That's to be expected with a city that is showing the kind of growth that Cape Girardeau is," Driscoll said. He added that the appraisal would provide a structure that developers could use in making decisions on future growth.

Forty percent of the grant would have to be matched by the city. Driscoll said the commission is working out ways the city could do this with the least amount of expense.

"If we can keep the actual cash outlay low, this is something the entire community can benefit from," he said. Driscoll added that a similar grant was approved by the council in 1992 or 1993 and was not approved at the state level.

City Manager Michael Miller said the city has made every effort to preserve its historic sites. "There's been a real concern over the last few years for saving and maintaining the historical past of the community," he said.