Three dozen turn out for Cape City Council's zoning open house

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect the correct spelling of Rick Essner's name.

A proposed new zoning code for Cape Girardeau is on track for a vote next week following an open house discussion that drew nearly three dozen people to city hall.

For the past year, city planning staffers have been overhauling the city's zoning ordinance, the first complete rewrite since 1967. The work also includes an updated zoning map that will implement the new code if it is adopted by the Cape Girardeau City Council.

The open house lasted about 90 minutes. At the end, while he acknowledged that some changes will be made, Planning & Zoning Commission chairman Bill Hinckley said he doesn't see any roadblocks to passage. A second open house will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 13, followed by a formal public hearing at 7 p.m. and a likely vote when the commission holds its regular January meeting.

"I think the turnout was great," Hinckley said after the meeting. "There were a lot of questions answered, and I am overall pleased with the outcome."

A subcommittee meeting Friday will discuss what changes may be made before next Wednesday, Hinckley said.

After an overview of the plan, audience members questioned details such as building height restrictions and what happens to property where activities take place that are no longer allowed in that zoning area, among others.

Building heights could be one of the thorniest issues remaining. In areas set aside for commercial or manufacturing, the tallest new building allowed would be 40 to 60 feet, or three to five stories.

That prompted Rick Essner, director of facilities management at Saint Francis Medical Center, to wonder aloud about its wisdom. "Where do you build the Towers from the college?" he asked. "Where do you build a KFVS building? You are limiting development."

Saint Francis is constructing a new heart and cancer center that is 86 feet tall from the basement, Essner said. A provision allowing planned developments that doesn't set hard restrictions isn't a good alternative, he said. A civil engineering firm hired by the hospital estimated it would take at least 200 days to get a planned development approved, he said.

"It just needs to be tweaked," Essner said.

Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape, said height restrictions are necessary to preserve the character of downtown but her board has not taken a stand on exactly how high buildings should be allowed to go.

The new rules, for example, ban residences in commercial or manufacturing areas unless they exist when the code is enacted or, in the case of the Central Business District zoning, are specifically included.

All existing uses in every zoning district could be continued, but if there is a lapse of use for 180 days the activity could not resume.

One tough issue has been how many unrelated people can share a home or apartment. The current limit is five to seven. The new code limits it to three, with designated "overlay" areas that can have more.

Jason Coalter, of Coalter-Felty Investments, said he supports the overlay, but wants to allow more than three people to share a dwelling in areas zoned for multifamily housing. The area he wants to see allowances for additional tenants is between the main Southeast Missouri State University campus and the River Campus. Coalter has invested heavily in single family homes in the area, in many cases rehabilitating it with four or five bedrooms as rental property.

Student housing will mean the two campuses "naturally are going to grow together," he said. "It is totally driving development in the area."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO