Trailer park property rezoning prompts Cape City Council discussion on place in city

The consideration to deny the rezoning of property on 555 N. Spring Ave. started a discussion on trailer homes and affordable housing among Cape Girardeau City Council members at their meeting Tuesday, Feb. 20.

The property is the Spring Courts mobile home park. The rezoning of the property from light manufacturing and industrial district (M-1) to residential manufactured home district (RMH) was recommended to be denied by the Planning and Zoning Commission in a meeting Dec. 13. Commission chairman Scott Blank said part of the board’s concern that led to the recommendation is that if the property was rezoned, the owner could apply for a variance, along with hearing neighbors’ concerns about the property.

“They’re able to apply for a variance and it’s out of our control. And those variances could go in their direction to add more pads. That was a concern that was expressed by numerous commissioners,” Blank said.

Travis Statler of Statler Lawyers represented Leigh Kirn of Kirn Investments LLC to present her reasoning behind wanting to rezone the property. Statler said Kirn filed a rezoning application for the property in August.

Statler pointed out that while the rezoning wasn’t recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission it was recommended by city staff.

“A vote in favor of our rezoning request will ensure that Spring, for the mobile home park, will provide affordable housing to humanity, and for the first time in 80 years of its existence be in compliance with zoning restrictions and thereby become a permitted use,” Statler said.

Statler did clarify that Kirn was potentially looking at selling the property to an interested purchaser, but was not able to tell the commission at the time it heard the initial request. He also said that, according to the city planner Ryan Shrimplin, the rezoning might be considered spot zoning but not one that was prohibited.

Cape Girardeau resident Thomas Frey owns a property right by the trailer park. Frey said he has had a problem with trash from the park flowing onto his property despite having a barbed wire fence surrounding his property.

“I don’t feel like the property has been maintained well. I have to pick up trash around the dumpster because it flows into my property with my fence and my barbed wire fence,” Frey said.

Frey said there had been a problem with crime around the area as well. Statler said that according to a conversation with police chief Wes Blair the mobile home park did not stand out in any way in terms of crime.

“There were no significant criminal activities. No violent crimes were reported and no drug activity. Chief Blair assured me that Spring Court mobile home park was not known as a dangerous or unruly neighborhood, and from a crime perspective did not stand out as an area requiring above-average police resources,” Statler said.

After hearing about the property, Ward 4 Councilman Robbie Guard said that having a mobile home park in the spot it currently sits is not a part of the city’s 2040 vision plan.

“We don’t want a mobile home park there and by getting it to an RMH, then you’re saying in perpetuity, you’re going to have a mobile home park there, and that’s not part of the vision of Cape Girardeau,” Guard said.

Ward 1 Councilman Dan Presson responded to Guard saying, “We rezone things all the time.”

“If there’s a better use of the property that comes up, if somebody comes along with a big manufacturing organization and they decide to buy a bunch of pieces of property, and we just rezone it, it happens quite often,” Presson said.

Guard clarified no one would have to leave their home if they denied the request and could still use their mobile homes.

“By leaving it currently the way it is, people that live there, they live there and fix their mobile home up and keep it in repair. We’re not displacing them,” Guard said.

If it were to be rezoned, the people living there could replace the existing mobile homes with newer ones. Presson said this was part of the reason people choose to live in mobile homes, that they can easily upgrade.

“You should be able to upgrade your living situation instead of just trying to continuously fix another one. That is why mobile homes are appealing to a lot of people is because if something happens, you can replace it, and we need to give these people the opportunity to replace it,” Presson said.

City planner Shrimplin said there has been a “vested interest” in this property over decades and potentially a new buyer. He said rezoning the property, “would essentially be a compromise.”

Presson also cited articles about mobile homes being a possible solution for affordable housing and said they should make sure to give the residents the best situation as possible.

“If that’s something, we need to update our strategic plan as a city to inherit those values of trailer ‘parkedness,’” Guard responded.

The vote to deny the rezoning request passed by a vote of 4 to 2, with Presson and Ward 2 Councilwoman Tameka Randle voting “no”.