This is a story about power and progress in Springfield.
It starts on a warm mid-October afternoon at Sequiota Park — one of the city’s most popular public spaces. KSMU was there to ask local voters about Question 1, the subject of a court-ordered citywide election to be held November 8.
It doesn’t take long to come across Elizabeth Conley, out walking with her husband, a tall coffee cup in her hand. Conley said she isn’t very familiar with Question 1 — or the development it could bring to a leafy, 4.2-acre property that’s located right across the street from the park.
And yet, she said she gets why developers find nearby areas so attractive: This park is special.
“I’ve been here for several, several years," Conley said. "Now, I’d hate to see too much of it changed. I mean, we have such a beautiful view. Now, I understand why people want to, you know, build apartments and live close to it, but I’d rather it stay the same.”
The apartments Conley mentions are part of that 4.2-acre development proposal at the heart of Question 1. It’s dubbed “Treadway.”
Development proposal 'evolved over the years'
Mitch Jenkins and his wife, Amanda Jenkins, own the Treadway site through their company, Elevation Enterprises.
They’ve been seeking to develop the land since they bought it in 2018. Their proposal has gone through many changes since then.
“It has evolved over the years, as a result of listening, you know, to the neighborhood, and some of, you know, their thoughts and ideas or concerns,” Mitch Jenkins said.
Jenkins declined to tell KSMU how much money Treadway would cost to build, nor would he say how much its apartment rents would cost, saying only that they’d be “similar” to monthly rents at nearby complexes.
He also declined to say exactly how much he and his wife have invested in the project so far, but confirmed they’ve spent “hundreds of thousands” of dollars on numerous “design iterations and architectural plans.”
All of those plan changes have been intended to address years of criticism from nearby neighborhood residents, he says. Jenkins said he wants to be a good steward of the land and contribute to Springfield’s overall effort toward better “place-making.”
“When Amanda and I purchased this property back in 2018, we literally put everything that we ever saved up over, you know, our lives into the down payment to purchase this property,” Jenkins said.
And that's where Springfield's voters come in. Jenkins needs the rezoning changes included in Question 1 in order to legally proceed with building Treadway. And, he said, if voters approve the zoning changes with a "yes" vote, the mixed-use complex would go under construction next spring. Once built, Treadway would add 90 to 95 new rental units just a stone’s throw from Sequiota Park.
'Hottest park in the city'
But for the nearby neighborhood association, that’s an unwelcome prospect.
“Sequiota Park is the heart of Galloway Village,” said Melanie Bach, president of the Galloway Village Neighborhood Association, where she’s lived since 2004.
The group counts 150 households in its active membership.
Bach said, “I remember our realtor saying, ‘You’re going to love this location. This is the best park in the city.’ She said, ‘This is the hottest park in the city.'"
Bach and her fellow neighborhood members consider the park the jewel of their neighborhood. It has a long history, starting about a century ago. Before Sequiota was a park, it was a state trout hatchery. After 1959, it was a public park. Today it has a pond, a creek, a cave — and connections to the Ozark Greenway trail system.
Wendy Baker Huscher is the neighborhood association treasurer. Her family’s ties to the neighborhood, where also they have a photography business, go back to the early 1990s.
“We also really loved it just because you felt like you were in the country — but you were five minutes from the mall, is what I always said. So it was just the natural feel of the area,” Baker Huscher said.
Along with that natural feel, the Galloway area has a developed landscape. At least 8,000 to 10,000 people live in surrounding residential areas, according to government estimates. And they’re prosperous, with median family incomes topping $97,000 per year, according to federal census data.
Back in May 2014, the city declared many areas along Lone Pine Avenue blighted, opening up tax incentives for new development in the area. Developers built hundreds of new apartments and added commercial spaces just south of Sequiota Park.
But in response to those big changes, the neighborhood association started pushing back. Members worried about increased traffic, pedestrian safety, and stormwater runoff flowing into flood-prone Galloway Creek.
So for the neighborhood association, a “yes” vote on Question 1 means they lose ground on what they perceive as the battle to preserve the character, health and control of their home turf.
“It will put in place a massive development that will dominate the landscape of Sequiota Park,” Bach said.
A “no” vote on Question 1 means the zoning of the land where the Jenkins family wants to build Treadway remains the same as it stood before the election.
For the neighborhood association, that counts as holding the line against a big development they don’t want.
But the developer says a “no” vote adds a lot of uncertainty into the mix — and would likely have consequences for the rest of Springfield.
Jenkins said, “If the citizens of Springfield vote 'no,' the zoning goes back to what it was, which was four parcels — one was zoned general retail; two were limited business; and one parcel was — is — was — zoned residential-single family. But not only goes back to that original zoning, all of the protections on those buildings and trees goes away."
Jenkins said it's a "very real option" for his family to sell the property if Springfield votes "no," rather than restart the zoning process — a scenario he called "scary." Jenkins said it’s impossible to predict what a new owner would do with the property.
A 'slippery slope'?
Jenkins and his supporters also argue if Springfield votes "no," it would be bad for the local economy.
“At first glance, the general public might think that voting yes, simply rezones our property that Amanda, my wife and I own so that we can build this development that we're talking about, this mixed-use development where historic buildings are preserved and trees are preserved. But really, fundamentally, a yes vote means that — and I'll quote Chancellor Hal Higdon — in an article that was published, he says, ‘If this fails, meaning if the community votes “no,” Springfield is closed for business,’” Jenkins said.
Ozarks Technical Community College Chancellor Higdon made comments supporting a “yes” vote to the Springfield News-Leader published October 12.
Other “yes” vote supporters include Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, Missouri State University President Clif Smart and community leaders linked to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m really concerned that we will start attempting to rezone by referendum, and that’s a slippery slope, it seems to me,” said former chamber leader Jim Anderson, speaking to interviewer Jeff Houghton in a campaign video.
Anderson and others argue that businesses need certainty so they can plan — and that rezoning done by voters puts Springfield at risk of spooking away would-be investors.
The purpose — and history — behind rezoning by ballot
Galloway neighborhood association leaders argue that zoning law is intended to protect the rights of existing property owners before any rezoning can be taken into account. Bach, the president, said citizens need referendum procedures as a backup, for times when City Council is unresponsive to its constituents. Bach also said precedent was set back in 1994.
In April of that year, Springfield voters faced a ballot measure that proposed outlawing rezoning by referendum. But that measure failed — 76 percent of voters opted to keep rezoning by citywide vote in the city charter.
Bach said rezoning by ballot is “an essential check and balance on our city’s government,” allowing residents to bring concerns like flooding and traffic to the forefront — if the municipal government does not address them.
“When you get to a point that our city council is so over-zealous for development just for development’s sake that they are ignoring all of the legitimate concerns of the people who know because they live and have businesses in the area, then you may need this referendum right to allow the citizens to make that decision instead,” Bach said.
Bach and the association can’t count dozens of high-profile endorsements like the Yes on 1 campaign, but KSMU confirmed that Galloway members recently shared their views about voting "no" at neighborhood meetings in Midtown Springfield and University Heights, for example.
A hard-fought campaign
It’s a hard-fought campaign, with both sides accusing the other of spreading misinformation. The Yes on 1 campaign accused the neighborhood association of vandalizing some of its yard signs; the association said they disavowed that behavior and one of their leaders helped clean up the vandalism.
On Oct. 20, Springfield resident Linda Simkins — who doesn’t live in Galloway — said she filed a complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission against the Yes on 1 campaign, officially registered under the name “Springfield United.”
The campaign filed a required finance report due on October 17 three days late, according to a copy of Simkins’ complaint and official Missouri Ethics Commission records. A campaign official said that was an “oversight.”
In response to aspects of the complaint questioning the accuracy of information listed in the campaign finance filing, the campaign told KSMU their report “speaks for itself.”
On Election Day, Springfield voters will decide who holds the power in determining how this neighborhood moves forward: a group of established residents who like their neighborhood the way it is, or the newer property owners with their ideas for progress.
