Now, judge in the case — which focuses on whether it's legal for developers with the company Be Kind & Merciful to put up commercial buildings at the southeastern corner of the University Heights neighborhood — wants to reconsider whether the lawsuit should be dismissed.
The case is currently scheduled for trial in January.
The legal saga began in December of last year. A coalition of University Heights neighborhood residents sued BK&M developers. The residents argued that 100-year-old property deed restrictions carry legal force, meaning only houses may be built in the neighborhood, not businesses.
In an 8-page court order issued Monday, Judge Derek Ankrom wrote that the controversy may not yet be "ripe," or ready, for court review because “the property cannot be used in the manner prohibited by the [deed] restrictions unless or until the property is rezoned by the City of Springfield.”
Judge Ankrom’s order allows the neighborhood residents in the case until November 20 to argue that the lawsuit should not be dismissed. A half-day court hearing could be scheduled in December.
Currently, the rezoning desired by the developers is set to be up for debate at a Springfield Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on Dec. 14, after several postponements earlier this year.
As KSMU reported back on April 20, Planning & Zoning voted 7-to-1 not to recommend the developers’ rezoning request as presented at that time.
