The supermajority requirement was due to a successful protest petition filed with the city, including 44 percent of households located near the 2.6-acre plot that Be Kind & Merciful development company wants to build out for business at a high-traffic central Springfield corner.
The saga to redevelop Sunshine & National began over two years ago at a tense meeting between commercial developers and University Heights residents — a first meeting that ended with a slur word aimed at a developer’s family member.
To proceed, Be Kind & Merciful's plan needed to rezone the corner of Sunshine Street and National Avenue located kitty-corner to Mercy hospital away from single-family residences in favor of business development.
When it finally came up for a City Council vote on Monday night after a convoluted journey through Planning & Zoning and City Council processes, the most recently amended version of the rezoning plan failed.
Mayor Ken McClure, Zone 2 Councilmember Abe McGull, General Councilmember Callie Carroll and General Councilmember Derek Lee voted in favor of the rezoning. Zone 4 Councilmember Matt Simpson recused himself from the vote to avoid a conflict of interest.
General Councilmember Heather Hardinger and Zone 1 Councilmember Monica Horton voted against the plan, saying they weren’t voting against the developer, but wanted a better rezoning plan and rezoning process.
Zone 3 Councilmember Brandon Jenson had floated the idea of amending the developer’s rezoning request with even more restrictions than the ones approved at a council meeting earlier this month, but ultimately, Jenson voted against the amended plan.
"I had worked with at least some members of the neighborhood, and I absolutely recognize that there is not a consensus that I think we’re going to be able to find," Jenson said Monday night before voting.
General Councilmember Craig Hosmer voted against the plan. While outspoken in his opposition at previous meetings, he didn't say much Monday night.
Several other Springfield City Council members also shared their reasoning on the rezoning request before casting their votes.
Councilmember McGull quoted the famous Missouri poet Langston Hughes and cited the Missouri and U.S. Constitutions to argue that the developer was being treated in what McGull characterized as an "un-American" way by the "difficult" rezoning process.
Councilmember Hardinger said, “After giving this issue really careful thought, I will have to cast a No vote tonight. While the amendment was a step toward compromise, it’s very clear that this rezoning process has failed, not just for the neighborhood, but for the developer and the city as a whole.”
The amendment referenced by Hardinger was approved in a 5-to-3 council vote on October 7.
It provided extra restrictions on uses of the property, in such a way that had the overall rezoning bill passed, business development company Be Kind & Merciful wouldn’t have been allowed to build a tattoo parlor, marijuana shop or single-story retail strip center with a flat roof — along with dozens of other forbidden commercial uses.
Ralph Duda, co-owner of Be Kind & Merciful, declined to comment when Ozarks Public Radio approached him just after the council vote Monday night.
Susan Robinson, secretary of the University Heights Neighborhood Association, told Ozarks Public Radio that plaintiffs associated with the neighborhood’s “preservation” group are filing an appeal to a recent court judgment. Earlier this year, a local judge ruled that century-old property deed restrictions covering University Heights aren’t enforceable to prevent the construction of anything in the neighborhood besides private single-family residences.
Robinson said papers were filed with Missouri’s Southern District Court of Appeals on Monday to contest that decision, though late Monday night they weren’t yet visible in Missouri’s online court record system.
This report was updated at 10 a.m. October 23 to provide additional information about a lawsuit appeal linked to several plaintiffs associated with a neighborhood preservation group.
