After making some changes to plans following a meeting with neighbors, the Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission approved a rezoning proposal and additional proposals by the owners of Capital Mall to make improvements to their property.
This sends the measures on to the City Council, which has to give final approval. A public hearing on these issues is scheduled for the March 2 meeting.
This is part of a long-term plan for exterior improvements to the mall, including new building facades, signage and landscaping.
At Thursday night's planning and zoning meeting, Paul Sampson with Central Missouri Professional Services, representing the mall owners, Farmer Holding Company, said there were four things being changed from the original plans.
In their rezoning of the mall property, the owners would keep an area where Red Lobster Restaurant is located off of Country Club Drive as C-1 Neighborhood Commercial Development and not have it changed to C-2 General Commercial with the rest of the property.
They also would not make any modifications to existing buffer areas just past the eastern parking lot of Dillards nor request increased heights for light poles in that area.
Due to MoDOT regulations, a proposed 50-foot, monument-type sign to face U.S. 50 from the Hardee's Restaurant property, also owned by the Farmer's, will be made smaller, possibly 37 or 40 square feet. The sign would advertise several Capital Mall stores and include an electronic message center.
The other change was to keep a landscape island on Country Club Drive in place. A roundabout intersection had been proposed in its place, but neighbors had concerns about traffic if it was approved.
With those changes made, the commission approved the rezoning of the mall area. They also approved a special exemption permit establishing design standards for superstore and big box retail developments with more than 100,000 square feet of building area for which the mall qualifies. The commission also approved a preliminary plat application which proposes converting some current parking into outlots for lease by future tenants.
Neighbors on Country Club Drive and Hobbs Lane said they were glad to see the changes and hoped for more dialogue with the mall owners. They believe C-1 zoning provided more protection for neighborhoods than C-2. They also noted the intentions of the original 1977 zoning for the mall area as far as keeping a buffer between residential properties and the mall.
Sampson told the commission work on changes at the mall will be done over the next five to six years.
Also at Thursday's meeting, the commission approved sending zoning changes for a proposed senior housing development to the City Council.
It approved the voluntary annexation of 15 acres in the 200 block of Bridge Creek Road along with a zoning plan to change part of the property from no zoning to RA-2 high density residential.
The property is owned by L&L Investments LLC and is located near the intersection of Bridge Creek and Chapel Hill Road, just east of Scott Station Road. This would be an extension of the Chapel Hill Commons senior living development with preliminary plans calling for five eight-unit buildings and two six-unit buildings on the southern portion of the property with no current plans for the northern portion of the property.
Neighbors did have concerns about the increase in noise and runoff from the development and asked if a wooded buffer, already in place in the area, could be kept. City staff members said they would get in contact with public works staff to talk with neighbors about their concerns.