A familiar proposal will be discussed at Jefferson City's Planning and Zoning Commission meeting for a development off Hayselton Drive.
At the commission meeting Thursday night, a request filed by River Bluff Condominiums and the Paul Chinn Trust will be presented to rezone 14.69 acres from Planned Unit Development to RS-3 Single Family Residential; amend a development plan map; and approve a preliminary and final subdivision plat of 10.9 acres consisting of nine lots, seven of which would be available for single-family homes.
The development being sought would include single-family homes in a subdivision accessed solely from the 1600 block of Hayselton Drive. It's that access that leads to problems.
It's the third time in the last six years this proposal has come before the city, though it has changed slightly over the years.
The proposal was originally brought to the commission in December 2010 when, despite more than 20 residents speaking out against the plan, the commission approved the subdivision plan. The request was then withdrawn by the landowners in February, just before it reached the City Council, to allow additional time to meet with neighborhood representatives concerning the proposed development.
In January 2012, the proposal was again brought back and approved by the commission before being withdrawn the next month, again because of neighborhood concerns, mainly the access road residents say would be placed on a hairpin curve that is already dangerous.
Each time the development is proposed, residents have expressed the same concerns with the proposed entrance, which would involve building a street to meet Hayselton Drive on a tight, hairpin curve many residents have said would be unsafe. Residents had also cited concerns about added traffic and noise in the area if the development were to proceed.
Neighborhood residents Joe Bednar, Terry Lyskowski, Mary Schantz and Peggy Davis say nothing substantial has changed since 2012, and they still have the same concerns.
"Planning and Zoning (Commission) has good reasons not to permit this," Schantz said, referencing the proposed development.
Bednar said the proposed entrance to the development will be narrow, creating safety issues in what will already be a hazardous intersection inside the street's curve. The development calls for an entrance road 48.36 feet wide, which requires a variance from the city as streets are required to be a minimum of 50 feet wide.
Residents also have concerns about how construction crews will get through the neighborhood, as the project develops. The curve is steep and parking is allowed on both sides of the street, meaning it can be difficult to maneuver.
The residents have always maintained they are not against the development itself but that it needs to be accessed from West Main Street, which Bednar said is a main arterial street and has enough property to make a wider subdivision entrance.
Property owner and developer Dick Otke said in 2012 the West Main Street entrance would be too expensive. Gary Oberkrom, also listed as a property owner and representative of River Bluff Condominiums, declined to comment for this article, noting all information was available in the documents submitted to the city.
Bednar said the residents are looking for a more thoughtful, planned approach to the development. While the current proposal has dropped from 15 homes to seven homes, Bednar said that could change through future requests to the Planning and Zoning Commission. All four of the residents interviewed expressed doubts the developer would keep the subdivision to only seven homes, saying they had previously been told by the developers that anything less than 15 homes would not be financially viable.
"That can all change," Bednar said of the proposal's specifics.
Concerned residents have taken to posting signs in their yards reading "Preserve Our Neighborhood" or "Preserve Hayselton Neighborhood" and are hoping even those who don't live near the proposed development will pay attention to what's happening.
"It's a citywide issue," Davis said. "This could happen to them, too."
Schantz added, "It could happen anywhere in Jefferson City."
The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 5:15 p.m. Thursday at City Hall. To see the documents on the proposed development, visit www.jeffersoncitymo.gov/government/planning/planning_and_zoning_commission.php.