Saga continues over proposed development concerning University Heights

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — After years of back-and-forth discussion between residents from University Heights in Springfield and a developer seeking approval to rezone the corner of Sunshine Street and National Avenue from single-family homes to general retail, Springfield City Council decided at Monday’s meeting to amend the bill and postpone the vote for later this month.

Dr. Susan Robinson — who lives in University Heights — says she did not expect this decision because it’s not something that has happened before.

“I was very surprised at the amendment,” Dr. Robinson said. “Apparently, it came up in midweek last week. It seemed like Mr. Hosmer was also surprised by the amendment. I didn’t realize that City Council could go through that process. I thought that any changes that were to be made would have to be made by being remanded back to planning and zoning.”

For the past two years, developer Ralph Duda with Be Kind and Merciful LLC has wanted to rezone the corner of the University Heights neighborhood to build a food hall and a pickleball court. However, he has received lots of pushback from neighbors.

In the proposed amendment, Councilman Craig Hosmer voiced his concerns over some of the definitions used in the amendment, such as dollar stores or whether or not manufacturing marijuana facilities would be allowed on the property.

The City Council ultimately voted 5-3 in favor of adopting the amendment.

“We have no clue what the definitions going to be. We go to amendment that. We don’t know what the impact of marijuana manufacturing facilities are,” said Councilman Hosmer.

The next City Council meeting will take place on October 21, when City Council will hear from the public and potentially vote on the bill.

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