Parkville Planning and Zoning considered a significant amendment to a portion of the Creekside development plan at its meeting last week. While the board easily approved a rezoning request, a preliminary development plan raised more questions.
Developers submitted a plan amendment adding 48 apartments in two buildings and a four-unit town house to the Meadows at Creekside, located at Interstate 435 and Highway 45. The developers recently acquired the former home of Clarence Housch off Brink-Myer Road and the new plan includes the demolition of the log cabin home, removal of the current driveway and relocation of the planned pool and clubhouse to that location.
Director of community development Stephen Lachky said city staff felt the change was significant enough to warrant another public hearing, although no members of the public spoke up during the hearing held Tuesday, June 11.
Lachky said the increase in apartments and town houses would also increase project density, but the population projections still remained within city master plan guidelines.
Planning and zoning chair Dean Katerndahl said the planning and zoning commission should see the final detailed development plan, not just a conceptual plan. John Delich agreed, stating city development staff previously have presented more in-depth plans. Planning and zoning commission members expressed concerns that without concrete plans their findings may be overruled by the board of aldermen — as they did last year on other portions of the plan.
Lachky said the board of aldermen would not consider the amended plan until July, and final board approval wouldn’t be until late July — after the next meeting of the planning and zoning commission. He believed that would allow everyone involved to draft up and review more detailed plans.
Commission members were not convinced this was enough, and said they were concerned their authority would be bypassed by the board of aldermen.
“While the pictures you presented were nice and we’re supportive of you, history has shown when you get into these hand-waving contests and promises, four or five years later we find something hasn’t been done and going back to the documentation it’s not clear how that happened or how you can enforce it,” Delich said.
The board voted 6-2 to approve the amended preliminary development plan, with the caveat that the applicant makes no request that the planning and zoning commission be excluded from future final plan considerations. New commissioners Michael Lee and Allyson Berberich voted no.
Katerndahl repeated that the commission’s request for a final review was “a very, very strong recommendation.”
Also at the meeting, the board welcomed two new members of the planning and zoning commission — Lee and Berberich — replacing Michael Cary and Shane Sneed.
Also, chair Dean Katerndahl stated the commission had new rules in place for conduct during public hearings. Statements are now limited to three minutes and speakers must remain civil and refrain from personal comments.