The Parkville Board of Aldermen gave preliminary approval to a development plan that could bring nearly 150 households into the City of Parkville.
The plats were approved at the Tuesday, Dec. 15 meeting of the board of aldermen, with alderman Marc Sportsman presiding due to mayor Nan Johnston’s illness. The second reading was postponed to Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021.
Director of community development Stephen Lachky presented the plans for additional plats of the Thousand Oaks subdivision, floating the idea of annexing portions of the subdivision currently in unincorporated Platte County into the city to allow for ease in future roads maintenance. The county portion of the development had already passed through the county’s planning and zoning commission and was met with unanimous approval.
The move would bring 136 new homes into the City of Parkville.
“A lot goes into the design,” said developer David Barth, noting road improvements made in past phases to accommodate traffic and additional work upcoming for new phases of construction.
Barth also said recently he has been discouraged to develop park land within his own developments – the comment prompted by a question about parkland from the board - so has instead paid cash to municipalities for their park programs, while still attempting to create green spaces within the developments.
Also at the meeting, the board heard details on the master plan for the downtown Pocket Park, which was recently damaged by a vehicle crashing into the base of the Bill Grigsby statue in late October.
Phased master plan projects could total $400,000 over the next several years, but more immediate improvements included installation of concrete planters to prevent future vehicular crashes into the park.
Parkville’s Community Land and Recreation Board (CLARB) agreed to spend $8,000-$10,000 to install the planters to provide some protection to the area. Additional safety improvements are also included in the phase one plan, which would address existing concerns about the aging stairs and the footings beneath the Grigsby statue.
Alderman Dave Rittman said the plan wasn’t ready to go before the board for a vote and he and alderman Doug Wylie cast dissenting votes. Rittman said that there wasn’t consensus among Main Street groups and business owners on the path forward.
Professional studies students Jessica Frederick and Mackenzee Resch from Park Hill and Park Hill South high schools have been working with Parkville Nature Sanctuary director Kristen Bontrager to learn the management of natural spaces in Parkville.
During their work with the sanctuary, the students worked on carving out a new walking trail at the Sullivan Nature Sanctuary just north of Platte Landing Park. The students have also been removing honeysuckle – an invasive species – from the nature sanctuaries; worked on the virtual Ghost Stories Night and visited other metro area nature sanctuaries.