Planning commission recommends Hawes Estates rezoning, conditional use permit and preliminary plat to allow water tanks and two homes

The Blue Springs Planning Commission recommended approval Monday of a rezoning, a conditional use permit and a preliminary plat for Hawes Estates, a roughly 17-acre site at the southeast corner of Southeast Wyatt Road and Trout Road that will include a Tri County Water Authority facility and two single-family lots.

City planner Chantel Fry told commissioners the project proposes to divide the parcel into three lots: "Lot 1 will be approximately 7 acres, which would be developed by Tri County Water Authority for major water infrastructure facility, and then Lots 2 And 3 will each, be approximately 5 acres to be developed as a single family residential." Fry said staff recommended approval of the rezoning, CUP and preliminary plat with conditions in the staff report.

The nut of the proposal is combining a low-density residential designation with an essential utility use. Fry said the city’s 2040 comprehensive plan designates the area as neighborhood and that the site is identified as low-density residential under the plan’s S2 area, which staff said is compatible with the mix of a large-lot single-family district (SF-12) and a utility use requiring a conditional permit.

Tri County Water Authority representative John Overstreet told the commission the project would relocate existing mains and add storage tanks. "The two 2,000,000-gallon tanks that are shown there at the west side of the property, will be approximately 35 feet tall and they will provide water both to the potential future development to the east of Shrou[t] Road ... as well as the rest of Water District Thirteen's area," Overstreet said. He added the relocation work is timed to coordinate with a planned roundabout at the intersection and to minimize repeated disturbance of the same infrastructure.

Fry described design and infrastructure requirements that will be subject to later site-plan review, including nonresidential design standards for Lot 1, screening of roof-mounted and ground-level equipment prior to certificate of occupancy, and additional landscaping and buffering because the tanks will be close to the right of way. She said the existing farmhouse and outbuildings on Lot 1 will be removed “at no expense of the city no later than 12/31/2026” under an agreement with the Hawes family.

Commissioners asked about visibility and buffering for neighboring subdivisions and about tank heights; Fry and the applicant said those details would be handled at site plan design review. Overstreet estimated relocation of mains and construction of the tanks to support the roundabout would be about $750,000 in the current plan and said moving the facilities even a short distance could substantially increase cost.

Two members of the Hawes family spoke in favor at the public hearing. James T. Hawes said of Tri County’s representative, "His word is his bond. What he tells you is right," and family members said they support the plan to keep the land in the family while allowing the utility improvements.

The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the rezoning (RZ-05-25-9572), the conditional use permit (CUP-05-25-9573) and the preliminary plat (PP-05-25-9574), each with staff conditions. Fry said all three items will be heard by the City Council at its next meeting on Monday, July 7.

Staff noted that Lot 1 will not connect to sanitary sewer; Lots 2 and 3 will use private septic until infrastructure is extended. Fry also said the SF-12 district requires a minimum 12% open space and the proposed plat complies with that standard.

The application will return for site-plan design review, where commissioners and staff said landscaping, screening and tank visibility will be examined in greater detail.