Residents press city during public hearing on rezoning of 32-acre Highway 171 parcel

Residents urged the Carl Junction Board of Aldermen on Oct. 7 to withhold final action on a proposal to rezone a 32-acre parcel at Highway 171 and Gum Road until more site-specific information is available.

"The forms must be filled out completely...all information must be submitted and fees paid before a hearing will be scheduled," a resident who spoke at the public hearing said, reciting the rezoning application requirements and arguing traffic analyses, a narrative of impacts and other standard documentation were not provided.

City Administrator Steve said the city acquired the tract to expand limited local commercial space and is seeking light retail and restaurant uses, not manufacturing. "We're not looking to put any manufacturing in there...we are looking for, you know, light retail, commercial, maybe restaurant," he said.

Residents pressed for specifics: whether vehicular access would be from Highway 171 or Gum Road, whether the city had coordinated with the Missouri Department of Transportation, how stormwater and noise would be handled, and whether minimum buffers identified in the planning packet would be sufficient.

"We haven't done the engineering. We haven't developed this part or gotten the property," a resident said, adding that neighbors had received little information to judge impacts. Planning and Zoning staff told the board the commission recommended approval with conditions and had listed buffer and other stipulations in its packet.

Steve and staff said some measures will be set by future site plans and by applicable state requirements. Staff said MoDOT will regulate access locations and that the minimum buffer noted in the planning materials could be revised depending on the eventual site plan and the business that locates there.

Board members and staff emphasized there will be additional public review. The mayor and staff said the site plan review process will include public notice and a future public hearing when a developer submits a site plan. "Yes. There will be another public hearing," a staff member said when asked whether the public would have further opportunities to comment on specific site plans.

The board closed the public hearing at the Oct. 7 meeting and took no rezoning vote that night. Staff said the city will press for preliminary site planning information and for engineering input before returning to the council with a final rezoning ordinance or site plan.