Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Urban Service Area topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Springfield launches yearlong plan to coordinate sewer, annexation and redevelopment
Summary
City staff proposed a yearlong program of workshops with Greene County and City Utilities to align urban service area boundaries, update annexation policy, prioritize infrastructure investments and prepare internal redevelopment tools; staff will issue a joint memo and return with policy options in about a year.
Aaron Kemper, director of the Department of Environmental Services, told the committee that city staff will lead a yearlong, regional planning effort to align urban service area growth with internal redevelopment and infrastructure priorities. Kemper said the effort will include facilitated workshops with Greene County and City Utilities and aims to return to the council in roughly 12 months with vetted policy recommendations.
"Without sewer, you can't get urbanized densities," Kemper said, arguing that sewer capacity is a primary constraint on where the city can support denser development. He outlined three core topics for the workshops: regional growth, economic vitality and infrastructure management, and listed additional subjects including cost'recovery, annexation criteria and mapping of 5'year and 20'year growth zones.
Kemper cited existing policies as examples that shape development choices: he noted a lift'station ordinance that currently collects 10 years of operation and maintenance costs up front and said staff will review whether alternative cost'recovery approaches could better allocate expenses or incentivize growth in targeted locations. He gave infrastructure examples such as a roughly 3'mile force main built to carry landfill leachate that could also enable sewer service north of Highway 13.
Planning director Steve Schillers discussed internal redevelopment priorities, including a proposed land'bank or umbrella division to coordinate housing and redevelopment projects, corridor and downtown reinvestment, and a program to assess city'owned vacant lots for shovel'readiness. Schillers said upgrading in'city sewer, stormwater and water mains is often necessary before higher'density projects can proceed.
Staff proposed issuing a joint memo with Greene County and City Utilities to announce the cooperative process and then scheduling facilitated stakeholder workshops. Kemper said staff may bring identified opportunities to council sooner than the 12'month horizon if practicable, and committee members requested quarterly updates on progress.
Next steps: staff will finalize and, with committee approval, issue the joint memo, schedule workshops and return to the council with policy options and possible code amendments in about a year.
