It took 24 minutes for a Greene County jury to reach a verdict in favor of 10 Springfield residents who sued the City of Springfield over the Lone Pine Bike Park.
The jury returned its verdict June 25 in a lawsuit filed in an effort to protect greenspace along Lone Pine Avenue just north of Battlefield Road. Court records show the attorneys for the 10 plaintiffs have until July 2 to submit a proposed judgment to Greene County Circuit Judge Joshua Christensen for consideration.
The lawsuit claimed that property owners near the greenspace on Lone Pine will be forced to pay for park improvements they didn't want and didn't agree to. It also claimed the property owners will be harmed by having more traffic in their neighborhood, illegal parking, future developments in the greenspace, stormwater runoff and safety concerns from a high volume of cyclists riding in and out of an area that was not initially designed to accommodate them.
“Sometime in 2019, an unknown group of minors, acting without permission from the city, began modifying portions of the greenspace to construct makeshift bicycle tracks in the wooded area of the greenspace,” the lawsuit reads, in part. “Rather than inform the minors that they were not authorized to construct makeshift bicycle tracks in the greenspace and to restore the natural condition of the greenspace, the city began developing plans to create a permanent bike park in the greenspace.”
Property owners sued City of Springfield in 2022
The plaintiffs are listed as Art Farris, Tim Reese, Cal Wise, David Lewis, Edwin “Cookie” Rice, Patty Melton, William Wear, Susie Henry, Chip McGeehan and Dale E. Williams. Their dispute is over 16.42 acres of grassy field and woods off Lone Pine Avenue at Southern Hills Boulevard, near Southern Hills Swim & Tennis Club.
The 10 plaintiffs filed their lawsuit against the City of Springfield on March 25, 2022. They are represented by attorney Ben Shantz of the Springfield office of Spencer Fane.
The plaintiffs allege that in the 1990s, a developer submitted plans to develop the greenspace for commercial use. At the time, the late John Q. Hammons was involved in a partnership with Lee McLean Jr., and their wives were also partners. The greenspace was zoned for single-family residential use.
In an effort to protect the land, people organized the Lone Pine Greenspace Neighborhood Improvement District.
The NID petition called for some of the money taken for property taxes within the district to be put toward maintaining the greenspace. It was determined that 577 single-family residential properties would fall within the neighborhood improvement district.
Around June 12, 2003, the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission approved a request from the Springfield-Greene County Park Board for the city to acquire the greenspace on Lone Pine Avenue.
An additional property tax to keep the greenspace
According to the lawsuit, the city required the 577 individual properties within the NID area to pay an additional real property tax of $80 per year (for a period of 20 years) to finance the acquisition and maintenance of the greenspace at a principal amount of $675,000.
On Jan. 13, 2022, the Springfield Planning and Zoning Commission approved a request from the Springfield-Greene County Park Board to allow trail construction on the property, changing the land's use designation. This action, the lawsuit plaintiffs say, violated city laws.
“The Growth Management and Land Use Plan of the Comprehensive Plan designates this area as appropriate for greenway use and low-density housing. The plan states greenways are usually to be located along major creeks or rivers and serve as a connection to parks. The proposed trails will allow users to connect to the Galloway Creek Greenway Trail,” the planning and zoning staff review of the proposal from Jan. 23, 2022, reads, in part.
The lawsuit argues that a bicycle path violates the original terms of the greenspace NID agreement.
