Amid the ongoing contention over the northwest corner of National Avenue and Sunshine Street, Springfield city planners aim to “look at the big picture” with a corridor study of Sunshine.
On July 8, the Springfield City Council considered a package of American Rescue Plan Act allocations totaling $611,819, including $100,000 for corridor and neighborhood planning — namely a corridor study of a stretch of Sunshine Street.
The City Council ARPA Review Committee recommended reallocating the money after the city funded a citywide housing study with non-ARPA funds and retained $195,481 from unspent retention payments.
The City Council will vote on the slate of appropriations July 22. The package includes funding for consolidated planning for housing, the Commercial Street Community Improvement District and compliance services of Forvis Mazars, among other projects.
While the corner of National and Sunshine is not the sole focus of the study, it would be included in the stretch of road being studied. Depending on how far the city government can stretch the funds, the study could include the stretch of Sunshine from Glenstone Avenue to Campbell Avenue, or from Glenstone to Kansas Expressway.
Residents of University Heights have strongly opposed the rezoning of 2.6 acres at the corner of National and Sunshine for commercial use, though it remains unclear what developer Be Kind & Merciful aims to build.
In June, Greene County Circuit Judge Derek Ankrom ruled in favor of BK&M in a lawsuit filed by University Heights neighborhood residents in December 2022. The plaintiffs and developer have indicated plans to continue litigation.
The proposed study comes more than a year and half after the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the City Council study and draft a corridor plan for two key stretches of Sunshine and National, and more than a year after the City Council narrowly voted down a moratorium on development on those same stretches of road until a corridor study could be completed.
Steve Childers, Springfield’s director of Planning and Development, estimated the corridor study would be completed by the end of 2025.
