Editor's note: Candidates for mayor of Springfield, City Council and school board were invited to submit a column in their own words explaining why they are seeking election April 4, or focusing on a topic of their choosing. All guest columns will be published by March 30.
OPINION |
As a civil engineer and small business owner myself, I understand what it takes to create an environment that fuels entrepreneurship and small businesses growth. On a weekly basis, I have small business owners contact me to help them work through the City of Springfield’s regulations. These regulations affect all development, such as subdividing property, adding a use, expanding buildings and expanding parking lots. The current city codes were written for development of vacant ground or green field development. However, most of the development in Springfield is actually redevelopment.
Locally, much of the discussion related to development has been focused on challenges between neighborhoods and proposed projects near them. However, there are many other proposed developments here that have little interaction with neighborhoods but are being hindered by antiquated codes. Ultimately, this lack of viable options can result in pushing development toward neighborhoods instead of what should be much better locations for proposed projects. Solving these complex issues to the satisfaction of all stakeholders requires taking a step back and looking at the entire regulatory landscape of the city.
I recently worked with a small business owner to subdivide his tract of land on South Campbell. He was not asking to change zonings or expand or create new traffic. He had two buildings and only needed to subdivide his land so the two existing buildings could be on two tracts. The city required him to remove his driveway, install sidewalks, give up land for right of way and install a new sewer main even though he already had sewer access through a private lateral. The total cost to subdivide the land was over $130,000 and his property was less accessible due to the loss of his driveway. This same property owner subdivided another piece of land in Ozark and it cost him under $500. I am aware of two other commercial developers in the same area that wanted to subdivide their land and they chose not to develop after receiving the cost estimates associated with complying to city codes.
I want to be clear. Regulations are good and necessary. For example, the city needs the ability to regulate stormwater so one development does not flood the next property downstream. Our building codes need to be written to ensure the structural integrity of our homes and places of work. I don’t want to make regulations go away. I do want to consider the benefit of city codes to our city compared to the cost of less development overall.
Our development code gets longer and more cumbersome over time. One of my favorite sayings is that the City of Springfield uses a sledgehammer for every sized nail. That is because our codes have evolved in part by problems that have occurred over time. In recent years, Springfield has added stream buffers, maintenance agreements, as-built certifications, and annual inspection reports on top of the most restrictive environmental regulations in our area. These increased regulations often come from problems in development, which cause city staff to write more restrictions to take care of the issue even though most properties were not affected by the original problem. Everyone must deal with the new regulations.
I mention stormwater above, but many areas are affected, which adds a layering effect. Our traffic department requires more detailed traffic studies and less access than ever before. Our newer fire codes cause more expense. Our subdivisions are more expensive as codes require more public improvements. Our environmental regulations seem to grow almost yearly.
How do we move forward from here in a way that makes Springfield a great prospect for the P.F. Chang’s many of us would like to have, but also ensures the unique character of our different neighborhoods is enhanced, not hindered? I believe the answers can be found in Forward SGF, our new comprehensive 20-year plan.
One of the goals of Forward SGF is a comprehensive city code update. I am in a unique position to have actually used the Springfield city code on a routine basis for a long time. Changing our city codes to encourage redevelopment will give developers land that does not need to be rezoned. Development should be encouraged where existing streets and infrastructure are already used for commercial uses. We have hundreds and hundreds of acres of commercial land with the potential to be redeveloped. I would like to work with the city and stakeholders to provide flexibility without pushing into our single-family neighborhoods.
Changing development codes could be used to unlock the potential for redevelopment throughout the city, which also helps neighborhoods concerned about encroachment of various kinds. I want the City of Springfield to be the economic hub of the Ozarks. Small businesses have choices. Sometimes the city should use a tack hammer instead of a sledgehammer to keep businesses in Springfield.
RELATED COLUMN
In their own words: Council Seat D candidate Bruce Adib-Yazdi
As the City of Springfield prepares to move the recently approved Forward SGF Comprehensive Plan from visionary design to successful application, I have the accumulated skills and am uniquely qualified to have a lead role in the process.
