City of Springfield adds 10-acres to city limits to bring in more revenue
The Springfield City Council passed three bills that will expand and add to the west side of the city limits during the March 25 meeting with a unanimous 9-0 vote.
The council passed bills 2019-029, 2019-030 and 2019-036 which will rezone and annex 9.3 acres of private property and 0.3 acres of Greene County right-of-way. This area is generally located at 3851 West Farm Road 148 and University Street.
This set of bills will annex and rezone the property from a neighborhood commercial district to a medium density multi-family residential district and general retail district and will dedicate public streets and easements to the city.
The three bills will expand zone three of the city, an area covered by councilman Mike Schilling.
Schilling said he feels the extra 10 acres being added to the city will make a big difference in terms of growth for the city. This new development will bring a multi-family apartment building, which will hold around 200 people, along with a strip of retail businesses.
“It brings more property into the city which provides an additional revenue source for the city of Springfield—a small amount compared to the whole thing, but it adds in that regard,” Schilling said.
During his 36 years living here, Schilling has seen traffic increasingly get thicker. Schilling said he believes traffic in the area will increase but will not create any potential traffic concerns.
“I've been here for 36 years. But in the last five years or so it's really picked up. It will [continue to] increase to some degree but not to the extent that it's going to cause super headaches,” Schilling said.
Mayor Ken McClure said he hopes he does not see traffic concerns rise as this project moves forward but has also seen traffic increase as the community continues to grow.
“We are a growing community. Traffic grows with that,” McClure said.
McClure feels that the city is fortunate to have the excess funds to be able to afford expansion projects such as this one.
“Everything we do is tied in with some priority of the council. Everything we do ties in with economic vitality as well as physical sustainability,” McClure said. “We were fortunate to have those excess funds in our budget.”
This expansion and rezoning project was set to take effect after being approved. Citizens and visitors of Springfield should expect to see this project advance and continue to see Springfield grow in the upcoming months.
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