Council Delays Vote on Senior Housing

BLUE SPRINGS, MO - Plans for a new apartment building to serve older Blue Springs residents were delayed Monday when a councilwoman protested a site plan for the project. Council members Sheila Solon and Lyle Shaver disliked the appearance of Country Oak Village, an independent living complex for people 55 and older. The nearly two-acre project at the southeast corner of R.D. Mize and Sunnyside School roads includes a two-story building of 32 units, most of them one-bedroom designs.

The council was being asked to approve a final plat so building permits could be issued. Developer Tim Mollis said the design used different materials: lap siding, stone veneers along with architectural features like porches, and gables to break up the broad plane of the building. "We didn't want a big, bad box," Mollis said.

Because the developers sought permission to build the project before tougher standards for multifamily housing were adopted by the council, it was designed under the prior standards. The project has been dragging through approval for more than a year, Mollis said, caught in a moratorium on multifamily housing while those new standards were written.

After some discussion of the building's appearance and design for the parking lot, City Attorney Bob McDonald told the council that some of those issues weren't germane to voting on the plat. Solon then filed a protest of the site plan, which was approved by the Planning Commission, so the council voted to table the plat until design issues were settled through that appeal. Shaver and Solon said the building looked like a commercial or institutional building but was to be located in an area with attractive four-plexes. "I think we can do better," Solon said.

Shaver said he thought the 62 parking spaces planned were too numerous for senior housing. He said he'd rather see more green space. The minimum amount of parking for the project's size is 50 spaces, the community development department said.

Councilwoman Sissy Reed noted that the age group the apartments would be marketed to is still young and active; the development also would have family visiting. Mollis said that during his discussions with city staff and the Planning Commission, no one had previously complained about the parking. "In all fairness we would like to get this built," he said. The city has 60 days to handle Solon's appeal, which Mayor Carson Ross said he would try to finish rapidly.