Philips annexation nixed
City council longs for planned zoning.
By JUSTIN WILLETT of the Tribune’s staff
Published Tuesday, July 2, 2002
The entire Philips farm will remain in the county for at least a little
while longer after the Columbia City Council last night unanimously
rejected a request to annex 75 acres of the tract.
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| Jenna Isaacson photo |
| Mayor Darwin Hindman, left, and
City Manager Ray Beck listen to city council members last night
discuss the possible annexation of a portion of the Philips
tract southeast of Columbia. Citing a lack of planned zoning,
the council later rejected the request in a unanimous vote. |
The request from the A. Perry Philips Family Partnership to annex the
property, which lies just southeast of Blue Acres Mobile Home Park, called
for retaining the multi-family zoning designation that the 75-acre tract
has carried since 1973.
Craig Van Matre, attorney for the partnership, said his clients sought
zoning equivalent with its county designation and with the city’s
involuntary annexation plan.
The Philips farm is part of the southern area targeted for involuntary
annexation in an Aug. 6 ballot issue. The involuntary annexation plan
shows the 75-acre tract as multifamily, though it would have to go through
the standard city zoning process if voters approve the ballot issue.
City council members expressed reservations about going against a
policy resolution that calls for planned zoning in the Little Bonne Femme
watershed, which includes the Philips tract. Others reasoned that without
city utilities, such as sanitary sewer, the land won’t develop in the
county.
"We have no choice but to believe this should be planned
development," Mayor Darwin Hindman said, noting that the city has
held other developers in the vicinity to the same standard.
John Clark, president of the North Central Columbia Neighborhood
Association, suggested the council leave the land in the county because
development without city sewers and other utilities would be improbable.
He said the Philips family will eventually have to come back to the city
before it can develop the land.
"Just leave it in the county," Clark said. "You have
that control. Use it."
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| Jenna Isaacson photo |
| Alyce Turner of the Boone County
Smart Growth Coalition speaks out against the proposed voluntary
annexation of 75 acres of the Phillips tract. Like others,
Turner cited concerns about the potential environmental
ramifications of developing the tract. |
Public Works Director Lowell Patterson said it would be "tough"
for the Philips farm owners to get an on-site sewer permit from the
Missouri Department of Natural Resources, especially because it is in a
sensitive watershed.
Alyce Turner, representing the Boone County Smart Growth Coalition,
delivered to the council a petition with 920 signatures calling for
preservation and public acquisition of the Philips farm. Like other
speakers, Turner urged the council to deny the request until a plan is
created for the entire 515-acre tract.
Second Ward Councilman Chris Janku said a city purchase of the whole
tract would be an "unlikely proposition" because it’s so large
and would probably cost too much. He said the decision to deny the request
goes back to the council’s resolution suggesting planned development.
"I don’t intend to go back on" the resolution "with
this vote," he said, "as much as we’d like to have this in the
city at this point."
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