Residents get ready for battle
Development is too dense, Philips farm neighbors say.
By LIZ HEITZMAN of the Tribune’s staff
Published Thursday, June 19, 2003
Tony Davis began a neighborhood meeting about a proposal to develop the
Philips farm with a bit of reminiscing.
"A couple years ago there were about 90 people in this room,"
Davis said of a neighborhood meeting in 1994 held at his Country Day Camp
on Gans Road. The meeting was about a proposal before the Boone County
Commission from Bob LeMone and Tom Glosier to develop the Philips property
with a mix of residential and commercial uses.
"We raised a lot of questions and issues about that development
and very seriously opposed in the form it was presented," he said.
"We’re not here to raise opposition but to examine the issues - the
effects on the creeks and the possibility of a park."
About 30 residents attended the meeting last night to discuss the latest
proposal to develop the land by Elvin Sapp. His plan includes zoning for
offices, homes, apartments and a retail center. If not directly opposing
the current proposal, the consensus last night seemed clear: Sapp’s proposal
is too much. It would mean too much traffic, it would degrade the sensitive
watershed and the density of development is too much.
Over the years, there have been several attempts to develop the tract,
which is home to rolling hills of fescue grasses, a couple of aging structures
and a 40-acre lake. In recent attempts, neighborhood opposition has been
a factor in denying development plans.
Sapp, who also developed Bluff Creek Estates and Thornbrook, has asked
the city to annex the 489-acre property. He’s also asked the city to buy
a chunk of parkland at the site, ranging in size from 133 to 234 acres
and in price from $2.1 million to about $5 million.
The property lies between Gans and Clear creeks, which flow through Rock
Bridge Memorial State Park. The stretch of Gans in the park is designated
an outstanding state resource water, the highest level of protection afforded
by the state.
"This is a very special area we live in," said Randal Clark,
who has lived near the Philips tract for 20 years and has seen three or
four proposals to develop the farm. "It’s very important that we
make sure it’s protected and is not degraded in the future."
Sapp is well aware of the concern about the watershed and has hired engineer
Jonathan Jones, a Denver-based consultant with a national reputation,
to develop a storm-water plan for the site. His plan relies heavily on
what are called "best management practices," which include swales
and landscaping designed to slow down and cool water before it can reach
waterways.
Davis said last night that discussions about developing the Philips tract
this time around could likely boil down to a debate about storm-water
science.
"They feel their plan is pretty bullet proof and are ready to engage
in discussion and debate about it," he said. "They’re going
to accept planned zoning, and they have the science. It’s going to be
a real challenge."
John Ikerd, a retired agricultural economics professor and member of
the Little Bonne Femme protection group, discussed what will likely be
the linchpin of debate about the property - impervious surfaces percentages.
He said the percentages proposed - between 29.9 percent and 36.8 percent
- would damage the waterways.
Ikerd said last night that he’d like to see about half the property left
as green space, while keeping the retail development and other residential
and office developments. "I think the most positive thing we could
possible do is propose an alternative to this - a plan that would protect
the watershed and give the developer a reasonable return on his investment,"
he said.
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Reach Liz Heitzman at (573) 815-1715 or lheitzman@tribmail.com.
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