Properties on South Madison Street between MacArthur Drive and 10th Street are within a special zoning area known as the Madison Overlay.
Madison Overlay restrictions likely to become a thing of the past
The Madison Street Overlay District, established more than 15 years ago to protect the character of South Madison Street from MacArthur Drive to 10th Street as it transitioned from residential to commercial – is on the way out.
On Monday, the Webb City Council accepted first reading of a bill to repeal the Madison Street Overlay District section of the municipal code.
Businessman Shane Burns spoke during the visitor portion of the meeting asking for the council to “redo” the Madison Overlay to encourage commercial growth. He said he has lost deals on land he owns on South Madison Street because of the overlay. In one instance, he said the prospective buyer wound up purchasing property farther south in Joplin on Range Line Road.
Burns owns more than half of the frontage on the west side of the 700 block of South Madison Street.
City Administrator Carl Francis said the overlay’s regulations are no longer practical. He mentioned “bright colors” being prohibited on buildings and the requirement to save trees.
Jerry Fisher (3rd Ward), who was on the council when the overlay was enacted, said the restrictions were written a lot to regulate the City Pointe shopping center, which led the move to commercialize the tree-lined residential strip on South Madison Street.
He said he has one constituent in particular who asks why the restrictions aren’t enforced. “I didn’t know the Board of Adjustments and Appeals could throw it (overlay) out.”
Fisher asked Burns what the reasons were for him losing the deals.
Burns said the 45-foot setback requirement is the main issue. He also mentioned the colors prohibition.
Another feature of the overlay requires a vegetation barrier in the back of the businesses to shield adjacent homeowners.
If the overlay is repealed, Francis said the affected properties would be revert to the “every day” underlying C-1, C-2 or C-3 zoning regulations.
Regular commercial rezoning only requires 25-foot setbacks, as opposed to the overlay’s 45-foot setbacks. And it requires a barrier (not vegetative) between commercial and residential property.
“I personally hate to see the whole thing (overlay) go out,” said Fisher.
On the other hand, he added, “Bottom line, it’s not working anyway – probably best to repeal it.”
Second (final) reading will be on the council’s April 12 agenda.
The dark area is property on the west side of East Street that’s requested to be rezoned from commercial to multi-family.
The council also gave first-reading approval to a bill that would rezone approximately four acres in the Centennial Retail and Industrial Park from commercial to multi-family residential.
Jock Evans, 1114 Elm Court, is requesting the change, which was advanced to the council on March 16 by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The property extends north of the strip shopping center on the northwest corner of East and Galena streets. Duplexes are behind that shopping center.
It will not front East Street. There’s another tract between it and East Street. Kyle Hickam, one of the owners of that property, spoke in favor of the rezoning at the P&Z meeting.
In other action, the council:
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