An ordinance to amend Wright City’s zoning code relating to planned development areas failed by a 2-1 vote during the Oct. 23 Wright City Board of Aldermen meeting.
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An ordinance to amend Wright City’s zoning code relating to planned development areas failed by a 2-1 vote during the Oct. 23 Wright City Board of Aldermen meeting.
The vote was 2-1 in favor of the ordinance, but three votes were required to pass the ordinance and one member of the board was absent during Thursday’s meeting.
Alderman Ramiz Hakim said the city’s current PDA ordinance is relatively new as was the result of city officials looking for creative ways to partner with developers to find some mixed use property options within the city.
Hakim said what happened, however, was some developers saw opportunities to use the ordinance to build small homes on small lots.
“This is not the vision our town wanted to follow,” he said.
Hakim said that the PDA as currently written is tied to the single-family residential district code section SR-4, which requires an average lot size of 8,400 square feet. The modification in the PDA ordinance would tie it to SR-1, which requires 43,560 square foot average lots. He said this would require developers in PDA districts to build larger homes on larger lots.
During the Oct. 23 meeting there was a public hearing regarding the ordinance, however no comment was offered.
When the vote was tallied on the proposed ordinance Hakim and Alderman Don Andrews voted in favor of the motion, while Alderman Karey Owens voted against the measure. Alderman Kim Arbuthnot was not present.
City Clerk Abbie Ogborn announced that the measure failed due to only three members being present during the meeting.
Prior to the meeting adjourning, Hakim said he felt that he had done a poor job communicating with the board about the scope of the proposed ordinance and asked Owens if she would be willing to share what her issues are with the ordinance.
Owens said she was concerned that making the lot size so much bigger they were mandating an exponential increase in construction costs that would outpace wages in the county. She said she felt if they approved the change they would be doing a disservice to Wright City residents and make it harder for them to live and stay in the community.
Hakim asked if she would be willing to reconsider her vote and bring the matter back up to be discussed at a workshop or the next regularly scheduled meeting.
Owens agreed and made a motion to reconsider, which Hakim seconded, to discuss the ordinance at their next workshop Nov. 3, with another vote on the matter to follow at the board’s next meeting Nov. 6.
The board also approved Tina Zimmerman with TMZ Marketing to submit an updated grant proposal for phase three of the city’s 62-acre park on Westwoods Road to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Land, Water and Conservation Fund. They also approved having her apply for grant funding for a project that would build volleyball and pickleball courts within the city.
