By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho City Council members agreed Tuesday night to several revisions to a set of proposed code changes while announcing that the city had made no unrelated decision yet as to the fate of the former First Baptist Church building.
The council will delay the final reading on the new codes until February, said Mayor Howard Birdsong, although the council informally agreed to more zoning allowances for churches. Existing churches still would be grandfathered in.
The draft that came before the council on Dec. 16 allowed churches outright in areas with retail-business zoning and in other zoning classifications, provided that they obtained a special-use permit. After hearing concerns from some local churches, council members said they wanted the city staff to revisit those regulations.
The draft presented Tuesday night expanded the number of zoning classifications in which churches would be allowed outright to include two residential and all commercial designations.
But the residential zoning allowances also stipulated that a church must be on a parcel of at least three acres to provide sufficient land for off-street parking, buffer areas and proper site design.
Councilman Jeff Werneke said he thought the three-acre threshold seemed arbitrary. Other members of the council later agreed to eliminate the three-acre threshold, but to retain requirements that a church provide sufficient land for off-street parking, buffer areas and proper site design.
The council informally agreed to allow churches outright in all residential zoning classifications, provided they comply with the requirements for sufficient land area, according to City Manager Jan Blase.
The proposed zoning changes have undergone multiple revisions — by the city staff, planning and zoning commissioners, and council members — since they first were advanced in April 2008. The bulk of the ordinance now consists of a list of the various zoning classifications, and also includes sections governing certain home-based businesses and fencing.
Birdsong, the mayor, said the City Council would again discuss, but not vote on, the proposed code changes at its next meeting later this month.
In other business Tuesday, city officials said they had not yet decided what to do with the former First Baptist Church building, located next to the Civic Auditorium, after a resident asked whether the city planned to demolish the building.
The city purchased the building in February 2008 for about $290,000. Officials learned late last year that it would cost about $1 million to restore and renovate the building for public use.
Blase told the Globe last month that the city had received state approval to use about $40,000 in tax credits for the building’s demolition. The city could potentially use the property for a parking lot, green space and a small addition to the auditorium that would be used for storage, he said.
But Birdsong said the council has yet to determine whether to demolish the structure or preserve it.
Werneke, a member of an auditorium committee that recommended that the city purchase the former church building, said: “We are just entertaining an idea right now. We’re not steamrollering ahead to get rid of it.”
Board vacancies
The city of Neosho is seeking licensed engineers, architects or builders for its board of appeals. The city has two vacancies on the board, each of which carries a three-year term. Information: city clerk’s office, 451-8050.
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