Blue Springs council approves rezoning and conditional permit for Hawes Estate water facility

The Blue Springs City Council on July 7 approved rezoning roughly 17 acres at 27711 East Wyatt Road from county agricultural (AGC) to SF‑12 large‑lot single‑family residential and granted a conditional use permit to allow a utility major land use on Lot 1 to accommodate water storage tanks and related infrastructure.

City planning staff told the council the site will be divided into three lots: Lot 1 of about 7 acres for a Tri County Water Authority facility and two roughly 5‑acre residential lots (Lots 2 and 3). Staff said the conditional use permit is required because the Lot 1 use includes piping, pumps, tanks, remote monitoring and daily inspections and therefore must be authorized as a utility major use under the Unified Development Code (UDC). The planning report recommended approval with conditions, including additional plant units and buffering around the tanks as requested by the planning commission.

Tri County Water Authority General Manager John Overstreet, who spoke for the applicant, said the Authority will remove existing farm buildings and build storage reservoirs and a pump station to supply water to District 13 and the city of Blue Springs. “Our intent … to build 2 2000000 gallon ground storage reservoirs,” he said. Overstreet also described piping relocations needed to accommodate a future traffic circle nearby and said the facility will have minimal traffic impacts when operational.

Staff and the applicant said Lots 2 and 3 will be served by private septic systems and noted the lots exceed three acres, which staff said allows septic under the state statute cited in the record. The staff presentation said Lot 1 will not connect to the city sanitary system, that a stormwater management plan meeting APWA and BMP standards must be prepared by a licensed engineer, and that final site materials and screening will be reviewed administratively during site‑plan review. Staff also said a five‑foot ADA‑compliant sidewalk will be installed along the north side of Southeast Wyatt Road as a public improvement; council members asked for clarification and staff confirmed the north side alignment.

Council members asked about removal of the existing farmhouse and the septic system; Overstreet replied the existing facilities will be removed as part of the project. Planning staff said final landscaping, screening and buffering will be set through conditions of approval and administrative site plan review.

The council introduced and approved first and second readings of two bills: bill 5329 to rezone the property and bill 5330 to approve the conditional use permit. Both measures passed unanimously on roll call and were assigned ordinance numbers 5431 (rezoning) and 5432 (conditional use permit).

What happens next: site plans and final materials will be reviewed administratively under the UDC; the applicant must submit the required stormwater plan and meet the technical standards listed in the staff report.