January 27, 2009
To: All Blue Springs Residents
Re: Parkway Place and Parkway West
As many of you may know, Adams Dairy Investors, LLC has been working with the City
of Blue Springs for over 15 months to bring a much needed office and retail development to the
Adams Dairy Parkway. In a blatant political maneuver aimed at thwarting the democratic
process, City Councilman Ron Fowler jeopardized both the Parkway Place and Parkway West
projects.
Parkway Place is a planned mixed use development of upscale office space and retail
establishments located on Adams Dairy Parkway between R.D. Mize Road and Napoleon. Once
completely, the development will include two three-story office complexes, a separate office
building, and several retail sites including a possible bank and sit down restaurant, which Blue
Springs sorely needs. The centerpiece of this development is a fountain on scale with the grand
fountain at the Plaza in Kansas City. Parkway West will be a market complex that offers upscale
wine and liquors, cheeses, made to order breakfasts, gasoline, and other amenities and
convenience items those travelers of the Parkway desire.
This letter addresses many of the inaccuracies that Mr. Fowler has included in his reasons
for abstaining from voting on the Community Improvement District to fund the road, traffic
signal, and infrastructure improvements necessary to keep traffic moving on the Parkway and the
rezoning of Parkway West for construction of BT’s Market. Mr. Fowler abstained from voting
on these two issues because he felt that Adams Dairy Investors did not follow the proper process
by bringing both projects, and all requests, before the City Council at one time and that he did
not have all of the information he needed to make an informed decision on the developer’s
requests.
Since the January 5, 2009 abstention by Councilman Fowler, Adams Dairy Investors has
provided substantial information about the process it followed, and who dictated that process,
and provided Councilman Fowler with all information he requested regarding the projects.
Unfortunately, Councilman Fowler refuses to acknowledge that Adams Dairy Investors did
follow the process set forth by City Staff and that he has sufficient information on the projects so
that he can now vote yes or no on the project requests. Instead, he continues to stand by his
abstention and thwart the developer’s due process rights. By abstaining, Councilman Fowler has
exercised one-man veto power over the entire City Council thereby depriving them of their right
to vote as their constituents would have them vote on these issues.
The developer began working with the City on these projects in November 2007 by
proposing a site plan that included a curb cut on Adams Dairy Parkway to provide access to the
office and retail buildings. In December 2007, the City informed the developer that it needed a
traffic study done for Parkway Place and Parkway West to support the request for the curb cut
and so City Staff could evaluate the traffic impact of the two projects on the traffic flow of the
Parkway.
The developer had the traffic study done, turned it over to City Staff for review, and City
Staff, through the Public Works Department recommended several traffic improvements at the
intersections of the Parkway and R.D. Mize Road and Napoleon to facilitate the increased traffic
for these two projects.
Following receipt of the traffic study, the developer met with City Staff on the planning
for both Parkway Place and Parkway West. City Staff informed the developer that it needed to
remove BT’s Market from the Parkway Place site plan because Parkway West was already part
of an existing, approved, and constructed concept plan. Accordingly, City Staff stated to the
developer that it would not need any rezoning for BT’s Market, only a conditional use permit for
the gas pumps and canopy.
During this same time period, Parkway Place and Parkway West were included in a
global Transportation Development District with the Adams Landing project that would generate
funds to pay for all of the traffic, road, and infrastructure improvements along the Parkway,
including the improvements that the City Staff mandated for Parkway Place and Parkway West
as a result of the traffic study. In March 2008, the City Administrator, Eric Johnson, informed
the developer that the City would support Parkway Place and Parkway West in its own TDD
rather than participating in the Adams Landing TDD because that TDD was further along in the
process and needed to move forward. The City Administrator also requested that the developer
table its discussions regarding tax incentives for these two projects until the end of April 2008, or
after the City elections. During these discussions, and others, the developer was very clear with
City Staff that the developer would need to be a part of a TDD or CID to cover the costs for the
City-mandated road and traffic improvements for the projects in order to make these two projects
competitive in the retail marketplace. City Staff told the developer that it could bring these
requests at a later date.
At a pre-application meeting with City Staff in June 2008, City Staff told the developer
that all it had to do to finish Parkway Place planning was to present the final site plan, rezoning
of the office space to include retail, and obtain a conditional use permit for the drive through
lanes planned for a fast food restaurant and a bank. In Spring 2008, City Staff recommended that
since the Mayor will no longer allow discussion items on the Council agenda, the developer
should proceed to the City Council with only the curb cut request so that if the Council denied
the request, the developer would not expend additional finances on these projects due to
infeasibility. The curb cut was necessary for the developer to make Parkway Place a viable
project.
With these recommendations, the developer proceeded with the curb cut request before
the City Council during its July 21, 2008 meeting. During that meeting, Greg Grounds, former
Blue Springs mayor and the developer’s representative, stated that the developer would not seek
any tax increment financing for these projects. During his conclusion, Mr. Grounds mistakenly
stated that the developer would seek no tax incentives for these projects. Mr. Grounds,
immediately recognizing his mistake, contacted Council members and stated that he misspoke
about the developer’s intent to seek assistance with the traffic and road improvements for these
projects. Mr. Grounds also sent out emails and other forms of communications to the Mayor and
the Council members about this mistake.
Subsequent to the July 2008 Council meeting, City Staff informed the developer that the
City had made a mistake on its representations about the zoning for BT’s Market. City Staff told
the developer that Plaza West was not zoned for gas pumps or a canopy, and, therefore, the
developer would have to seek rezoning for the location. During this period, City Staff also
worked with the developer to establish the Community Improvement District for the road and
traffic improvements for these projects.
The developer, after hearing the criticisms of Council members Fowler, Solon, and
Shaver concerning the "process," which they defined as not bringing both of the projects forward
on the same timetable and with all elements, brought the CID Petition and the rezoning for BT’s
Market at the same time to the City Council on January 5, 2009. It was at this meeting, after
fully participating in the discussion concerning both issues, that Councilman Fowler, when it
came time to vote yes or no, abstained from voting thereby depriving the entire City Council and
the Mayor, if Councilman Fowler had voted no, to meaningfully cast their votes on these two
important issues that affect all residents of Blue Springs.
If you have any questions, please contact Dave Zeiler at 816-229-8262 ext. 313.