By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The City of Parsons Council approved a design plan for two lots on Main Street. The approval was part of the Council’s regular April 16th meeting. The building design is part of a project by Woodlands Development Group for the property next to the Veterans Memorial. The approved design is slated to include two stories of housing in each building for a total of six two-bedroom units and two one-bedroom units, as well as commercial space on the first floor of each.
The design was one of four options presented two weeks prior to the Council by Woodlands and Architect Bryson Van Nostrand. Van Nostrand was on hand at the meeting to address any last minute questions or concerns by the Council prior to their determination. “We’re anxious to see what you all think,” Van Nostrand said. “We’ve had two weeks to mull it all over.”
Parsons City Council Member Kathy DiBacco while supporting Option C with the three stories, expressed concerns over the size of the lots the project is located on. “The one I decided I liked was (Option C),” DiBacco said. “But how’s it all going to fit? I looked at it and was like, ‘There’s no way its all going to fit on there.’”
According to Van Nostrand, in the option chosen by the Council, the building would be designed further back on the lot and would structurally serve as part of the retaining wall. Van Nostrand said the retaining wall of the Memorial took up about half of the lot and reduced the space available. “Option C is where the buildings are becoming pushed back against the hill, just like the original buildings such that the building is actually part of the retaining wall, if that makes sense and that means we don’t have to do how the Memorial was handled, ” Van Nostrand said.
The rock analysis, Van Nostrand said, showed the hillside to be solid rock, which would further assist in the construction and lessen the load on the retaining wall portion of the building. “That hill’s not going anywhere, its not clay,” Van Nostrand said. “We’re not putting back near the volume that was once there.”
Parsons City Council Member Sam Humphrey asked about neighbor concerns regarding the height of the building. At the initial presentation two weeks prior, it was stated that a neighbor was concerned that a three story building on the corner could impede the view from their property behind. “I thought we talked last meeting that you spoke to the lady behind there and she don’t want her view blocked,” Humphrey said, “That’s why you drew up ‘Option C,’ correct?”
As a result of initial neighbor concerns, Van Nostrand presented two versions of “Option C (C1 and C2),” with the main difference being one option would include two three-story buildings and the other would include one three-story building with a two-story building. City Recorder Tim Auvil discussed the differences in the options. “If we do C1 we lose a commercial spot because the building on the right would be two stories instead of three,” Auvil said. “If we go C2, it would be three stories on each and we do not lose a commercial spot, correct?”
Van Nostrand said that there was an option to install a flat roof on the buildings, which would lower the height of the building and would not impact the view behind the project as much. “When we were talking about it, I said I could make a flat roof which would eliminate that high trussed roof,” Van Nostrand said. “Which would help some.”
Van Nostrand said that with two three-story buildings, there would be no residential space on the first floor. In the other “Option C,” the two-story building would contain residential on the street level. “I think that is a really important concern for me,” Van Nostrand said. “I don’t want any residential on the sidewalk level if we can help it. I certainly wouldn’t want to live in it, I think as we’ve discussed, we want commercial space on the sidewalk. That’s seemingly what the town needs.”
Auvil expressed support for “Option C.” Auvil said that he felt the two building option set back from the sidewalk would better fit with the Veterans Memorial. Auvil also said he liked the option to have the parking for the ADA unit separate and near the unit. Under the proposal, a designated unit for an ADA unit would be located in the rear at the resident entrance away from street level. “Aesthetically, I think C is definitely going to be a lot more appealing to kind of go parallel to the Memorial,” Auvil said. “And you don’t have an open space there to stare at a blank wall.”
Parsons City Council Member Tim Turner expressed concerns over the dual entrance locations. Turner asked whether the Department of Highways have expressed any concerns over the location and potential impact on traffic, especially at the nearby traffic light. “I didn’t see any report from the Department of Highways on their thoughts of these two driveway entrances and exits,” Turner said. “Have we even contacted them about this?”
Van Nostrand said that the DOH was aware of the project. According to Van Nostrand, he did not foresee any negative impacts from the DOH, but the entity could regulate the flow of traffic in the area. Van Nostrand also said that he did not expect the proposal to be immediately denied by the DOH and felt the design was “workable.” “They are aware of the project,” Van Nostrand said. “I think the Department of Highways cannot prevent us from building two approaches. I think the Department of Highways can say we want people to only turn right, as they are coming out and I think that is a good safety feature.”
Van Nostrand also said that his engineering team has been in contact with the DOH District Engineer on the project. According to Van Nostrand, his Civil Engineering Team contacted the DOH directly after his meeting with the Council two weeks prior. “They reached out the local District Engineer,” Van Nostrand said. “They’ve made contact, they’ve shared these preliminary drawings with them. They are expecting to have a meeting out here, but they haven’t had that yet.”
A motion on “Option C” with two three-story buildings was approved by vote of the Council with Parsons City Council Member Melissa Jones a dissenting vote on the measure. The motion was made by Recorder Tim Auvil. The motion included the design of two three-story buildings, pending any further developments on the issue.
The next meeting of the City of Parsons Council will be held Tuesday, May 7th at 6 p.m. at the Charles W. “Bill” Rosenau Municipal Building located at 341 Second Street in Parsons.
