Tuesday, Dec. 04 2012 4:56PM

Unity, Hearthview on agenda

Developer expects to complete last-moment work on agreements

By Russ Pulley

rpulley@lsjournal.com

The Lee’s Summit City Council this week has scheduled public hearings on two projects that have been in progress for many months.

The council is scheduled Dec. 6 to hear testimony about the Hearthview at New Longview apartments and zoning for the Unity Annexation. Also there will a public hearing on a veterinary clinic proposed for five acres at 3820 NW Ward Road.

The Hearthview project caused some opposition from nearby neighborhoods.

It is 14.6 acre apartment complex described as upscale 256-unit in two story and three story buildings.

The apartment developer, Brookview Properties, and David Gale, New Longview developer, worked out a compromise plan, making some adjustments in placement and scale of the apartments.

The new plan required an agreement on infrastructure with a third-party which is interested in reusing the historic Longview Farm barns adjacent to the site and caused the hearing to be delayed several times.

He said the parties have been pushing to get a final agreement.

“There is a 75 to 85 percent chance the project will be heard this week,” Gale said.

In December 2011, Lee’s Summit annexed about 350 acres of land south of Colbern Road and east of Missouri 350.

Normally land that is annexed would keep the zoning it had when added to the city, but this land is owned by Unity and had no zoning.

Unity would like to begin marketing the property, so the city is proposing to put a Planned Mix Use zoning on the property. Zoning for the property was part of the agreement Unity and the city reached earlier when negotiating the annexation.