MARCH 20-26, 2023 NEWS Bruce ADIB-YAZDI Derek LEE NOKES (ZONE 3): Many business owners have reached out to me with the exact same experience as Ms. McGeehan. This challenge is occurring across all entities from service, retail, governmental and manufacturing. I do not believe there is a local government solution other than providing a business-friendly environment that allows operators to focus on recruitment efforts and allows our citizens to continue accessing the goods and services provided by local businesses. JENSON (ZONE 3): [Editor’s note: Answer edited for length.] Ensuring that resources are made available for residents in the workforce, including attainable housing and quality, affordable child care, will be critical to supporting working families and increasing labor force participation. The state of Missouri has recently announced new tax credit programs for child care and an increased allocation for housing through the Missouri Housing Development Commission. The city should support all efforts to promote the flow of these state and federal funds into our community to ensure working families and citizens not participating in the labor force see reduced barriers to gaining meaningful employment and contributing to our local economy. DEAN (SEAT C): Retention of young people in our city could be vital to solving this issue. Through increased youth support for career and financial preparation, we can ensure we are setting our young people up for a more successful life and increasing the likelihood of them staying in Springfield. By keeping our young people in Springfield, we will have a larger workforce, and one that will fit the necessary requirements to fill these roles. CARROLL (SEAT C): Long-term actions that can help with this problem include investing in quality of place amenities that make Springfield a desirable place to live. Projects such as daylighting Jordan Creek and Grant Avenue Parkway will have that kind of impact. Short-term actions that can be made by council to help alleviate the workforce problem include approving workforce training that the city is investing in through the Workforce Development team and increasing the communication with employers and job seekers about these opportunities and initiatives. It’s also important for businesses and industries to engage with high school and college students before they graduate. LEE (SEAT D): The struggles at the McDonald’s are also shared by my company, the Police Department, the Fire Department, Greene County, Mercy and about everywhere else. It’s a nationwide problem with federal and local assistance available. We need to work with small businesses to provide access to the available programs and to see what they need. My focus will be on listening to small businesses and aiding where they need it as opposed to directing programs that suit my background. I would vote to direct existing dollars where stakeholders like the ones mentioned above see the biggest need. ADIB-YAZDI (SEAT D): Our population growth rate has been 1.4%-1.7% for decades. To help satisfy workforce needs, we need to find ways to increase that percentage by creating a city where people are attracted to stay and want to live. We have been saying that for many years, and I believe we have begun to turn the corner, as we are starting to see young people move away, then come back. It’s time to take bold action to achieve this goal. Some of the biggest sources of friction within the city recently have centered on development. When views of developers and residents collide, what is the main consideration that should drive a council member’s decision-making? Will you propose any council action or policy change related to this issue? BACH (MAYOR): [Editor’s note: Answer edited for length.] The main consideration that should drive a council member’s decision-making in rezoning cases is the potential effect on the surrounding property owners and neighborhood. With a fast-growing, out-of-control “rentership” rate of 60%, rezoning any property from single-family to multifamily should only be allowed where it is welcomed by surrounding property owners. Springfield needs to take a proactive approach to address the high number of vacant single-family homes to help alleviate the need for housing while keeping single-family residential neighborhoods intact. City Council should look for recommendations that would help bring these vacant homes back into Springfield’s housing stock. MCCLURE (MAYOR): [Editor’s note: Answer edited for length.] As I look ahead, one of our greatest opportunities lies in implementing our Forward SGF comprehensive plan. Updating our codes and cleaning up the zoning map will result in development occurring in the most optimal locations for it, away from the areas that create these challenges. We need to open up the right opportunities, the right way, with these updates. There’s also guidance in the plan around proactive neighborhood planning, maximizing the unique character and safety of neighborhoods. This will ultimately benefit those who live here and those who want to invest in various kinds of projects such as housing, retail and more. JENSON (ZONE 3): [Editor’s note: Answer edited for length.] I would work to engage all stakeholders to understand fact-based concerns and ensure the project is designed in a way to address those concerns, from both developers and residents. I would hope to serve as a mediator to ensure we have high-quality, community-supported development. Reviewing the development process and ensuring that it is accessible for residents and predictable for developers requires this collaborative approach. Additionally, I would like to see the city place a greater emphasis in guiding the market to invest in historically underinvested portions of our community through the creation of innovative incentives to assist with promoting development in the areas that need it. NOKES (ZONE 3): Fortunately, there are many resources to guide a council member. Planning & Zoning [Commission] regulations, city staff, Forward SGF and the community. All these guiding principles should play a role in a council member’s decision. I do not have any specific policy changes in mind. I would maximize existing policies to find a win-win and commonsense approach guided by all stakeholders. CARROLL (SEAT C): This continuing division between development and residents is harmful for Springfield. The primary focus needs to be on updating codes as Forward SGF dictates. This would drive development to much better opportunities within the city and reduce the tension between neighborhoods and developers because it would move development to areas that are not in close proximity to neighborhoods. I don’t have a predetermined agenda related to this. I plan to take everything on a case-by-case basis and ask questions, listen to stakeholders from both sides, follow our ordinances, and make an educated decision about what is best for Springfield. DEAN (SEAT C): The first thing a council member should think about when making a decision is: “What do the immediately affected residents think about this issue?” As a city council member, I would be dedicated to putting residents and neighbors first. The people who live and invest into their chosen neighborhoods are top priority. As a council member, my first action will be to continue to attend neighborhood association meetings so I can continue to hear from the people of Springfield directly. ADIB-YAZDI (SEAT D): This is a civic engagement issue. Neighborhoods need to engage with the city to generate or update their urban conservation districts so that development around their boundaries can become more predictable. Then, individual zone council members and senior staff should be involved with projects at the inception to facilitate and mediate when necessary. Civic engagement is a bidirectional conversation. I would also consider a charter change that the Planning Commission be considered a “go-no go” in lieu of recommendation. LEE (SEAT D): Development is critical to provide jobs and the resources necessary to pay for public safety, parks and schools. Maintaining quality of life within our existing neighborhoods is equally important and should be valued by each council member. As a civil engineer who routinely works on zoning cases, I have a long history of working with neighborhoods to move quality projects forward with the support of most neighbors. I have observed while door knocking that some citizens have become so anti-development that they see victory when development fails. We need leaders who will support both sides and look for compromise. • Callie CARROLL Callie Carroll is vice president of business development and shareholder relations at OMB Bank. She was formerly the director of athletics development at MSU. She has a master’s in professional studies-sports management and a bachelor’s in broadcast journalism from MSU. Jeremy DEAN Jeremy Dean has worked for CoxHealth since 2019 and was promoted to the role of office coordinator for an OB-GYN clinic in 2022. He studied at the University of Central Missouri, and if elected, the 25-year-old will be both the first Generation Z and the first openly gay member of council. Bruce Adib-Yazdi is an architect and real estate developer with The Vecino Group LLC, which he serves as vice president of development. He is a board member and committee chair for the Downtown Springfield Community Improvement District, and has been active with Ozark Greenways, the Springbike Bicycle Club and Leadership Springfield. He earned his bachelor’s of architecture at Louisiana State University. Derek Lee owns and operates the engineering company Lee Engineering and Associates LLC. He earned both his master’s and bachelor’s in civil engineering from Auburn University and has been a professional engineer in the state of Missouri since 1999. He previously served on the Board of Adjustment and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Developer Issues Input Group. GENERAL SEAT C GENERAL SEAT D SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 25 Two council members are up for reelection but are running unopposed. They are Abe McGull of Zone 1 and Monica Horton of Zone 2. Springfield Business Journal did not include unopposed candidates in this Q&A.
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