Kansas developer threatens to pull Bartlesville investment if homeless shelter moves in
A Kansas-based developer is threatening to cancel a $500,000 investment in his Bartlesville property if plans for a homeless mission across the street move forward.
In an email sent to Bartlesville Community Development, Garrison Hassenflu, who owns a building at 220 NW Virginia, objected to efforts to rezone the property owned by 'B the Light Mission' to C-5 commercial status for the purpose of opening a homeless shelter.
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Hassenflu argued the area was originally intended "as a place to do business, recreate and offer medical care," but rezoning to C-5 would allow "noisy, stinky, air-polluting or eyesores" types of businesses like "animal shelters, auto salvage yards, batching and mixing plants for concrete and asphalt."
"I was planning on a $500,000 rehab of the building for co-working office suites. But, with this shelter (or other objectionable use), I would have to stop my project and no longer consider any investment in Bartlesville," he wrote.
"My building is a historic structure. It was built in 1910 and served major roles in the development of the Bartlesville region, first as the office for The Bureau of Mines, then, as a facility for the study and research of oil and gas."
Currently, the property slated for the homeless shelter is zoned as an 'industrial park' and re-zoning to C-5 would be considered "less-intense" zoning, according to city staff.
Additionally, the city is proposing further use restrictions that would limit the property's future development. Those changes will be voted on by the Bartlesville Planning Commission on Tuesday.
Hassenflu's property is currently zoned as 'multi-family residential,' which doesn't allow for professional offices, according to city zoning regulations.
He would have to petition for a rezoning of his own property − to develop it for professional office space − just like the 'B the Light Mission' has done for theirs.
Directly to the south of Hassenflu's property, there already exists a smaller C-5 zoned property and similarly zoned properties down the street.
"Though communities always need to consider the plight of their homeless, this is not the place for it," Hassenflu wrote. "Please find another location more suitable and make sure this communication is shared at the zoning hearing."
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Keith McPhail of 'B the Light Mission' says the feedback they have received from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.
"Ever since [the EE's article] we've had tons of positive feedback and donors," McPhail said. "Not one person came to complain at our open meeting we had."
"We just want to change lives and get people off the streets," he added.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Kansas developer threatens to pull $500,000 Bartlesville investment
