Springfield city council appoints Loose Goose developer to Planning & Zoning Commission

Last week city council approved rezoning to allow Loose Goose, a new development along the Grant Avenue Parkway. The next day Springfield council members took first steps appointing one of the project's lead developers to the city's Planning & Zoning Commission.

Though a seeming coincidence of municipal bureaucracy, the moves catapult 30-year-old developer Andrew Doolittle into a new place of prominence in his hometown.

Journeying between downtown and Bass Pro Shops, the Grant Avenue Parkway is a more than $20 million endeavor to create an off-street multi-use pedestrian and bicycle pathway. On its way across the city, the parkway will pass the Loose Goose, a soon-to-be constructed development including a drive-thru coffee shop, food trucks, yard games with green space, an outdoor walk-up bar and six pickleball courts.

The development received pushback from city staff over its inclusion of a drive-thru, which they said was not compatible with the pedestrian-friendly Grant Avenue Parkway. But council approved rezoning to allow the development in a 6-3 vote.

With rezoning in hand, Doolittle told the News-Leader Loose Goose should be built and opened by late 2023 — depending on how long the city's construction of the Grant Avenue Parkway will take.

Asked about the controversial drive-thru coffee on the site, Doolittle said it was needed to "lower the risk" of the project for investors.

"We would have loved to have it be walkable from day one, but just didn't feel comfortable enough," he said.

"Doing that drive-thru gives us more flexibility, it'll bring more people to the Grant Avenue Parkway, and Springfield drives cars and quite a lot of them. So the drive-thru really just added some economic flexibility to the plan that gave us enough confidence to move forward."

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Planning & Zoning vacancies

The morning after Loose Goose's rezoning was approved, a city council committee met to nominate residents to various city boards and commissions — among them two vacancies on the influential Planning & Zoning Commission.

P&Z commissioners are tasked with making recommendations to city council concerning all rezoning requests made to the city — matters that generally make up the majority of city council bills.

In recent months, P&Z has distinguished itself on several important developments by opposing city staff's recommendations, including for the Loose Goose development. In that case, staff recommended denial because of its apparent incompatibility with the Grant Avenue Parkway. But P&Z unanimously recommended approval, which was a factor the council considered while deciding the matter.

The two vacancies on the body included Vice Chair King Coltrin, who resigned, and Chair Randall Doennig, whose term has expired but continues to serve until a replacement is appointed.

During the subcommittee, Councilman Matthew Simpson nominated Doolittle out of three applicants and he was unanimously adopted by the committee. After being confirmed by the full city council, he will replace Coltrin on P&Z. No appointment was made for Doennig's seat.

While on P&Z, Doolittle must recuse himself from any rezoning of a development he works on. Though many other commissioners are deeply involved with development issues in their professional careers, Doolittle would be the only developer currently on the commission.

Young to be the lead developer of a major project like Loose Goose, the Grant Avenue Parkway development represents the first time Doolittle has been the public face of his development.

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What to know about developer Andrew Doolittle

Along with fellow Loose Goose developers Cameron LaBarr and Willie Grega, Doolittle founded real estate company Everett Homes in 2015. According to his application to P&Z, Everett Homes owns and operates "115 high-end rental properties" in Springfield's West Central, Phelps Grove, Rountree, and Midtown neighborhoods. Doolittle said most of these are single-family homes he hopes to eventually sell to young families and students in the area.

Doolittle began developing properties while still a teenager at Kickapoo High School — mentoring under Matt E. Miller, who focuses primarily on college student housing developments. Doolittle continues to be involved with some of Miller's many housing developments near Missouri State University and downtown Springfield.

As a Planning & Zoning Commissioner, Doolittle hopes to focus on developments that help recruit young professionals to Springfield and retain graduating university students who may be tempted to move away.

"I think Springfield's gone in the right direction the past few years and I want to be part of the change that helps us continue to head in that direction," he said of why he applied to the P&Z Commission.

"I'm really passionate about all the things that I do, that I have done, and I'm doing them for a reason. It's not just to make money or to do whatever, you know, I really want to drive Springfield in the right direction. I want to build community, and I want to do it in a way that that's sustainable and exciting for people."

If approved by the full city council, Doolittle could begin serving on P&Z as early as October.

Springfield struggling to fill board appointments

At the meeting in which Doolittle was nominated, city leaders made the point they are struggling to fill open city board and commission appointments with qualified Springfield residents.

"We are really really struggling," City Clerk Anita Cotter said. "We have a lot of open positions we need to fill."

Interested readers can apply for a position on a city board or commission on the city's website, springfieldmo.gov.

Andrew Sullender is the local government reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow him on Twitter @andrewsullender. Email tips and story ideas to asullender@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Council to appoint Loose Goose developer to Planning & Zoning