BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — Homeowners in a Blue Springs neighborhood aren't crazy about a possible new development next door.
The 60-acre plot of land sits next to the Colonial Highlands neighborhood, west of Adams Dairy Parkway and north of southeast Major Road.
If the City Council approves the project, about 180 starter homes would be built there.
Lindsay Bessmer and her family just moved to the neighborhood a few months ago.
"We liked how it was open, a little bit country within the city," Bessmer said.
Bessmer said she was disappointed to learn the open land they liked could soon be filled with homes.
The developer, Rausch Coleman Homes, plans to build about 180 small starter homes in the new development.
A representative with Rausch Coleman told 41 Action News the homes would be put up for sale, but some neighbors, like Bessmer, worry many of them will become rentals.
"That's our biggest concern, because if you're not invested in the property, you're probably not going to take care of it," Bessmer said. "I'm not saying people who rent don't take care of their properties, but there's something about owning a home that makes you want to invest in the community and invest in your neighborhood."
City Councilperson Susan Culpepper represents District 3, including the land under consideration for development.
"We work very hard to make sure that we keep the city on a path moving forward and bring in quality," she said. "That's really what we want."
Culpepper said she has worked with Rausch Coleman to make some changes to the proposed development.
"There's been some lots that the houses have been taken off of, and they're putting in a playground, they're putting in a little park area, they're putting in a walking trail," Culpepper said. "Those amenities were not in the original plan."
Rausch Coleman said those changes bring the project's green space up to 15%, which is 5% higher than the city requires.
Culpepper said when the proposal comes up for a vote at Wednesday's city council meeting, she won't discriminate against the housing development based on whether it's for rent or for sale.
"I cannot make a decision based on that information," she said. "I am guided by the ordinances, so if it fits the ordinances and fits all the requirements that we have, we'll see how that all works. But I cannot make a determination based on whether we sell the house or we rent the house."
