OSAGE BEACH — The construction of up to eight new houses along Sunset Drive is the "best case scenario" for a tract of land that adjoins the popular Lake of the Ozarks restaurant Backwater Jacks.
That's how City Planner Cary Patterson puts it, and he hopes residents and business owners in the city see the city's efforts to negotiate the delicate balance between the interests of homeowners, vacationers, and business owners in the largest city at the most popular recreational Lake in the nation.
On Thursday, the city's Board of Aldermen gave initial approval to a request by Andrew Prewitt to rezone 14 acres in a 19-acre tract of land next to Backwater Jacks, from agricultural (A-1) to commercial lodging (C-1b) zoning that allows for nightly rental houses. The property is owned by Lakeshore Holdings & Development LLC.
The rezoning request was approved, though not without a bit of controversy at the meeting.
Pat Cantwell, who lives on Sunset Drive, near the proposed development, attended Thursday’s meeting to express his concerns. He questioned whether the city had “done its due diligence” to ensure the residential neighborhood on Sunset Drive would not be adversely affected by another commercial development next to the nearby Backwater Jacks.
“Backwater Jacks is, quite frankly, a little bit out of control,” Cantwell said. “If you pull down Sunset Drive, there are children, there are pets. It’s very much a residential area. Now we’re talking about another commercial situation like [Backwater Jacks].”
But City Planner Cary Patterson said the hills and valleys on the 19-acre tract make it cost-prohibitive to develop for single-family homes. Because Prewitt is part of the group that owns Backwater Jacks, and because of the property's proximity to the Lakefront venue, the proposal for rental homes on the property is a good fit for the property, he said.
“This is somewhat a best-case scenario in that while it is not, per se, a single-family use, it is a single-family type activity that will bring the same type of housing density to the situation,” Patterson said. “The thing that you avoid in this situation is the compatible use concerns, because these folks are going to be staying here to take advantage of the Backwater Jacks lakefront entertainment facility, as opposed to somebody who may be buying a single-family home in February, not knowing what Backwater Jacks may be like in the summertime.”
In a later interview, Patterson said this rezoning was illustrative of what the city is trying to do with local businesses: encourage and work with them to improve what is the most economically robust area at the Lake of the Ozarks. Over the past year, Dog Days and Backwater Jacks—two of the city's waterfront restaurant/bar/entertainment venues—have both undergone extensive renovation and add-on, and Patterson points out that's good for those businesses, for visitors to the Lake, and for the community as a whole.
"We’re really proud of what these two venues have done," he said. He acknowledged the historic tension between waterfront homes and waterfront entertainment hotspots within Lake of the Ozarks communities, and said in the current rezoning situation, this was the best possible scenario. The new vacation rental units will look like normal residences, but they'll be used exclusively as short-term vacation rentals and will operate commercially. The C-1b zoning also requires that the units be built with commercial-level features, including sprinkler fire suppression systems.
But Patterson emphasized that this type of zoning would not allow any other commercial activity on the property beyond short-term residential rentals. Any other commercial uses on the property would have to go through an extensive rezoning process, he said. But the developer has expressed no plans beyond using the property for short-term rental homes.
Prewitt said Lakeshore Holdings plans to build between five and eight four-bedroom homes for nightly rentals. Each building would be able to house up to 14 people. The plan includes a 185-foot buffer zone around the development that will remain zoned for agriculture.
Mayor John Olivarri assured Cantwell that the city treated the rezoning request like any other, studying its effect on neighboring properties and putting the proposal before the city’s planning and zoning board for a recommendation.
Alderman Jeff Bethurem said he supports Prewitt’s proposal. "I think this is perfect for the property," Bethurem said. "I think it’s a great use for it. I’m all for it."
