Ashland Board of Aldermen voted in favor of moving forward with a new outdoor music amphitheater
ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Ashland Board of Alderman voted in favor Tuesday to move forward on a new outdoor music amphitheater.
If the board votes to approve a conditional use permit, the site will then move on to a vote by the Ashland Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 10.
The site of the amphitheater is at 5900 E Log Providence Rd off of Highway 63 and Route H.
The subject property is approximately 35 acres in size with about 20 acres being developed in the first phase. The first phase will contain a stage, movie screen, parking lot, concession stand, small lake with beach/splash area and playground.
On July 13, the planning and zoning commission recommended the approval of the development provided the hours of operations do not exceed 10 p.m. through the week and do not exceed midnight on Friday and Saturday.
A business outline has been presented to the Board of Alderman for the development on July 20. Movies will be held on Fridays as weather permits that include two showings from 5 p.m. to midnight. Concerts will take place on Saturdays as weather permits with an ending time of midnight. Sunday through Thursday, events will be done and the venue would also be available to be rented out for private/ public events.
According to the staff, the project is looked at to bring positive economic impact as well as make Ashland a destination that will bring visitors from all over the state. Because of this, the staff is recommending approval for the amended Conditional Use Permit.
In addition to the time restraints added to the site, members of the board adding that decibel levels do not exceed 75 dB at the nearest residence, and the operational season will be from the last day of February to the last day of November.
Corbin Colbert, Attorney at Haden and Colbert, argued there is still parts of the project that needed reviewed. "There's a traffic study that is yet to be completed, there's discussion of a permanent sanitary sewer connection that is unresolved, and there's discussion of a need of approval from the fire board which is unresolved," said Colbert.
Nearby residents are not in favor of the possible addition. Jerry and Ann Anderson said, "It's a shame that they're going to ruin our neighborhood with all kinds of noise and people will be drunk after they go to the music events."
The Anderson's said they have lived in their home for 40 years and are very close with all 59 of the neighbors. They said no one in the area is in support of the project.
"People will come from other counties, they'll be up and down our road snooping around," Ann said. Jerry added that all residents in the area use a single-lane road to leave. "The entertainment place is up at the entrance to our road where 59 homes have to come and go, that's going to cause a lot of congestion," Jerry said.
Nic Parks, CEO of the company developing the project, said the goal moving forward is to get the movie screen and parking completed by this fall to have a few test movie nights. "We can test out our plan and make sure that we can actually measure the decibels. We hope to be able to measure the lighting that the screen puts out and also set up a GoPro camera and video tape the traffic coming in and out during the first couple test movie nights.
