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Property Rezoned Amid Protests
City Council Approves Rezoning Of 57 Acres To Make Way For Planned Business Park
By Brian McCauley, bmccauley@miconews.com
Working in Paola’s planning and zoning department, permit technician Amy Barenklau has heard her fair share of complaints against development. But last week, during an Osawatomie City Council meeting, Barenklau made her own plea to not rezone a large tract of land for development near her rural home — and she wasn’t alone.
A handful of residents in Osawatomie’s growth area stood up at Thursday’s meeting to voice their disapproval of a plan from Metro Excavating of Olathe to rezone 57 acres along Old Kansas City Road north of Osawatomie Road from agriculture to business park.
Barenklau said she is not against growth, as long as it is controlled. She insisted that several of the city’s requirements for site plans were not met by the proposed developers, and she wanted more information on business hours, lighting, chemical disposal, set backs and other details.
Although she is about 100 feet outside of the 1,000-foot radius in which property owners were notified of the rezoning request, Barenklau said the development would directly affect her and her family.
She recommended that the council send the issue back to the planning commission, which previously failed to approve the rezoning request because of a lack of a second after a motion was made.
Councilman Brent Kaempfe agreed, saying he would like to have the planning commission’s recommendation in writing.
“I think it’s important that we hear what they have to say,” Kaempfe said.
City Manager Bret Glendening said the process of city zoning regulations was followed correctly, and he took blame for the planning commissioners’ lack of action because he said he didn’t properly prepare them for the public concern. He recommended that the entire 57 acres be rezoned so that the developer would not have to go through the process again.
He also said the county had been notified of the request, and their only concern was to keep all development under height restrictions for the nearby Miami County Airport.
Scott Taylor of Metro Excavating said he plans to build a machine shop on a portion of the parcel, but the rest would be just speculation. Still, he said he’s very interested in developing the remaining acres.
Taylor also said there will be a fence that will be at least 6 feet high and a landscaping berm to help conceal the property. He added that the noise won’t be as loud as the nearby train tracks or Miami County Airport.
Councilman John Klein repeatedly expressed his struggles with the issue, saying he sympathizes with the nearby property owners, some of whom he said he knows personally, but he also knows the city needs to attract new businesses.
He suggested moving the proposed development to the Northland area, but that idea was not embraced by Taylor, Glendening or the other council members.
“He’s already got a contract on this land. To turn him down so we can give him land in the Northland, that’s very out of order,” Glendening said.
Before making his vote, Klein asked Bill Johns and others who own nearby property to not take the vote personally. They said they would, and Klein joined his fellow council members in unanimously approving the request to rezone the 57 acres.
“Being on this council is the worst business decision I’ve ever made,” Klein said. “I just lost a few more friends.”
His fellow council members backed his vote.
“It was a hard decision, but it was the right decision,” Councilman Jeff Walmann said.
“We have been crying out for development for years,” Councilwoman Karen LaDuex added.
Barenklau prepared a written statement after the meeting stating, among other things, that it was wrong to approve the request before answering all the questions and sending the issue back to the planning commission.
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A handful of residents in Osawatomie’s growth area stood up at Thursday’s meeting to voice their disapproval of a plan from Metro Excavating of Olathe to rezone 57 acres along Old Kansas City Road north of Osawatomie Road from agriculture to business park.
Barenklau said she is not against growth, as long as it is controlled. She insisted that several of the city’s requirements for site plans were not met by the proposed developers, and she wanted more information on business hours, lighting, chemical disposal, set backs and other details.
Although she is about 100 feet outside of the 1,000-foot radius in which property owners were notified of the rezoning request, Barenklau said the development would directly affect her and her family.
She recommended that the council send the issue back to the planning commission, which previously failed to approve the rezoning request because of a lack of a second after a motion was made.
Councilman Brent Kaempfe agreed, saying he would like to have the planning commission’s recommendation in writing.
“I think it’s important that we hear what they have to say,” Kaempfe said.
City Manager Bret Glendening said the process of city zoning regulations was followed correctly, and he took blame for the planning commissioners’ lack of action because he said he didn’t properly prepare them for the public concern. He recommended that the entire 57 acres be rezoned so that the developer would not have to go through the process again.
He also said the county had been notified of the request, and their only concern was to keep all development under height restrictions for the nearby Miami County Airport.
Scott Taylor of Metro Excavating said he plans to build a machine shop on a portion of the parcel, but the rest would be just speculation. Still, he said he’s very interested in developing the remaining acres.
Taylor also said there will be a fence that will be at least 6 feet high and a landscaping berm to help conceal the property. He added that the noise won’t be as loud as the nearby train tracks or Miami County Airport.
Councilman John Klein repeatedly expressed his struggles with the issue, saying he sympathizes with the nearby property owners, some of whom he said he knows personally, but he also knows the city needs to attract new businesses.
He suggested moving the proposed development to the Northland area, but that idea was not embraced by Taylor, Glendening or the other council members.
“He’s already got a contract on this land. To turn him down so we can give him land in the Northland, that’s very out of order,” Glendening said.
Before making his vote, Klein asked Bill Johns and others who own nearby property to not take the vote personally. They said they would, and Klein joined his fellow council members in unanimously approving the request to rezone the 57 acres.
“Being on this council is the worst business decision I’ve ever made,” Klein said. “I just lost a few more friends.”
His fellow council members backed his vote.
“It was a hard decision, but it was the right decision,” Councilman Jeff Walmann said.
“We have been crying out for development for years,” Councilwoman Karen LaDuex added.
Barenklau prepared a written statement after the meeting stating, among other things, that it was wrong to approve the request before answering all the questions and sending the issue back to the planning commission.
Comments on "Property Rezoned Amid Protests"
Comments are limited to 200 words or less.Amy wrote on May 30, 2008 10:34 AM:
" In response to the uninformed individual's attempted slam at my training and certification. I will assure you that my job entails much more than shuffling papers as you try to insinuate. I am a CERTIFIED permit technician through the ICC Certification program for code professionals, as verified by the International Code Council, which is what my 'title' refers to. I had to pass an exam which consisted of 60 questions in a 2-hour period. 39% of the exam dealt with general administration of code enforcement; 22% is over legal aspects of code enforcement; 25% is plans and documents; and last but by far not least 14% deals with ZONING AND SITE DEVELOPMENT. Land Use, site plan review and ROW, utilities and easements are just a few of the subjects that are touched on in the exam. So, to say that all I do is shuffle paper is a COMPLETE mischaracterization (your words) of my job and abilities. I am not offended - it just proves how misinformed you are my friend. "
Your opinion wrote on May 15, 2008 3:33 PM:
" The voting body listened to the facts heard all of the concerns of the people and made an informed intelligent decision. I applaud them for making the best decision for the greater Osawatomie area. Property is adjacent to several businesses,Miami county airport, Midway Drive Inn, a major Railroad. Continue to be upset about the decision, it's your choice. But the decision was well informed and thought out with all individual concerns addressed. The NIMBY factor of what "Could" happen has always been the reason not to allow growth. Unfortunately it is not a good reason to deny the request. Time will be the determinate if the decision was correct. Growth happens. "
So you were there wrote on May 14, 2008 7:30 PM:
" So, if you were there and listened with an open mind and ears, you would have heard and seen that many items brought up were indeed NOT addressed and brushed off by those running the meeting. Had they truly be interested in addressing neighbor's concerns, they might have asked some questions and involved them in the discussion as with those in the area of annexation. It was a done deal before the agenda was typed up and submitted. And if you had an open mind, I believe that you would have seen what others do, that the staff writer was using the concerned neighbor's job to show that there was a sense of understanding as that person is often on the other side of the counter and receives complaints, not registers them. "
I was there wrote on May 14, 2008 7:56 AM:
" The concerns and questions brought up by Amy and the other residents were asked of Mr. Taylor by the Mayor. It was important that these issues be addressed and they obviously were to the satisfaction of the council as a unanimous decision was reached. The zoning request was analyzed by the City Manager and staff as procedure dictates and it was determined to be correct. No offense to Amy but technician training deals with how to take applications and prepare documentation. Not to make the decisions of what is proper zoning is etc. To assume any different would be a mischaracterization of the job description. "