A lower-density single-family home development on a recently annexed pocket of land near 183rd Street and Metcalf Avenue is going forward.
Located at 18514 Metcalf Ave., the plan for the roughly 37-acre neighborhood, called Walnut Reserve, envisions 39 roughly half-acre lots with 30% of the overall property reserved for green space. That would come out to a density of roughly one home per acre.
Neighbors, many of whom live in the unincorporated community of Stilwell nearby, have opposed the development plans for the site, speaking out in a number of public meetings and filing a valid protest petition formally opposing Walnut Reserve in its current state.
Mayor’s vote put 183rd and Metcalf project over the edge
After considering the proposal for about two hours on Monday, the Overland Park City Council voted 10-3 to approve the rezoning request, with councilmembers Scott Mosher, Chris Newlin and Jeff Cox voting no.
Mayor Curt Skoog cast the last vote required to exceed the threshold needed to approve the item over the valid protest petition.
Though he acknowledged that the project planned at this site is “different than what is surrounding it” and is coming about a decade ahead of the forecasted schedule, Skoog cited shortages in the housing stock and other factors in his remarks supporting the development.
Skoog also alluded to a future where Overland Park will likely annex other properties in the area and eventually improve Metcalf Avenue to its thoroughfare street standards.
“This is the magic mix, right?” Skoog said. “It’s got sewers, it’s got connection to Metcalf, and it can be put together.”
At times while he was speaking and after the vote, members of the audience jeered at Skoog and at least one person booed him.
History of this project and prior proposals
The approval vote converts the property in question to a Planned Residential Open Space (RP-OS) zoning category from the carryover county rural district zoning it had at the time of annexation. The shift paves the way for more suburban-like development at 18514 Metcalf Ave.
Previously, the Overland Park Planning Commission also unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning application.
Earlier this year, the Overland Park City Council declined to advance a previous rezoning request for the same property from a different developer that aimed to build more single-family homes that were more densely packed in.
In January 2023, the city annexed this property at the request of the landowner.
Neighbors worried Overland Park will overtake them
Marsha Lawrence, a 20-year resident of unincorporated Stilwell who owns an adjacent property, told the Post recently that she’s worried about the precedent a rezoning like this could set for other properties in the area Overland Park could annex in the future.
She feels like her community is “threatened by the growth of Overland Park” as the city has “marched down Metcalf” and annexed land from the rural unincorporated Johnson County areas.
Lawrence would prefer to see the city deannex it, putting the property back in unincorporated Johnson County, which would subject it to the county’s rural residential development standards instead.
Claire Moser, who also lives nearby in Stilwell, thinks the current proposal doesn’t align with the “Golden criteria” standard for development. Those are rules dating back to the 1970s that require zoning and other development decisions to consider the character of the surrounding area.
Moser is unopposed to the property remaining part of Overland Park or seeing it developed for residential uses, but would rather see an option with larger lot sizes, which she sees as more in line with the community that already exists there.
Councilmembers divided over density and rural character
Ahead of the vote, Councilmember Sam Passer said rezoning votes are “without a doubt the hardest thing” the city council is tasked with, forced to balance property rights with preservation of community character.
During city council discussion, Councilmember Cox pushed back hard against the project, echoing some of the complaints raised by neighbors. In his view, the city doesn’t care about preserving rural housing in its drive to make housing options more diverse.
“I keep banging this drum, and I keep losing this argument. Do we want largely all of Overland Park to eventually look the same? Or do we want to allow people living in different wards in different parts of the city to have different experiences?” Cox said.
He also questioned why the city was, in his opinion, considering the financial feasibility of the project and maximizing the developer’s return, saying that shouldn’t be the city council’s job.
“It is our job to give a dang about impacting the neighbors who already live there,” Cox said. “I just don’t understand why we keep finding a way to force things that don’t fit. … It doesn’t fit in, now you can delude yourself that it does because it’s a subjective question, but it doesn’t and everybody up here knows it doesn’t.”
Councilmember Mosher shared similar sentiments, indicating that he’d like to see the characteristics of different areas of Overland Park preserved for the people who have chosen to live there, including the more rural sectors. Both Cox and Mosher were met with applause from audience members.
On the other hand, Councilmember Melissa Cheatham, who opposed the initial proposal for this property back in May because she didn’t believe it fit within the existing community, said she floated the idea of RP-OS zoning as a compromise between the developer and the neighbors.
“I think that this is a low-density residential area. I think that the preservation of some of the natural space really helps preserve the character of that neighborhood, and so I will be voting yes for this plan tonight,” she said.
Councilmembers Inas Younis and Jim Kite also said they felt this zoning category was appropriate. Councilmember Logan Heley said he’d like to see more RP-OS zoned developments in the southern area of the city down the line, calling it a “great tool” to have “good development out south that complements community goals and the character.”
Next steps for Walnut Reserve:
- Before the developer can build these homes, Walnut Reserve will have to be platted.
- That item, which will subdivide the nearly 38-acre property into the residential lots and dedicated green space, will come at a later date to the planning commission and city council.
Looking back: Overland Park denies rezoning for 50-home project near 183rd and Metcalf
