A contentious plan to build apartments, townhomes and new commercial spaces in northwestern Olathe’s Cedar Creek area is moving forward.
On Monday, the Olathe Planning Commission narrowly recommended approval of the requested rezoning and preliminary site development plan for the project. The commission voted 4-3, with Chair Wayne Janner reluctantly casting the deciding vote in favor of the application.
The proposed 14-acre mixed-use project called Cedar Ridge from Lenexa-based Oddo Development envisions a large multifamily complex and several thousand square feet of new commercial development.
The property in question sits near Valley Parkway and Cedar Creek Parkway, right at the entrance to the high-end Cedar Creek residential community off Kansas Highway 10.
Cedar Ridge calls for 300+ multifamily units
- A total of 300 apartment units are proposed in the initial E-shaped five-and-a-half-story building, which will also contain 5,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level.
- Additionally, the project calls for two townhome buildings — one with five units and the other with six units.
- Plus, three additional commercial buildings are proposed, totaling nearly 40,000 square feet on Valley Parkway.
- The Cedar Ridge project is expected to be built in two phases, according to city documents, starting with the primary multifamily housing building.
- Senior Planner Nathan Jurey said though it’s “undeniable” that the Cedar Ridge development diverges from what has historically defined the Cedar Creek area, he said the turn toward mixed-use growth in predetermined areas is one of the tenets of the Cedar Creek Area Plan that Olathe adopted in 2012.
Rezoning brings development in-line with Cedar Creek plan
- Today, the property is zoned as a community center district, or C-2.
- Oddo wants to re-designate it under the Cedar Creek special zoning overlay, in line with the roughly 3,000-acre long-range development plan for the area.
- In that plan, the property at the corner of Cedar Creek and Valley parkways is identified as one of two specially designated future “Mixed-Use Town Center areas,” which are meant to evoke a “mainstreet” feel.
- Regardless, Curtis Holland, the developer’s attorney, said much of what’s proposed in the Cedar Ridge plan — as well as a series of much more intense uses — are allowed by right in the C-2 zoning district.
- Holland said Oddo was seeking to move to the CC zoning at city staff’s behest.
Cedar Creek neighbors came out in strong opposition
Residents from Cedar Creek communities neighboring the Cedar Ridge project forcefully opposed the project, packing the council chambers on Monday. Many people who showed up against the project dressed in red.
In all, nearly two dozen people spoke during the public hearing for the proposed development, the vast majority vehemently opposed to the project.
Neighbors cited concerns about their property valuations, potential environmental impacts and traffic increases, particularly on K-10.
However, a common theme that echoed throughout was the fear that the project would spell the end of Cedar Creek’s “uniqueness” as a community with natural inspiration and resort-style amenities.
“If you allow this to go through, you will destroy [Cedar Creek],” resident Nick Payne said, calling it “the best thing we have in Olathe.”
Commissioners divided over Cedar Ridge’s fit
Commissioners Jim Terrones, Ken Chapman and Tony Bergida cast the “no” votes, while Janner and Commissioners Jeffery Creighton, Keith Brown and Taylor Breen voted “yes.”
Bergida was a leading dissenting voice on the commission, worried the rezoning plans didn’t match the full criteria laid out in PlanOlathe, the city’s comprehensive plan.
He also questioned how the Cedar Ridge proposal could “preserve the quality and unique character of Cedar Creek” — a key goal of the area plan — if it diverged so much from the community’s existing character.
Bergida at one point floated tabling the rezoning application to a later date and ordering a series of studies that usually occur later in the development process to be expedited. No other commissioners voiced support for that prospect.
Commissioner Jeffery Creighton, who frequently opposes giving up commercial zoning for less intense uses, ultimately became a key supporter of the rezoning.
“I’m willing to accept the reduction in intensity,” he said. He asked the developer to consider making their development plans even less intense by possibly reducing the height of the building from 58 feet.
Terrones, who voted against the project, is a resident of the Cedar Creek community and is on one of the homeowners association boards.
Commissioners Megan Lynn and Chip Corcoran were both absent from the meeting.
Next steps:
- The Cedar Ridge project goes to the Olathe City Council next for final consideration.
- The rezoning and site development plan are scheduled for the city council’s April 2 meeting.
- Later, if approved, Cedar Ridge will have to submit a final site development plan for further consideration.
Keep reading: Plan for 300 apartments in northern Olathe moves ahead
