After months of back-and-forth, the Shawnee City Council ultimately rejected plans for a proposed 45-acre freight trucking facility in the northwest corner of the city.
On Tuesday, the council voted 7-1 to deny a rezoning request for XPO, an international less-than-truckload transportation company, at the 22400 block of West 43rd Street, east of K-7 Highway.
Councilmember Tony Gillette was the lone vote to approve the request.
The project would have been built on undeveloped land
The facility would have operated 24-hours-per-day, including trucks arriving after 10 p.m.
The site plan included a new 152,000-square-foot truck terminal, 31,000-square-foot maintenance building and other improvements to the site.
Goods would have been produced off site and transported to and from the proposed facility. The project also included offices and a maintenance building.
The project faced consistent opposition
Originally introduced in January to the Shawnee Planning Commission, the project received the commission’s approval before being remanded by the city council. In April, the commission approved it again, which led to Tuesday’s vote.
At almost every meeting about the project over the past four months, neighboring residents from the area expressed their opposition to it, saying they feared its 24-hour operation, excessive noise and light pollution, environmental hazards and a possible increase in traffic.
“As we’ve stated before, we’re not anti-business. We’re opposed to a business that operates like that … that’s out of character with the neighborhood,” said Stuart White, a resident on West 45th Street, at the meeting on Tuesday.
XPO attempted to calm residents’ anxieties, proposing to move operations to the north side of the property, farther away from bordering neighborhoods. It also modified planned lighting to ensure it would not escape the property and contracted the firm Henderson Engineers to perform a noise analysis, which showed that noise levels were in compliance with the zoning code.
At the meeting, Sean Conners, XPO’s real estate manager, said the company built its reputation on customer and community safety.
“XPO has a strong commitment to safety, robust health and safety programs ensuring a safe environment,” he said.
The city council did not see it as a good fit
While some councilmembers praised XPO’s diligence, they still voted to reject the project. The recurring theme in several councilmembers’ comments was that it wasn’t a good fit for the area.
“I think XPO is a great project. We always welcome businesses here to Shawnee,” said Councilmember Angela Stiens. “But I just don’t think this is the site.”
For Councilmember Laurel Burchfield, she was worried about the environmental impact it would have on a nearby body of water.
“For me, the access to water here is key,” she said. “The environmental impact that could happen when we are putting an industrial development right next to water access, which we don’t have a lot of in our county, is something that I’m very concerned about.”
Placing a big project next to several neighborhoods is a bad idea, said Councilmember Jacklynn Walters.
“I do not think that it fits the character and the nature of the neighborhood,” she said. “Whether it’s XPO or any other project, it would be high-traffic, and things of that nature that just do not fit near a residential neighborhood for me.”
Gillette was the lone vote for rezoning
Stating his reasons for approving rezoning, Gillette said XPO satisfied what was needed for the request, from answering questions to performing studies to providing solutions for traffic concerns.
“There’s a lot of other issues that will come with the project itself and that will open up a whole bunch of other questions that need to be resolved,” he said. “But what’s before us today is the rezoning of the land.”
The city’s comprehensive plan came into play
Stating he was put in a difficult position, Councilmember Kurt Knappen said he met with both sides to hear their cases for and against the project.
After looking at the Shawnee Comprehensive Plan, which designated that particular property on 43rd Street as mixed-use — zoning which is often used for office, residential and retail space — he was finally swayed against it.
“The comprehensive plan told people that it would not be an industrial area and that’s a problem,” he said. “I really think we need to get the comprehensive plan changed.”
Stating he wishes nothing but the best for the property owner, Knappen said he hopes they find a buyer with an idea that fits the area.
“My sincere hope is that the owner will be able to find a more suitable use and buyer, as I do respect their desire and their right to sell their land and they should be able to do that,” he said.
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