The Shawnee Planning Commission has given the green light for a new roughly 11-acre single-family subdivision on Mize Road in the far western reaches of the city.
On July 15, the commission gave its approval to a preliminary plat and rezoning request for the proposed Maple Ridge Subdivision in the 6500 block of Mize Road in a less densely developed area just east of the Kansas River.
The commission voted 8-0 for both motions. Commissioners Bruce Bienhoff, Amit Bhakta and Kevin Fox were absent.
The request rezones the area from agricultural use to residential. The applicant is the Mission-based SMH Consultants for PCDI Homes.
The project brings changes to Mize Road
The proposed subdivision envisions five homes on two acres of land each. Plus, the plan shows a new public street and other infrastructure to support the subdivision, including individual private sewage treatment systems that will be used for each of the homes.
It requires demolishing an existing single-family home and accessory farm utility buildings on the property.
Beyond the existing structures, the property is predominately grass and pastureland with a small pond and a large overhead power transmission line located in the southeast corner of the site.
Neighbors gave their input on the project
Eric Arthaud, a neighbor located behind one of the proposed lots on West 66th Terrace, expressed his worry about the neighborhood potentially changing the rural feel of the area. Arthaud was concerned about the addition of proposed features like streetlights and a stormwater treatment facility.
“We like to go out and look at a pasture, instead of houses,” he said. “My wife and I, we’re not necessarily disagreeing with the five, two-acre plots, it’s just more trying to keep as much of the aesthetics as possible.”
He also worried that the project has the potential to change into something larger.
“We know it’s plotted for five, two-acre plots. Our concern is more is that 100% going to happen?” he said. “Meaning, this developer decides to sell it next month and another developer comes and they’re going to pony up the cost for sewer and then it becomes 20 houses back there … (Is) there no chance of it becoming less than two-acre (plots?)”
“That is not something we can answer right now,” Commissioner Kathy Peterson said.
Traffic is also a concern for neighbors
While the city weighed in on its traffic study and changes to the road to accommodate more vehicles, Chris Albright, a neighbor who lives on Mize Road, worries it won’t be able to take the traffic the subdivision would bring.
“That is a very tight road,” he said. “Traffic is not going to get any less (dense). I know there was a comment on this that traffic would not be impacted. I don’t know how that can possibly be true because you’re adding multiple houses, multiple cars.”
Other neighbors, such as Robert Bohr and Mike Brenner, worried about the area and its tendency to flood.
“There’s a lot of water problems,” Bohr said.
Commissioners weighed in and approved it
Before voting for approval, Commissioner Bill Holick explained his reasoning.
“You put the eight ‘Golden’ factors up there and always the most controversial is the most subjective one — ‘Is it in the character of the neighborhood?'” he said, referring to the legal standard local governments in Kansas use to weigh development projects.
“To me, yeah, it seems like it’s in the character of the neighborhood that all the surrounding properties are single-family homes. This is what we want,” he added.
Speaking on the potential traffic impacts on Mize, Holick acknowledged neighbors’ concerns, while also giving the proposal the green light.
“I understand it’s a tough road. But with five homes going in, that’s maybe 15 cars. Right?” he said. “To me, that’s not enough to say that there’s a safety issue.”
Commissioner Leo Nunnink agreed.
“There’s not going be a perfect piece of property to develop, it’s going to have issues,” he said. “The water issue already exists. This is private property, it’s going to be developed at some point in time … This is as good as we can expect at this location.”
What’s next?
The Shawnee City Council will discuss the proposal at its meeting on Aug. 12.
