The city of Lenexa is exploring a trade with developers that would net the city about 12 acres of parkland in the vicinity of Prairie Star Parkway and Mize Road.
It’s a rare move and a precursor to an as-yet undefined residential project that could eventually be proposed in the city’s far-western reaches. Officials, however, see it as a potential win-win for both the city and the developers.
On July 16, the Lenexa City Council unanimously authorized city staff to publish a notice in The Legal Record of a proposed trade between developers and the city.
The notice is the first step in the process before it can move forward through the city government.
Jim Lambie of Lambie Homes and Bruce Reike of B.L. Rieke Custom Homes are the developers. Neither responded to requests for comment for this story.
Both sides are interested in the trade
The developers approached staff with a request to acquire portions of about 16 of the city’s 60 acres of land located in the area north of Prairie Star Parkway, east of Cedar Niles Road, and south of 91st Street, city documents say.
The area is mostly undeveloped and just northwest of St. James Academy private school and Mize Lake nearby.
In exchange, the developer would give the city about 28 acres of private property that would have been used as part of the development, a net increase for the city of 12 acres of potential future parkland.
“It better meets the needs of the proposed private development and the city acquires land that the Parks & Recreation Department believes will provide land that is larger in area, is more suitable for park development, and integrates better into the proposed future neighborhood,” city documents state.
While a general land map of the trade was included in city documents, Scott McCullough, Lenexa community development director, made it clear that it remains a rough outline until the project moves forward.
“It’s got room to change, be revised and be flexible,” he said during the city council meeting.
The notice is the first step in the process
Publishing a notice in The Legal Record is the first step in the process before anything else can move forward with the proposed trade, McCullough said.
Since the city has satisfied that requirement, residents in the area have 30 days to file a valid protest petition. If enough signatures were gathered, the city would not be able to complete the trade before submitting the question to a referendum.
If no petition is submitted, the trade would go through all of the typical zoning entitlements, like platting, rezoning and development plans, McCullough told the Johnson County Post.
In addition, developers are looking to meet with residents in neighboring subdivisions, including Arbor Lake, Mansions at Canyon Creek and Canyon Creek Point, for input.
“Should any of that not be supported and approved, then this may become a moot exercise,” McCullough said. “But we’ve seen it enough to know that we think it’s a good project that right now aligns with the comprehensive plan.”
A land trade is rare
While it’s not unheard of for city government to trade land with developers, it’s not something that happens often, McCullough said.
“Many times, parkland is already developed and the areas around it are developed,” he said. “But in this part of Lenexa, it’s still undeveloped in this section of land. So it presents some opportunity for it here, just because it hasn’t really been analyzed for the best use of the property, both for the private development and for the city’s park purposes.”
Some of the features that attracted the city to the trade were the area having additional access to future roads, a water feature and sloped land that would be suitable for amenities like trails or disc golf.
“From the city’s perspective, those factors were important to consider,” McCullough said.
For now, members of the city council seem excited about the prospect of adding to the city’s ledger of available parkland to develop.
As the city council approved the notice earlier this month, Councilmember Bill Nicks expressed optimism.
“I think this swap has a chance to be very good for the residents of Lenexa,” he said.
Go deeper: Watch the discussion about the land trade (Starts at 2:30)
