The Shawnee Planning Commission gave the green light to a proposed multifamily development that spans dozens of buildings on nearly 27 acres of land near Maranatha Christian Academy in western Shawnee.
On Monday, the commission voted 9-0 to recommend approval of rezoning and the preliminary development plan for Shawnee Crossings Townhomes, a 26.9-acre development that will ultimately include 212 multifamily units over 47 buildings.
Commissioners Amit Bhakta and Bill Holick were absent.
Atlas Land Consulting is the applicant. Riley Development is the developer.
The development will be in southwest Shawnee
The development is planned to be built south of Shawnee Mission Parkway and east of Kansas Highway 7 on property that is currently unplatted and comprised mostly of overgrown farm fields, according to city documents.
It will be built near Maranatha Christian Academy to the west, as well as Shawnee Crossings Retail Center to the north and the Madison Heights subdivision to the east.
The development as currently planned would contain 47 buildings, including:
- 12 ranch-style, one-story duplexes with three bedrooms, two baths, basements and one-car garages,
- townhomes in 25 two-, three- and four-plex buildings containing three to four bedrooms with two and a half to three and a half baths each, a great room, kitchen, dining and laundry, as well as either a one- or two-car garage,
- Â and manor homes in 10 two-story, nine-unit buildings. Three residential units will be on the first level, and six units will be located on the second level of these buildings. They will have one and two bedrooms with one to two baths each, along with a kitchen, dining, great room and laundry.
Developer has history in Johnson County
Representing Riley Development at Monday’s meeting, Mike Riley detailed his 32-year history in home development and construction, having previously partnered with the Lenexa-based Rodrock Development. He has been involved in 38 new-home communities in the Kansas City area, he said.
“I wanted to share that just because I think it’s important for you to recognize that this is not a new venture for us. This is something that we do,” he said. “We have an extended history, and we are extremely pleased to bring Shawnee Crossings Townhomes to you for consideration.”
Since submitting the project to the city in late March, Riley said he had meetings with neighboring communities, like the Madison Heights subdivision, who pushed back on the development proposal.
“Increased traffic, crime, noise safety and air quality were just a few of the concerns from the neighbors, and I get it,” he said. “Change is difficult, and this is change.”
Riley said that, in the project’s defense, development is inevitably coming to that land.
“I think what I learned from that meeting was the neighbors really would just prefer nothing to change, that they would just like the site to remain a vacant piece of ground,” he said. “The reality of that, however, is that’s not a reality.
The proposal fits Shawnee’s comprehensive plan and is beneficial to the city, Riley added.
“I think we spent a lot of time designing a mixed use of product that is going to complement the area,” he said. “It’s going to provide opportunities for Shawnee residents and new Shawnee residents to either upsize or downsize and yet, stay in the neighborhood and own residential real estate.”
Residents push back against Riley
During the public hearing portion of the meeting Monday, several residents took exception to Riley’s characterization of their arguments against the project.
“At no point did we say we never want a development. That is just a ridiculous thing for us to ever think,” said Kenny Sappenfield, HOA president of the Madison Heights subdivision. “It has been very nice having the fields around us. You understand that. But at no point was never having it developed part of the equation.”
The big concerns for neighbors in the subdivision was a large multifamily development being located next to single-family homes, Sappenfield said.
In addition, Sappenfield said if the development does go forward, he was worried the tree line that would separate it from Madison Heights would be destroyed.
“There’s no promise that that tree line will be maintained. It’s an intent to maintain it. So that is one thing that I would very much like to see part of the rezoning if it does get approved,” he said. “That tree line needs to stay there … There still needs to be maintained a level of privacy between the two neighborhoods.”
Also pushing back against the proposal was Adam Turk, a Shawnee resident and Republican state representative for Kansas House District 117, the boundaries of which the project would fall. Turk expressed concerns the proposed density of the development — the number or units and how closely residents would live together — would be too much for the area.
“It’s far too dense, and I don’t think it adheres to the Golden rule,” he said, a reference to the standards Kansas cities use to help determine zoning changes. “I hope we consider that when we make our decisions.”
Commissioners generally shared support
While he has some reservations about the tree line, Commissioner David Aber praised the project.Â
“I think the real key to it is going to be the preservation of that tree line and the landscaping in the areas where you’re going to take out trees to make it flow nicely. Apart from that, I really like this project,” he said.
The neighbors wanting to keep the tree line and beauty of the area is justified, Commissioner Kathy Peterson said, and she hopes both sides work together.
“I like the fact that we’re being very cognizant of the fact that there is existing beauty,” she said. “When I first bought my house here in Shawnee, there was a vacant field across the street that is now very developed. … It never feels good, but it is what it is, and I appreciate the fact that the residents are open-minded.”
“I think we’ve got a really good start in a preliminary and crossing the finish line will be the big key,” Peterson said.
What’s next
The rezoning and preliminary plan is scheduled to be taken up by the Shawnee City Council during their meeting on May 12.
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