Gardner is expanding its housing footprint west with a new proposed 246 single-family neighborhood.
Located on the southeast corner of 175th Street and Four Corners Road, the new neighborhood proposed by Arise Homes contemplates 246 houses, roughly 1,600 to 2,600 square feet each, and priced at $400,000-600,000.
The planning commission voted 7-0 to approve the preliminary proposal on Tuesday, May 27.
“Gardner is a great city that continues to grow,” Matt Mabe, Arise Homes co-founder, told the Post after the meeting. “We are glad the planning commission saw the value in the housing we provide.”
The roughly 78 acres of the project area, dubbed Horizon Point, was annexed into the city earlier this year and will be rezoned from county rural residential to planned two family residential, according to city documents.
Just west of the Gardner Municipal Airport, the project area is next to the Lone Star Prairie Development on the east side, has one farming homestead in the northeast corner, and is surrounded by county rural residential zones on the north, south and west sides.
Based in Overland Park, Arise Homes has developments throughout Johnson County, including in Olathe, Shawnee, Lenexa and Spring Hill, Mabe said.
“We are looking to expand a bit back down here in Gardner,” Mabe said. “We are home grown guys. We are part of the community and want to bring in good development to the area.”
Water runoff, storm drainage were top concerns
Project representatives said Arise Homes has been working with the oil operator D and Z to remove and cap the 23 oil wells on the site, following guidelines and inspections as required by various governing bodies, including the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Arise Homes representatives said their goal is to contain, reduce and improve the water flow to avoid impacting the downstream.
Citing the neighboring development Lone Star, Mabe said the water flows down, and “trucks on down through there”, especially after the high amounts of rain that has been received this year.
“These residents have seen-just a gullywasher of a river coming down through there,” Mabe said.
Five residents who live near the proposed subdivision spoke at the meeting, raising various concerns with water runoff on the site from the oil wells, storm drainage and the potential for flooding through the area.
“I am (already) getting dirty clay water into my pond,” said William Willis, who requested the construction crews maintain silt fences “so that the dirt and the dirty water doesn’t leave the construction area.”
Another neighbor, Chris Hosch, suggested the new subdivision should have bigger lot sizes, like the 5-acre lots surrounding the project area, to lessen water runoff impacts nearby.
“So, the water wouldn’t be running off as fast, hurting everybody’s yards, ponds, flooding basements, going through the back of my yard,” Hosch said. “It wouldn’t be as bad because you‘d have less people, less cars.”
As part of the project’s approval, city staff said the stream corridor and trees in the area must be preserved, and the developer should also maintain erosion control and add retention ponds at the start of construction.
Traffic safety concerns paramount to residents
Residents also shared concerns that additional traffic from the new subdivision would exacerbate safety issues in what they see as an already dangerous intersection. An 8-year-old girl was killed and three others were injured in a car crash at that intersection in 2021.
Currently, the intersection is a two-way stop for north and southbound traffic on Four Corners Road. The speed is 45 mph on both roads.
“The current infrastructure is not equipped to safely handle the projected increase in traffic from 246 new homes,” said Brandon Van Anne, a neighboring resident. “We have already seen safety issues arise on these roads, and this will only worsen.”
Matt Cross, an engineer with Kaw Valley Engineering, said their traffic study suggested making the intersection a four-way stop.
Other suggested improvements include adding a left turn lane into the neighborhood from 175th Street, adding shoulders to 175th and Four Corners Road along the perimeter of the proposed subdivision.
Some residents requested the city make expansions and upgrades to 175th Street and Four Corners Road as well as the intersection before the new subdivision’s construction begins.
“We are trying to minimize the speed in which traffic is traveling through this area, as well as the volumes,” said Dave Knopick, community development director.
Still, Van Anne told the Post the four-way stop is a short-term fix for a long-term problem.
“With 246 homes planned, that’s over 500 additional vehicles daily on rural roads not built for that kind of volume with no plan to widen or upgrade the roadways,” Van Anne said.
The Gardner City Council will vote on the preliminary plan at the June 16 meeting.
