Plans for a controversial cold storage facility in southern Olathe are moving forward after a tense city meeting Tuesday night.
The Olathe City Council voted 5-2 to approve Lineage Logistics’ proposal to develop 146 acres northeast of 175th Street and Lone Elm Road.
The decision required a two-thirds majority vote to override the Olathe Planning Commission’s recommendation to deny the project in August. Councilmembers Robyn Essex and Michael Schoonover cast the dissenting votes.
Some neighbors urged a “no” vote
Residents of the Nottington Creek neighborhood — a 235-house subdivision about a half mile from the site — held up signs that read “Vote No” and “No Anhydrous Ammonia” and sometimes yelled over councilmembers and presenters.
“We are reasonable people, but when citizens feel unheard and betrayed, they don’t disappear,” said Jeff Walters, a Nottington Creek resident. “They organize and protest, and that’s why we’re here.”
Residents’ concerns included an increase in traffic, possible negative impact on property values and the facility’s use of anhydrous ammonia — a refrigerant used in cold storage facilities. An ammonia leak would be toxic to the area, residents said.
The facility, which will be 140 feet at its tallest point, will operate 24 hours a day. Lineage anticipates 500 truck trips in and out of the neighborhood each day.
Below are two additional design renderings of the project:
Residents expressed doubt that the roads surrounding the project would be able to handle semi-trucks, but staff said the city will make roadway improvements before the facility opens.
If Olathe were to reject the proposal, then Lineage could have taken the project to neighboring Spring Hill — something the assenting councilmembers brought up before the vote.
“It would not be maintained to Olathe’s standards,” Mayor John Bacon told the crowd. “If it happens in Olathe, its impacts will be significantly minimized compared to what would happen in Spring Hill.”
Councilmember LeEtta Felter agreed that it would be better for residents if the facility stayed under Olathe’s control.
“Now with industrial growth at the doorstep, our choice is not whether the project happens, but who manages it,” Felter said.
Schoonover, one of the votes against the project, said the city council owes it to residents to protect the value of their homes.
“I wouldn’t want this in my backyard either,” Schoonover said.
What’s next?
Lineage Logistics can now request tax incentives at a future city council meeting.
The facility will take two years to construct and won’t operate in its full capacity for five years.
In the meantime, the city will be overlaying Lone Elm Road between 164th and 175th streets over the next two years and will do another traffic study before the second phase of the project.
