The Blue Valley Plan, Urban Fringe Area has a rural character. There are a number of farmsteads with agricultural or livestock operations, and there are several large-lot subdivisions that are relatively new and of high quality. Some higher intensity uses such as two quarries, the ARCO tank farm, and the Bayer (formerly Miles, Inc), research farm, are interspersed throughout the Blue Valley Plan, Urban Fringe Area.
Existing land uses in the Blue Valley Plan, Fringe Area include:
1). An agricultural research facility Bayer (formerly Miles, Inc.) on Metcalf Avenue south of the Blue River;
2). A quarry operation between U.S. 69 and Metcalf north of 167th Street
3). A quarry operation southeast of 167th Street and Switzer Road
4). A highway maintenance facility of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) adjacent to the 167th Street and U.S. 69 half interchange at teh southwest corner of the quarry);
5). A petroleum storage facility or tank farm (ARCO) east of Mission Road on the north side of 159th Street;
6). The Blue Valley High School n the south side of 159th Street between Metcalf and Nall Avenues;
7). The Blue River Treatment Plant of the Johnson Coutny Unified Wastewater Districts southwest of the Intersection of 151st Street and Kenneth Road
8). A railroad main line (Union Pacific System Railroad) along the floodplain of the Blue River and Camp Branch Creek. That railroad track crosses the state line near 143rd Street and the Johnson - Miami County line at Antioch Road
The area west of U.S. 69 is predominantly undeveloped, some scattered large-lot single-family homes exist, and there is a platted large-lot subdivision (Glad Acres) between Quivira and Switzer Roads, south of 175th Street. The 300-acre Overland Park Arboretum site is at the southwest corner of 179th Street and Antioch Road. The arboretum site was annexed by the city in 1994. The quarry operation southeast of 167th Street and Switzer Road is smaller than the other quarry, but it is growing. A Kansas City Power and Light Company electrical substation is being established on the north side of 167th Street one-half mile west of Antioch Road. There is a cemetary on the south side of 159th Street one-half mile west of Antioch Road, and a new church has been built immediately to the west of that cemetary.