NeighborhoodNettm

Home &
News Page
Neighborhood
Websites
Neighbors'
E- mail
Home
Businesses
FSBO
Address & Phone
Lookups
Appraisal
Lookups
Zoning
Applications
Books
Internet
Reference
Comments&
Questions


Re-zoning of Residential To Parking Lot Proposed
Blue Valley Highschool Wants More Land

August 24, 2002

The Church of the Nazarene has applied for a Conditional Use Permit to convert the lot (see AIMS aerial image) next to the Blue Valley Riding Pool to a parking lot for the Blue Valley High School, just to the west of the school. The land is currently zoned single family residential according to the Johnson County AIMS website.

Degrades Residential Character

This would mean that instead of having the existing grass, trees, and a quiet, old building next to the residential pool, BVR would have asphalt, cars, and trash.

My own personal opinion is that this is a bad idea.

We are fighting the conversion to commercial of land on BVR's west side, we don't need more asphalt coming in on our east side.

Why Is School Spending Its Resources This Way?

This also raises the question of just why a school that so desperately needs money for education is spending resources on more parking spaces. I do not know the details of the transaction they are working out with the Church of the Nazarene, but one rumour I heard is that they are going to trade some school land for the Nazarene land.

If the school has land to give away and needs funds, I suggest they sell the land and use the funds for a better purpose than a parking lot.

School Making Current Parking Lot More Dangerous

Coincidentally, the Blue Valley High School has suddenly decided that our school band needs more parking lot room than it did before to practice 3 mornings out of the week. Rather than using the various fields in the area, the school will prevent 182 students who already paid their fees from parking. The school does not intend to refund any any of the parking fee money it collected. The school parking lot will not become more of a musical chairs game: those students who can get there early enough or crowd into a parking space more quickly than their friends will get a space, the others are out of luck.

I suggest the School work with the adjacent neighborhoods as it has so effectively in the past to solve these sorts of issues. Instead of creating more asphalt, let's figure out a way to use the current parking lot and fields more effectively. For instance, this might be a good time to address where is the best place for the band to practice.

To the School's credit, it did speak with the Blue Valley Riding Homes Association Board about converting the BVR Pool itself into yet more parking space. There was even talk of the school spending a substantial sum of money to buy the land. Once the Board more fully engaged the neighborhood, it withdrew its support for pursuing this possibility in more detail.

The Application

The application summary on the Johnson County Planning website says:

"Application No. OX-CU-2326 – Conditional Use Permit –6303 W. 159th St. – Horst, Terrill & Karst Horst, Terrill & Karst Architects, applicant, for Blue Valley Church of the Nazarene, owner, is requesting a Conditional Use Permit for the expansion of the existing Blue Valley High School parking lot onto property previously occupied by Blue Valley Church of Nazarene in Section 17, Township 14, Range 25, zoned RN-1, Residential Neighborhood 1 District."

The Oxford Township Zoning Board will be considering this on September 19, 2002 - ironically, the same time it is considering the proposal to rezone the SE Corner of 159th/Metcalf to PRB-3. The Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to hear this on October 17, 2002. The lead Planner on this is Scott McCullough, scott.mccullough@jocoks.com


Return to NeighborhoodNettm home page.