NeighborhoodNettm

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


Blue Valley High School Submits Plans
For 128-Car Parking Lot

August 31, 2002

Blue Valley High School has submitted a proposal to Johnson County Planning Dept. to demolish the Blue Valley Church of the Nazarene, 6303 W 159th, which sits next to the Blue Valley Riding neighborhood swimming pool, in order to construct a 128-car parking lot. Since the proposed parcel for the parking lot is zoned RN-1, Johnson County, Residential Neighborhood 1 District, the plan will require a conditional use permit and a public hearing.

Because this is a conditional use permit, owners within 1,000 feet have the right to submit a legal protest petition which would require 4 of 5 County Commissioners to approve the plan. If your home is highlighted in these images to the south or east or north, you are eligible to sign the legal protest petition.

SUMMARY OF DETAILS
[See drawing and current aerial photograph from AIMS]

  1. Demolish all structures on the 1.73 acres of church property and create an asphalt parking lot for 128 parking spaces.
  2. Install 4 pole lights--the height of the poles and bulb wattage is unknown to us at this time.
  3. Install a 260 long, 6 ft. tall, dog-eared wooden privacy fence on the west side of the proposed lot, facing the former Caddell property, but put no fence on the south side between the swimming pool and the parking lot. Also, the west side has a 20 foot set-back between the property line and the beginning of the parking lot; the set-back appears to decrease to only about 11 feet along a good portion of the south boundary which borders the neighborhood swimming pool.
  4. This lot will be utilized for on-going school parking when school is in session as well as for sporting event parking at various times and dates. (Just a note--the High School is letting sophomores drive and park at school this year, something which wasn't done last year.)
  5. In Aug. 5 correspondence to Johnson County Planning Dept., the Blue Valley School District indicated it was indeed the new owners of this 1.73 acre 3-parcel tract.

CONCERNS

  1. This parking lot intrudes into a neighborhood. Nearby residents need to decide: Does the value of extra parking spaces for the high school warrant the intrusion of a 128-car asphalt parking lot directly next to residential homes in Blue Valley Riding and its neighborhood swimming pool. Trees and grass presently on this lot will be destroyed. If you are opposed to this please contact Bob Phillips at NeighborhoodNet (phillips@kcnet.com) He will forward your concerns to those supporting a protest petition.
  2. There is NO privacy screening or buffering on the south end of the proposed parking lot, users of Blue Valley Riding pool would be staring directly at parked cars. Screening and privacy issues on this south end need to be addressed. The school district is using existing vegetation as its screening, although this is very sparse.
  3. Water run-off issues need to be addressed. Blue Valley Riding is assessing the condition of its swimming pool; two pool contractors have indicated the pool is in good condition because of its excellent drainage, sitting on a hill. The pool is not subject to the winter freeze/thaw cycle of nearby standing water which can easily damage a pool. Parking lot drainage needs to be kept away from the pool as well as homes in Blue Valley Riding.
  4. Lighting placement, height of pole, and intensity of lighting needs to be addressed. Numerous restrictions on lighting have been placed by Oxford Township Zoning Board in the nearby Blue Valley Business Park in order to keep lighting compatible with neighboring residential properties of Steck Plantation.
  5. The set-back is 20 feet along the west property line (that is, 20 feet from the property line to the beginning of the parking lot) with a privacy fence starting at 10 feet from the property line. Yet, the set-back on the south edge of the parking lot, where the property line faces the Blue Valley Riding swimming pool appears to be only 11 feet for a substantial portion. In some areas the swimming pool's wrought-iron fencing is less than 30 feet away from the actual asphalt of the parking lot.

PUBLIC HEARING

What: Public hearing on this plan before Oxford Township Zoning Board
When: Thurs., September 19, 2002, 7 P.M.
Where: Johnson County Administration Bldg. (next to Court House) Suite 1054, 111. S. Cherry, Olathe, KS (Sante Fe, 135th/Cherry Street)
Comment: Public will be allowed to speak, best to also submit comments in writing.
More Info? Call Johnson County Planners Scott McCullough ph. 715-2212 or Paul Greeley, ph. 715-2205 for further information.

Related Article:

8/24/2002 - Re-zoning of Residential To Parking Lot Proposed : Blue Valley Highschool Wants More Land


Return to NeighborhoodNettm home page.