‘Much is at stake’: Olathe council approves Cedar Creek apartments over neighbor uproar
The Olathe City Council on Tuesday approved plans for townhomes and a 300-unit apartment building in the affluent Cedar Creek neighborhood, a project that many residents fought against, worried it would diminish the entrance to their sprawling subdivision.
During a packed and tense meeting Tuesday evening, the council voted 5-2 to approve rezoning and a preliminary plan requested by Lenexa-based Oddo Development, which pitched a mixed-use project on 14 acres at the southeast corner of Cedar Creek and Valley parkways. Plans include a 300-unit luxury apartment complex, a parking garage, two buildings with townhomes priced at $500,000 and up, and three commercial buildings, which could include retail and sit-down restaurants.
The majority of the council said the project fit the city’s requirements for development in the area. Councilman Kevin Gilmore noted that the new zoning is more restrictive than it previously was, and that apartments would have been permitted on the site either way. Some applauded the developer for working with city staff to make adjustments under stricter zoning rules.
Council members added that the developer made some changes after hearing neighbors’ concerns, including shifting the building layout in an effort to limit the view from Cedar Creek Parkway.
Mayor John Bacon said the proposed development represents the “quality” he would expect for Cedar Creek, saying that while he’s “concerned about corridor preservation just like anyone else,” any new project would change the look of the neighborhood’s entrance.
Councilmen Dean Vakas and Matthew Schoonover voted against the proposal. Vakas said “battle lines are drawn” among council members on different sides of the issue while offering unsparing criticism of how the project has been handled, saying, “Midwest polite only goes so far.”
Vakas argued that the developer’s renderings failed to show how “overpowering” the apartment complex would be, saying the project would “destroy the special feel of the entrance.”
“In actuality, Cedar Creek Parkway is reduced to apartment alley,” Vakas said.
On the council, Vakas offered the strongest support to opposing residents since word of the project caused uproar throughout Cedar Creek. The neighborhood, near the confluence of K-10 and K-7 highways, is home to wooded land, rolling hills, waterfalls and limestone bluffs. Homes there range from $500,000 to $2 million.
Neighbors collected signatures to protest the project and raised money to hire an attorney. They worried about added traffic, tall buildings hovering over the natural landscape and the environmental impacts of building on a site almost entirely covered by trees. They also voiced concerns about security and maintenance of the homeowners association amenities, including the pool, trails, lake and golf course.
“Much is at stake here,” Scott Beeler, an attorney representing the opposing residents, told the council, adding that Cedar Creek is the “crown jewel” of Olathe. “Do we really want to mess that up on our watch?”
The homeowners association submitted a petition protesting the project, but officials said it was withdrawn after the developer adjusted plans in response to some concerns. Many neighbors, though, continued to oppose the project and voiced frustrations with the HOA.
Oddo tweaked the project after the planning commission meeting in March, where more than 20 residents spoke in opposition, and the board voted 4-3 to approve the project.
“We’ll be able to have a better project in the end,” Ron Mather, an HOA board member, told the council. “We’ve reconciled ourselves to the fact that we’re going to have apartments. And given we’re going to have apartments, I don’t think there’s a better developer in Kansas City than Oddo to do the project. It’s far better than an out-of-town developer.”
