‘It’s commercializing our gardens:’ Overland Park Arboretum expansion angers neighbors
Surrounded by fall foliage and the quiet sound of wildlife scampering through the bushes, Overland Park leaders and residents got into a screaming match Thursday night over a proposed expansion at the Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.
Officials have been planning a $12.4 million expansion at the arboretum, off of U.S. Highway 69 and 179th Street, for years. First approved in 2017 as part of the city’s five-year capital improvement budget, the project includes a new visitors center, pond, outdoor amphitheater and event spaces, expanded parking and a sculpture garden.
But as the Arts and Recreation Foundation nears its $10 million fundraising goal and the city planning commission prepares to consider an updated agreement next month, neighbors have organized. Nearby residents are upset that some of the features will now be closer to their subdivisions, plus they worry events will attract thousands of visitors, leading to traffic congestion and noise pollution.
“We have a beautiful arboretum, and growth is good, but this is turning into something else,” resident Jeanine Dubroc said. “Why are you becoming a commercial business? It’s commercializing our gardens.”
Most residents said they support or donate to the arboretum and are in favor of it expanding. The design plans have been praised by many. But as the arboretum grows its visitor numbers and acquires more land, neighbors fear expansion will obstruct their quiet lives in southern Johnson County.
The outdoor amphitheater within the sculpture garden will be built to accommodate 850 people. The upper great lawn could host a maximum of 4,000 guests, while another lawn has a capacity of 1,500. Hundreds of other visitors could use a 22,000-square-foot visitors center with an event space or reception hall, as well as other outdoor spaces.
“I think there have been some questions and concerns about the amphitheater, but that is really just a lawn area with a concrete path and an area for some type of performance or entertainment,” Greg Ruether, director of the city’s park services department, told residents. “There’s not going to be permanent lighting, no permanent seating. It’s not going to be programming like a Starlight Theater or anything like that. It’s just a simple place to have outdoor performances.”
City leaders said they do not have the staff to manage large events every weekend, but did not offer an expected number of performances.
“I would love to have ZZ Top play here, but we’re not going to get ZZ Top,” Arboretum Supervisor Karen Kerkhoff said.
Nearby owners of multi-million-dollar homes also requested traffic and environmental studies, which Ruether said have not been conducted. Residents pushed Ruether to promise that the city will never ask for an exemption to the noise ordinance, which he said he could not do.
Neighbor Sherri Muir said she is concerned about congested traffic on Highway 69 and 179th Street, especially with Wolf Springs Elementary School nearby. Many said they struggle to access their homes during the arboretum’s current events, including the holiday Luminary Walk and annual Botanical Brewfest.
“How does that affect traffic on our roads?” Muir said. “The entrance is right next to the elementary school. That tells me you’re only thinking of the big picture of how great an event center is going to be, but not the small picture of how it’s going to affect our lives.”
Kerkhoff said the arboretum has attracted more visitors to its annual events than expected, with numbers growing each year. She already has had to limit ticket sales to the annual Luminary Walk, citing a year when 8,400 people attended and the team was unable to control the crowds.
“We were out in the parking lot trying to keep pedestrians from getting hit, and we knew that was not a good way to operate,” she said. “So we did adjust the number of people (to 6,000) and may have to look at adjusting it again, just to make sure everybody has a good visitor experience and is safe.”
Kerkhoff told neighbors the arboretum wants to better accommodate weddings and community events to help pay for upkeep and maintenance. While residents complained the botanical gardens was becoming “commercialized,” city leaders said the goal is to break even after the project is completed.
The Arts and Recreation Foundation has so far raised around $8 million to go toward the expansion. The city has included around $2.4 million in its capital improvement budget, with $375,000 coming from a special parks and recreation fund. Another $2 million will be paid for by the city’s share of a county-wide sales tax approved to help fund the new courthouse, according to original plans.
The planning commission will consider the updated project on Nov. 11.
The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens opened in 1991 as a public space for the community and now draws around 170,000 visitors each year.
This story was originally published October 27, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
