Fearing noisy concerts, Johnson County residents take arboretum protest to next level
With their demands still unmet, neighbors say the fight against an expansion of the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is far from over.
The Overland Park Planning Commission last month approved a $12.4 million expansion at the venue, off U.S. 69 and 179th Street. But neighbors — who organized over shared concerns and hired a lawyer — have filed a protest petition, sending the project to the City Council for a final vote.
Many people opposed to the project are angry the vote has been tacked on to the end of a long agenda planned for a special City Council meeting Monday night — one week before new council members are sworn in.
Residents in the area agree the arboretum should be expanded. Many favor plans for a visitors center and other amenities. But they worry about the project including outdoor event spaces, which they fear will attract noisy concerts, cause more traffic backups and “commercialize the gardens.”
“We love the arboretum. We’re not crazy. We know there will be expansion,” neighbor James Muir said. “We just want some control.”
Plans include a 22,000-square-foot visitors center with a reception hall, an outdoor amphitheater to accommodate 850 people, plus great lawns to hold weddings and other events.
While city leaders won’t specify exactly what events could be held outside, many said they expect plays, educational programs and smaller concerts. But neighbors are upset that city staff won’t promise that the arboretum will never violate the city’s noise ordinance.
Before the Planning Commission vote, the city conducted a noise analysis of the arboretum. It looked at the six areas where events might be held, then measured the noise level if a rock band were to play there. The study showed that noise would stay below the required level in many areas surrounding the arboretum. But at the northern property line, sound levels would likely exceed 60 decibels, violating the noise ordinance and affecting several homes.
“I think the report shows that in some sections we’re going to be fine, and in other sections we wouldn’t be fine. So that is a big question: How are we going to control this?” said City Councilman Chris Newlin, who represents the 6th Ward, which includes the arboretum.
Newlin said the city is not in the business of holding and staffing large concerts, and he would prefer to see “Shakespeare in the Park” or similar events. But he is concerned about neighbors’ complaints. He said he is still undecided on how he will vote Monday night.
Neighbors are asking the city to amend the development plans to include controls ensuring the arboretum will uphold the noise ordinance. They have similar demands for lighting and traffic, saying existing events already cause noise and light pollution, plus clog the congested highway and 179th Street.
Many argue the plans go against the purpose of the arboretum, to preserve nature and offer environmental education opportunities.
“As a resident, if they would just remove the events and concerts, we’d all be fine,” neighbor Chengny Thao said. “It’s the commercialization that bothers us. We don’t want concerts here every summer. That’s not what we signed up for when we moved our families out here.”
City staff argue that weddings and other events are ways for the arboretum to generate more money so it can pay for itself and become self-sustaining.
Mayor Carl Gerlach called the special meeting scheduled for Monday, which includes more than 40 agenda items, not just the arboretum vote. But many neighbors have criticized the city for trying to push the vote through before Jan. 13, when new council members are sworn in — including Scott Hamblin, a new councilman for Ward 6. He won favor with many neighbors of the arboretum before unseating Councilman Rick Collins in November.
In an email to The Star, Collins declined to provide his opinion on the expansion project, but he did previously say he is taking neighbors’ concerns seriously.
