JoCo city OKs new housing project despite resident worries, swaying from past rejections
The Shawnee City Council unanimously approved a new single-family residential development off of Clare Road during its Monday meeting, despite ongoing concerns from the project’s neighbors about traffic.
Kansas City developer Prieb Homes proposed to construct 62 single-family residential homes and designated open space on approximately 42 acres of land in the northwest corner of 71st Street and Clare Road in western Shawnee.
In 2005, the council approved a project that would develop 74 lots on 71.42 acres in the same area. Between 2007 and 2008, Johnson County Wastewater installed public sewer mains throughout the site in anticipation of the development, but the project never came to fruition. While 34 of the original 71 acres sold to a single owner to build one estate home, the remaining acres sit undeveloped adjacent to the Greens of Chapel Creek subdivision.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved the project on March 3 where some residents first showed up to air their concerns about traffic.
As the Johnson County city grows, Shawnee has seen resistance from both residents and its elected officials to the development it needs to build in order to keep up with the demand.
The Kansas Supreme Court recently returned a $50 million housing project to the City Council for reevaluation. The project failed back in 2019 after residents came forward with concerns about density, neighborhood character, traffic, and overcrowding.
In 2021, three planning commissioners abruptly resigned after the City Council caused several housing development projects to fail when they had overwhelming approval from the Planning Commission.
This time around, neighbors, primarily from the Greens of Chapel Creek subdivision, came to ask their representatives for sidewalk and roadway improvements if the project moves forward.
The new development is projected to generate 650 daily trips, according to the staff report. Staff noted that the additional volume isn’t expected to “materially impact the operation of existing roadway network,” and improvements on 71st Street or Clare Road are not required.
Several Greens of Chapel Creek residents asked for Clare Road to be widened to account for the higher traffic.
Resident John Bricklemeyer told the council that the area already sees a lot of speeding, and people don’t stop at the stop signs at 67th Street and Hedge Lane. He asked the council to add speed bumps in the area to “slow things down.”
The project includes a shared use path along 71st Street to help residents get to Erfurt City Park. Fellow resident John Dudgeon said that filling in the remaining two blocks could help other residents in the area get to the city park, as they currently don’t have sidewalks in their area.
“I walk 71st Street every single morning with my dog and I have to walk the ditch for the most part,” Dudgeon said, adding that he walks early in the morning when it’s still dark out and it’s hard to see. “I realize you’re not going to make the whole street wider, but two additional blocks would really help.”
While the City Council can’t complete all of the requests at once through this project, Councilmember Tony Gillette said that the discussion can help guide the city’s priorities in its Capital Improvement Program — a process where the council decides how it will allocate funding to projects throughout the city.
“I’m looking forward to this being single family homes and a growth area there. We just have to make sure we develop it properly for the citizens and future of Shawnee,” Gillette said.