Olathe neighbors win push to block new frozen food warehouse — at least for now

Beth and John Reinhart first moved to Olathe’s Nottington Creek neighborhood because of its peaceful, rural atmosphere, Beth Reinhart said.

The city Planning Commission’s most recent decision will keep it that way — at least for now.

“When we moved out here, we knew at some point our community would grow and change and have other neighborhoods close by,” Reinhart said.

Nottington Creek has 235 homes on West 175th Street and Lone Elm Road in southern Olathe. It’s just north of Spring Hill and east of Gardner. The retired couple has lived in their home for 11 years.

While Reinhart hoped for a new park on the land nearby, she instead saw a proposal for a giant cold storage facility on nearly 146 acres that is slotted to pop up a half mile from her home.

“I never thought Olathe would be annexing property across the street for the use of warehouses and it breaks my heart,” she said.

Lineage Logistics, a global cold storage warehousing company, is requesting a rezoning and preliminary site development plan to build an automated freezer facility for the storage and distribution of cold food products. The company has warehouses across the country, including one in Olathe used by Tyson Foods — just 2 miles northwest of the proposed project site.

The 140-foot tall building would include more than 35,000 square feet of cooler space and more than 184,000 square feet of freezer space primarily storing ready-to-eat foods. The facility would have 24-hour operations, seven days a week. If approved, construction would begin in 2026 and 2027.

Nottington Creek residents, like the Reinharts, showed up to Monday’s Planning Commission meeting to raise concerns about traffic, air quality and safety. They asked commissioners to deny the project.

The Planning Commission ultimately denied the project, agreeing with residents that certain roadway safety concerns first need to be addressed and requested more safety measures from Lineage.

The project will still move to the City Council, which will have the final say.

Lineage Logistics wasn’t immediately available for comment on the commission’s decision or discussion.

“I am so glad that the Planning Commission decided to hold (off) as they know there are significant safety concerns of the roadways,” said Janice Rummel, Nottington Creek’s HOA president.

Traffic impacts

Rummel has lived in Nottington Creek for 13 years and has held her president title for at least the last three of those, she said. After the HOA learned about the project three weeks ago, residents worried about the impacts it could have on the neighborhood, like 24-hour traffic and noise coming from the facility.

If built, the facility would use Lone Elm Road as an access point for semitrucks and future employees. While Lineage proposes to add turn lanes both northbound and southbound, Nottington Creek residents don’t think that will be sufficient to manage an increased traffic footprint.

The developers anticipate it will be 500 round trips, or 1,000 trips in and out per day just for semitrucks alone, Rummel said.

“Lone Elm is a two-lane road,” Rummel said. “It’s had normal wear-and-tear damage on a two-lane road … it’s known to flood. A car washed into a ditch because it’s not developed. It doesn’t have the infrastructure to withstand heavy traffic and the number of trucks they’re anticipating.”

“Lone Elm is the road that takes my son to school, I take it the other way to go to work, everybody in our neighborhood has to take Lone Elm to get on to I-35.”

Air quality worries

While researching Lineage, fellow Nottington Creek resident Reinhart began to worry about the potential neighbor’s impact on the environment.

In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency fined Lineage Logistics $172,591 for violating chemical risk prevention provisions at its facility in Altoona, Iowa.

According to the EPA website, the facility uses over 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a regulated toxic substance, and failed to comply with regulations to protect the surrounding community from accidental releases. The substance is commonly used in food preparation because it rapidly dehydrates things.

Anhydrous ammonia is corrosive to the skin, eyes and lungs – with high exposure levels known to cause choking or death. It can cause fire or explosions if ignited.

In January 2020, one subcontractor was killed and another worker was hurt after an anhydrous ammonia leak at a Lineage facility in North Carolina, according to local reporting.

Last year, a fire broke out at a Lineage facility in Finely, Washington. According to Tri-City Herald reporting, 28,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia was on the property when the fire started in the freezer. During the fire, which burned for 60 days, nearby neighborhoods were evacuated and schools pivoted to indoor activities to keep kids from breathing the smoke.

Multiple lawsuits were filed against Lineage for damages and health impacts of the blaze. Residents are continuing to recover almost a year later, according to local reporting.

“It’s a nightmare for them, and for us, it’s not the kind of neighbor we were looking forward to having,” Reinhart said.

While Reinhart was proud to see her community pushing against the project, she doesn’t know if it will ultimately stop the city from making the zoning changes necessary for it to eventually be built.

“But I think we as a community feel that this Lineage massive facility is not an appropriate choice for our community and we feel our safety is endangered,” she said. “It’s going to majorly change the face of our community and that’s sad.”