Olathe city officials vote to annex 118 acres

Olathe city officials are eliminating one of the largest remaining islands of unincorporated land within city limits as development in the surrounding area has begun to pick up.

The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to annex 118 acres south of the intersection of Kansas 7 and 119th Street. The land was one of 12 remaining Johnson County “enclaves” in the city.

The property currently consists of 11 lots, five of which have single-family homes, one has a business and one holds a church. The remaining lots are undeveloped.

A single lot of around an acre located in the middle of the annexation area will remain outside the city limits after planners determined it did not meet city requirements for annexation and the property owner didn’t respond to city offers for voluntary annexation.

Council members created a policy in 2007 to eliminate enclaves whenever possible. In particular, the annexation rules are aimed at making the city boundaries more harmonious, reducing overlap of services provided by the city and county and avoiding development in enclaves that doesn’t reflect city standards.

Beth Wright, the city engineer, noted that a subdivision was recently approved north of 119th Street and city planners are in discussions with developers wanting to build apartments at the northeast corner of 119th Street and K-7.

“We are beginning to see some interest in development in this area,” Wright said.

None of the enclave’s estimated 14 residents asked to join the city, and two property owners questioned the annexation’s timing and how they would benefit.

Peter Wilkins, who owns a combined 17 acres, said he believes he’s the reason the city is annexing the land. He said he recently attempted to sell part of his property to a developer who wanted to build a storage facility, which was supported by county officials but opposed by Olathe planners because the city’s 16-year-old plan for the K-7 corridor prohibits mini-storage warehouses. The project ultimately collapsed.

Wilkins also noted that the city has yet to connect West 119th Street to Northgate, which he said would open the area up.

“We’re not necessary opposed to being annexed, but I would like to ask, what does it offer us?” Wilkins said. “Over the years, the city has kind of marginalized this area.”

Wright said the city has not ruled out extending 119th to Northgate but needs to figure out how best to cross an intervening railroad line and Mill Creek.

David Caldwell, who also owns property in the area, unsuccessfully asked the council to table the annexation to give him more time to confer with attorneys on his options.

“We’re the only property not annexed north of Santa Fe (Street),” Caldwell said. “The other 11 are little doughnut holes inside the city limits. Why didn’t you go after them before you came after us? Just because (Wilkins) tried to sell their land that they haven’t been able to sell for years?”

Zachary Moore, a city planner, said the enclave will now have access to city water and sewer service, although the homeowners won’t be required to give up their septic tanks and hook on unless they significantly redevelop their properties.

While the city’s fire and police departments have provided some protection to the area already, Moore said joining the city will give the property full protection. For instance, the closest city fire stations have response times of less than three minutes while the closest units of the Northwest Consolidated Fire District of Johnson County are nine minutes away.

Lastly, he estimated that once the homeowners no longer have to pay county taxes for fire protection and the library services, their property tax rate should decline 0.3 percent.

Overall, the city estimates generating an additional $7,614 a year in property taxes from the former enclave.

The annexation will not go into effect until Nov. 7 because the annexation ordinance was published within 60 days of the Nov. 6 election.

In other business, the council agreed to issue $28.45 million in industrial revenue bonds to help developer Kenneth Block build a speculative 439,314-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility in the Lone Elm Logistics Center industrial park at Lone Elm Road and 167th Street. The bonds, which city taxpayers are not responsible for repaying, would allow the developers to buy the property and build the facility without having to pay sales taxes.

Block has also requested that the city phase in 50 percent of the site’s increase property tax value over 10 years. The developer estimates the project will create 81 new jobs during that time.

Council members also considered a request from developer KH Jensen to issue $63.5 million in industrial revenue bonds to help build a 1.2 million square foot warehouse addition in the I-35 Logistics Park at Old 56 Highway and 155th Street. The developers are also requesting a 10-year tax abatement and said it would create 200 new jobs during that time. The council will hold a public hearing and vote on the measure at a future meeting.

The council also accepted a $1.6 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help hire and train 12 new firefighters to staff the city’s Fire Station 8, which is currently under development. The city is required to provide a match of a little more than $1 million.

This story was originally published September 19, 2018 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Olathe city officials vote to annex 118 acres."