Adding up the space for new courthouse

The commission approved combining a number of public, residential and commercial lots near the corner of Santa Fe Street and Kansas Avenue in downtown Olathe, including the former City Hall, into a 3-acre lot that will be turned over to Johnson County officials as the site of the new county courthouse.

County taxpayers last fall approved a 10-year quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay to replace the current 1950s-era courthouse that sits one block south of the new site. Construction is expected to take four years.

The Olathe Planning Commission also has renewed the special-use permit allowing Asphalt Sales Company Inc. to operate a landfill for construction and demolition debris at 23200 W. 159th St.

Commissioners on Monday voted unanimously to recommend approval for extending the permit, which was last granted in 2007, for 10 years. City staff had originally requested a five-year extension, but an attorney for the company said it planned to close the landfill in seven to nine years.

“We’re hopeful that we won’t have to come back and use more city resources,” said Curtis Holland.

The item now goes to the City Council for a final vote.

This story was originally published August 29, 2017 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Adding up the space for new courthouse."