Olathe will soon vote on allowing controversial frozen food facility. What’s next

A massive cold storage facility that has Olathe residents up in arms is set to go before the City Council on Tuesday.

If the project’s approved, Lineage Logistics — a global cold food storage company — gets the green light to rezone the property and begin construction on 146 acres off of West 175th Street and Lone Elm Road, and the company can come back to the council next month with its request for tax incentives.

However, the project has seen strong opposition from Nottington Creek Homeowners Association residents who live a half mile away from the proposed site and worry about the traffic, safety and air quality impacts if the massive facility opens.

The resident pushback was ultimately heard by the Planning Commission, which denied the project, saying that Lineage first needs to address roadway and safety concerns with 500 daily roundtrips of semitrucks operating on the Lone Elm, a single-lane road.

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.

Alongside the Planning Commission meeting, Nottington Creek residents spoke against the project during the Sept. 2 City Council meeting — which discussed a 10-year $310 million industrial revenue bond to construct a 400,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse facility and a 2% community improvement district sales tax that could last for up to 22 years. Tax incentives haven’t been approved yet.

“Thank you to the Planning Commission for voting this down,” Nottington Creek resident Janice Walters said in an email to local media outlets. “To the City Council, please follow their lead and do the right thing to protect us. The group (of) people that you are putting most at risk asks you to please vote no.”

If the rezoning application is denied by the City Council, the applicant could file a new application with major revisions or modifications, but there’s a one year waiting period before anyone can submit the same application on the same property.

The City Council could also send back the current application to the Planning Commission, which would eventually come back to the dais for a final decision.

A denial would close any further discussions regarding incentives, but approval would allow the incentive discussion to remain on the calendar.

Olathe City Council meetings start at 7 p.m. online or at City Hall, 100 E. Santa Fe. Street.