Prairie Village residents, developer reach agreement on former Mission Valley school site

The proposed Mission Chateau retirement community in Prairie Village is moving forward again after developers and nearby residents say they’ve finally resolved their differences over the project.

Attorneys for the Tutera Partnership MVS LLC and a group of neighbors told the Prairie Village City Council on Monday that they have reached a settlement agreement that would allow Tutera to apply for a new special use permit to develop the former site of the Mission Valley Middle School, 8500 Mission Road.

Tutera would have until Sept. 4 to submit the new permit application to city planning officials, who would then schedule another round of public hearings before sending it back to the city council this fall to vote on the project for the third time in more than two years.

The council on Monday voted to extend the current deadline for Tutera to begin construction from next March to October 2016 so the developers can focus on completing the new permit.

The two sides have spent almost eight months negotiating a compromise, with the attorneys saying the new Mission Chateau plan is “pretty close” to what developers unveiled April 6.

That plan called for a 286,000-square-foot development with a mix of independent and assisted living units, almost a fourth smaller than the original plan and lacking the skilled nursing facility that had attracted the most objections from nearby residents concerned about employee traffic.

Tutera general counsel Mike Flanagan said that as part of the agreement the company would add a restrictive covenant to the property banning skilled nursing care so that the use would be prohibited even if Tutera later sold the land.

Assuming the new plan is approved by the council, the developers would agree to terminate the special use permit they received last year for Mission Chateau.

Forty-eight residents, many of them members of the Mission Valley Neighbors Association, have appealed the city’s decision to approve the permit to the Kansas Court of Appeals. As part of the agreement, they would pull their legal challenge once the new permit is in place.

If the city fails to approve the new plan, however, the current special use permit would remain and be extended by 13 months.

Brian Doerr, an attorney representing his fellow neighbors, said all but three of the plaintiffs have signed the settlement agreement and he has assurances that the others also plan to sign.

“We believe we’ve got an effective settlement agreement,” Doerr said.

Council members expressed relief that the two sides were finally able to work out an agreement themselves.

“I am looking forward to hopefully having a result that everybody can be really happy with,” said Mayor Laura Wassmer.

Councilman David Morrison was the lone holdout, saying his constituents are tired of opposing the project and that he had hoped the land could still be used for a school.

“I don’t intend to sign off on something that I don’t think is the optimal use for that area,” Morrison said.

In other business, the council approved a $157,528 contract with Overland Park-based Affinis Corp. to perform design services for rehabilitating Mission Road between 71st and 75th streets. Nearby residents have demanded changes along the busy residential street, which they say is made more hazardous by narrow sidewalks built only inches from traffic. Keith Bredehoeft, director of public works, said preliminary traffic studies of the road are completed and that the city hopes to begin holding public hearings on changes to the road later this month.

The council also awarded eight road construction projects and a parking lot resurfacing to Kansas City-based JM Fahey Construction Co. for a low bid of $1.8 million. The city set aside $2.3 million for the work, and Bredehoeft said the city will use any leftover money for additional road projects.

This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Prairie Village residents, developer reach agreement on former Mission Valley school site."