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The 145 acres of land off West 175th Street and Lone Elm Road in Olathe could be turned into a massive development, but some neighbors aren't in favor of living next to a freezer storage facility.
Between the Olathe corn patches and fields, you'll find the Nottington Creek neighborhood. It's right across the street from where the development would go.
"We like the peacefulness and the quietness," said HOA President Janice Rummel.
But neighbors plan to be anything but quiet about Lineage Logistics' proposed freezer storage facility.
"We're not naive to believe that there's nothing going to be out there, but when I got looking into it a little bit more and realized how tall this building is going to be, and how many square feet it's going to be, that's very impactful," Rummel said.
Olathe's Planning Commission will vote on rezoning the 145 acres of land for a development site of one to six buildings, ranging from 230,000 square feet to 518,000 square feet. The first proposed building is expected to be about 144 feet tall with "184,927 square feet of freezer space primarily storing ready-to-eat foods," according to the development filings.
The city's staff report to the Planning Commission states there will be a "significant impact" on the two nearby residential communities with noise and light disruption. It's up to the developer, Lineage Logistics, to provide solutions to mitigate residential disruptions.
However, the staff's report also states the freezer development proposal aligns with Olathe's long-term planning and strategic goals.
"It doesn't feel like home," Rummel said. "I feel like it's going to change everything."
Rummel is most concerned about the traffic the facility would bring. She anticipates quite the backup with hundreds of daily trucks on a two-lane road.
"This is how we go to work, this is how we get our kids to school down the road," Rummel said.
It's a concern her neighbor, John Reinhart, also shares.
"I have Parkinson's, and I go into Kansas City three times a week to exercise with a special program," Reinhart said. "It's difficult now to get in there. I have to drive 30 minutes for what should be a 15-minute drive."
Rummel, Reinhart and dozens of their neighbors are taking their concerns directly to city leaders on Monday night ahead of the Planning Commission's vote to rezone. Their goal is to keep their community quiet and peaceful.
"It's a shame to see that threatened," Reinhart said. "This whole thing just leaves us cold."
Olathe's Planning Commission meets at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
KSHB 41 News reached out to Lineage Logistics for a response to neighbors' concerns, but we didn't hear back by the time of this publication.
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