Near Heritage Park, the Field Behind the Houses Already Had Zoning

"The R-4 district lowers the intensity and number of land uses that are currently permitted by right on this property," Senior Planner Jessica Schuler told the Olathe Planning Commission on Oct. 12, according to the Johnson County Post. She was describing Residences at Heritage Park, a proposal from Rodrock Development for 476 rental apartments in seven four-story buildings. The site is about 25 acres west of Pflumm Road, roughly a quarter-mile north of 159th Street. Dozens of people at that meeting wore red to oppose it.

City staff describe the rezoning as making the land less intense. The neighbors next door see it as the biggest change their area has faced. Both views follow from the same fact. The open field behind The Reserve at Heritage and Nottingham at Heritage Park was never zoned for open space. It has been zoned for a business park, and that existing zoning sets the stakes in any argument about what gets built there.

That applies to every south Olathe home that backs onto open ground. A field next door tells you nothing about what is coming. Its zoning, the plans already approved for it, the city's road budget and even the nearby airport tell you a lot more.

What the Field Is Allowed to Hold Today

Most of the site is zoned BP, or Business Park, and part of it is County Rural. Rodrock is asking for R-4, a medium-density apartment district. At the Oct. 12 hearing, staff compared the two districts. You can follow that comparison in the OpenKansas transcript of the meeting.

The city has approved a project here once before. In 2000, it approved a business park on the property with 15 buildings totaling about 205,800 square feet, each around 24 feet tall. That business park was never built, and its preliminary development plan has expired.

So the field has been shaped by two different things at once. The zoning has allowed buildings up to 144 feet and uses like light manufacturing. The only plan anyone actually approved called for low, two-story-scale buildings that never went up. The plan that was approved was far smaller than what the zoning allowed.

Why a Lower Height Limit Can Still Mean More Building

On paper, the apartment request lowers the height limit by almost 100 feet. In real terms, it would bring much more building to the site than anyone had planned before. The proposal totals 642,500 square feet, more than three times the floor area of the expired business park plan. The proposed density is 18.83 units per acre, below the R-4 maximum of 22.

The height everyone is arguing about falls inside the rules. According to Olathe Today, the staff report says R-4 allows four stories and a 50-foot height, with some parapet walls rising another six feet. One building, Building G, has a 50-foot roofline and a 56-foot parapet. A neighbor told the council on Nov. 3 that "56-foot buildings over our backyards are not a necessity. They are a decision," the same outlet reported.

The site plan includes these details:

• Apartment buildings set back at least 125 feet from the western edge of the project
• The Heritage Trail running through a common-area tract owned by The Reserve at Heritage Homes Association, which adds more distance from the homes
• A 20-foot landscape buffer on the neighborhood side, compared with a 75-foot buffer facing the business park land to the south
• Berms, trees, detached garages and new fencing along the northern boundary used as screening
• A dry detention basin and an underground infiltration trench for stormwater, plus underground detention added after neighbors raised concerns about standing water

A height limit tells you the most that could be built. A site plan shows what someone actually intends to build. The 144-foot business park limit never turned into a building. The 50-foot apartment buildings come with drawings, a parking count of 720 spaces and a construction start Rodrock has targeted for spring 2027, if the approvals come through. City staff also pointed to Olathe's comprehensive plan, which designates the property for mixed residential neighborhood use. That gives the city a planning basis for putting housing there.

The Road Runs on a Separate Budget

Traffic on Pflumm came up more than anything else, and it shows how separate decisions can fall out of step. The project would have three entrances on Pflumm, each with required turn lanes. City staff said broader improvements to Pflumm between 151st and 159th streets are not in the city's Capital Improvement Plan, as the Johnson County Post reported. The staff report says a traffic impact study found that nearby roads could handle the development. It also says the project sets aside right-of-way for a possible future widening of Pflumm into a four-lane divided road, without giving a date for that work.

That gap affected the vote. Commissioner Ken Chapman said, "I think that we need to put a pause on that until we can address Pflumm Road and the safety concerns there." A motion to recommend denial failed 2-5, and a motion to postpone got no second. The commission then voted 4-3 to recommend approval.

For anyone comparing homes near open land, the takeaway is practical. A zoning decision and a road widening come from different processes. Setting aside right-of-way along a road is a promise of space for a future road, not of a construction date.

More Approvals After the Council, and a Petition Rule Before It

The Planning Commission only makes a recommendation. The Olathe City Council has final say over the rezoning. Neighbors spoke to the council on Nov. 3, and the council did not vote on the rezoning at that meeting.

Even if the city approves it, the project is not finished with approvals. The site sits within a mile of Johnson County Executive Airport, in what the airport's land use compatibility plan calls Zone 6. Staff told commissioners that the risk of an aircraft accident there is considered low and that Zone 6 has no limit on residential density. Staff also said a city approval would still need sign-off from the Johnson County Airport Commission and the Board of County Commissioners.

Kansas law also lets nearby owners change how many votes a rezoning needs. Under K.S.A. 12-757(f), a protest petition can be filed with the city clerk within 14 days after the public hearing ends. It must be signed by the owners of 20% or more of the land being rezoned, or 20% or more of the land within the area that had to be notified. When a valid petition is filed, the rezoning "shall not be passed except by at least a ¾ vote of all of the members of the governing body." If the owner of the property being rezoned asked for the rezoning or does not oppose it in writing, that property is left out when the statute calculates the total land within the notification area. Because the clock starts when the hearing ends, the window is short. It also opens and closes before most people hear a case is being considered.

This is general information about public records and state law, not legal advice. Anyone weighing a petition or a purchase near a pending rezoning should confirm the details with a Kansas real estate attorney.

What to Look Up About the Land Behind a Listing

The Heritage Park case shows which records matter. Before making an offer on a home that backs onto open land in south Olathe, look up these things in order:

1. Current zoning. Find out what the parcel allows by right today, including its height limit and the range of permitted uses.
2. Comprehensive plan designation. This is the city's stated plan for the land, and staff rely on it heavily when they recommend for or against a rezoning.
3. Old plans. Check whether an earlier plan was approved and whether it has expired, as the 2000 business park plan here did.
4. Road status. Check whether the nearest arterial is in the Capital Improvement Plan, or whether new projects are only setting aside right-of-way.
5. Airport compatibility zone. Within a mile of Johnson County Executive Airport, a city approval can still need county approval afterward.

A Few Questions We Hear Often

Is Residences at Heritage Park approved? Not yet. The Planning Commission recommended approval 4-3 on Oct. 12. The City Council makes the final decision on the rezoning, and if the city approves it, the Johnson County Airport Commission and the Board of County Commissioners must approve it too.

What did the developer change after hearing from neighbors? After an August neighborhood meeting attended by about 80 residents, Rodrock dropped a planned dog park, added berms and a fence, and added more underground stormwater detention. A large oak tree is also being kept.

Who owns the land? City records list the property owner as JOCO Land Company LLC. The city case is RZ26-0010.

Reading a zoning case before signing a contract is the kind of diligence Kirk Home & Land does every week on land and development deals across southern Johnson County. If you are looking at a home or a parcel next to open ground in Olathe, schedule a consultation and we will go through the zoning, plan history and road records for that site with you.