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ZON2017-00055 - Zone Change from RR Rural Residential to LI Limited Industrial on 158 acres of undeveloped land, generally located north of East 37th Street North and east of North Greenwich Road (District 1).
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Recommended Action: Adopt the findings of the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC) and approve the zone change; authorize the Chairman to sign the resolution and authorize the resolution to be published.
Background: The applicant is requesting a rezoning from the existing Rural Residential (RR) to a Limited Industrial (LI) district for 158 acres located north of East 37th Street North and east of North Greenwich Road. The site is north of the recently approved Brookfield Addition plat. The applicant would like to establish LI zoning on the property as they believe non-residential development along North Greenwich Road corridor will continue and be a desirable development option for the property.
The applicant is also the developer of Brookfield Addition, a new residential subdivision south of the subject property. The prospective limited industrial development is similar to that found in ZON2017-00004, which was a zone change case just south of the Brookfield Addition and approved by the Planning Commission and Wichita City Council in early 2017.
In order to plan for the most desirable type of LI development, the applicant has submitted a Protective Overlay (PO). This overlay would prohibit certain uses that would not be appropriate at the property, and includes higher standards for landscaping and restrictions on outside storage and enhanced screening requirements. This language is similar to that found in ZON2017-00004.
The subject property lies within Area C of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Airport Hazard Map. Area C has a 150-foot height limit for structures.
In order to utilize nearby public utilities, the applicant will be required to annex and plat the area to be developed. This requirement would remain in place even if the development pattern were to change. For example, if the applicant decided to downzone the property to residential in the future (which they have indicated in the attached narrative as a possibility if future conditions play out in a way that would make that form of development more economically feasible), they would still need to annex and plat the area in order to tap into the public utilities located nearby.
The surrounding neighborhood is characterized primarily by rural and agricultural uses as well as undeveloped land. North of the property is a large vacant agricultural parcel. South of the property is Brookfield Addition, a recently approved single-family subdivision. East of the property is large vacant agricultural parcel. West of the site is a large vacant agricultural parcel and the Jabara Airport nearby to the west of that.
Alternatives: Adopt the findings of the MAPC and approve the zone change, authorize the Chairman to sign the resolution and authorize the resolution to be published (requires a simple majority vote); override the recommendation of the MAPC and deny or modify the recommendation of the MAPC (requires four out of five votes); or return the application to the MAPC for additional conditions (three out of five).
Financial Considerations: There are no additional financial considerations to the County associated with this application.
Legal Considerations: The Board of County Commissioners is authorized to consider this zone change pursuant to K.S.A. 12-741 et seq. and Sec. V-C of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code. The options and vote requirements are included within the “Alternatives” section above.
Policy Considerations: The MAPC recommendations are based upon the findings of fact stated in the MAPC minutes.