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Geary County commissioners deny conditional‑use permit for proposed storage units off Highway 77
Summary
After a public hearing and a planning commission recommendation to deny, the Geary County commission voted to deny a conditional‑use permit for storage units on a 40‑acre parcel near Highway 77, citing safety and neighborhood concerns
Paul Livingston, zoning director for Geary County, summarized a conditional‑use application from landowner Lance Custer seeking to place storage units on roughly 40 acres at the top of a hill off Highway 77 near Nicole Lane. Livingston said the planning commission held a public hearing in May and recommended denial by a 3‑to‑1 vote.
Livingston told the commission that state notification rules required notifying properties within 200 feet inside the city limits and a larger county buffer outside city limits; the packet showed 32 property owners were notified and a protest petition fell one signature short of the statutory threshold for protest. Livingston said neighborhood concerns at the planning commission meeting focused on traffic and safety: the site has effectively a single point of ingress and egress through Honors Ridge subdivision, streets there are narrow with on‑street parking, children play in the neighborhood, and fire/rescue access would be difficult. “There was 1 fire hydrant at the end of Nicole Lane that they could access, but they would still have to shuttle water back and forth,” Livingston said.
Commissioners voiced similar safety reservations. Commissioner Moyer raised concerns about fire‑safety access and the residential character of the area; another commissioner (identified in the record as Trish) said she would not like a commercial use in that location. Livingston and commissioners noted a prior, similar application in 2020 that the board previously denied and said KDOT staff on the planning commission advised that an old agricultural entrance off Highway 77 would not be permitted as a commercial entrance because of sight and grade at the top of the hill.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to follow the planning commission’s recommendation and deny the conditional‑use request; the motion was seconded and the commission voted aye. The chair said, “Motion carried.” The denial ends the county’s conditional‑use review for this application unless the applicant pursues an appeal or submits a revised application.
