Olathe planning commission approves rezoning for 96-acre public safety training facility (Olathe Range)

The Olathe Planning Commission on April 14 voted 9-0 to recommend rezoning a 96-acre property to the city Agricultural (Ag) district and to approve a preliminary site development plan for the proposed Olathe Range public safety training facility.

Staff presenter Nathan Jury described the 96-acre site as annexed by the city in 2023; it lies north of 160th Street between a railroad to the north and Interstate 35 to the southeast. The property is currently heavily wooded, contains Cedar Creek and associated floodplain arms, and is adjacent to quarries and unincorporated residential parcels in Johnson County. Jury said the Ag district is intended as a placeholder zoning until more urban development is feasible and that the proposed use is compatible with the site’s future land use designation as employment area with primary and secondary greenway.

The development would proceed in phases. Phase 1 includes two training buildings and a 50-lane outdoor range; Phase 2 anticipates about a 21,000-square-foot training facility expansion; Phase 3 would add an emergency vehicle driver training course at the northeast corner of the site. Jury said proposed design preserves approximately 98% of the woodland and protects stream corridors, with only one stream crossing planned to reach the Phase 3 driving course.

Staff presented results of an independent noise study (Avant Acoustics) and told commissioners the modeled noise from the outdoor range would generally be below existing ambient levels measured on the property. Staff reported the ambient noise level measured at approximately 66 decibels and that modeled range sound levels were about 55 dB at the western residential/property line and up to about 65 dB near the railroad and interstate. The range design includes a 30-foot tall berm and walls, side berming, sound-absorbing materials within the range, and tree preservation to provide additional buffering. Staff said the range complies with the city’s noise ordinance based on the study results.

Chief Mike Boutet of the Olathe Police Department told commissioners the site will primarily serve Olathe Police Department training and that the FBI is a partner; he said most live-fire training will use handguns (noting most agency rifles are suppressed) and that hours of operation are expected to be daytime weekday hours (an approximate 8 a.m.–5 p.m. pattern), though occasional evening or dusk training may occur. Boutet said the site selection aimed to locate the facility where existing ambient noise sources (railroad, Interstate 35, nearby quarry) would limit additional off-site impacts.

Other clarifications provided to the commission: the nearest residential property line is roughly 1,200 feet (about a quarter mile) from the firing positions; no large-field lighting plans are proposed at this stage; and the project is within one mile of New Century Airport, which requires county approval for development within that airport buffer. Staff recommended rezoning with no stipulations and recommended preliminary plan approval with one stipulation that county airport approval be obtained.

Commissioner Breen moved approval of RZ25-002 subject to staff stipulations; Commissioner Chapman seconded. The motion passed on a roll call vote, 9-0.

The item will be transmitted to City Council for consideration on May 6.