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Commission divided over road right-of-way; preliminary/final plat for Rural Water District No. 2 advances to BCC with smaller dedication
Summary
The Shawnee County Planning Commission was split on whether to require a 45-foot right-of-way dedication along NW 40 Sixth Street for a Rural Water District No. 2 plat; the commission failed to recommend the staff’s 45-foot standard and the plat will move to the Board of County Commissioners with the applicant’s 25-foot dedication.
The Shawnee County Planning Commission considered preliminary and final plat P 2501 for Rural Water District Number 2’s “Tower 1” parcel, which would create a 0.86-acre legal lot containing a water tower and an accessory building. The commission split on a staff recommendation that the applicant dedicate a 45-foot right-of-way from the road center line on Northwest 40 Sixth Street; the plat will proceed toward the Board of County Commissioners with the 25-foot dedication the applicant proposed.
Planning staff advised the commission that Public Works requested an additional dedication measured as 45 feet from the center line of the road, consistent with a 90-foot overall right-of-way for a major collector (45 feet on each side). The applicant, represented by Ben Kramer of Kramer Consulting and Rural Water District No. 2 representatives, said granting the additional area on the south side would hamper safe tower maintenance, antenna work and periodic sandblasting and painting, and would impose higher relocation costs for driveways and water meters.
Kurt Niehaus, Shawnee County Director of Public Works, said the county prefers to build on the existing center line when it modernizes roads and that moving the center line substantially increases project cost and earthwork. "Typically, when we improve a road, we improve it on the existing right of way," Niehaus said. He added that major collectors typically ultimately require a 90-foot right-of-way (45 feet each side) and that dedications now help avoid future land takings.
Representatives of Rural Water District No. 2 argued the 25-foot dedication proposed on the plat was adequate and that relocating utilities and driveways to satisfy a full 45-foot dedication would be significantly more expensive and disruptive. The water district also described operational concerns if the right-of-way comes closer to the tower and antennas, including maintenance access and safety for workers and the public.
Commissioners debated the trade-offs between long-term road planning and the water district's operational needs. A motion to approve the plat with the staff-recommended 45-foot dedication was moved and seconded but resulted in a split roll-call vote: Dan Bryan, Terry Robinson and Chad Gearhart voted yes; Jeanette Johnson, Myron Lenwitter and Rosa Cavazos voted no. Because the recommendation failed on a tie, the item will still advance toward the Board of County Commissioners with the 25-foot dedication as drawn and will return to the county process for surveying and mapping before the BCC considers final action.
Planning staff also explained that the water district currently holds a conditional use permit for the tower itself and that the proposed small accessory building triggered a replatting requirement to create a properly platted lot. Staff said the minor amendment to the conditional use permit for the building could be handled administratively while the plat proceeds.
The commission did not set additional conditions; next steps include county surveyor and mapping completion and scheduling for the Board of County Commissioners.
