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Council amends CUP to change screening requirement for Dollar Tree site after protests; override requires supermajority
Summary
Council considered a contested amendment to CUP DP220 to waive masonry screening of loading areas for a Dollar Tree property. Planning recommended approval, the DAB recommended denial and protests exceeded 20%, and council voted to override the MAPC recommendation with modified screening and landscape requirements.
The Wichita City Council reviewed an amendment to the Community Unit Plan (CUP DP220) that would have waived a masonry screening requirement for loading areas at a site associated with a Dollar Tree store.
Planning staff (Scott Wadel) said the applicant requested a modification to eliminate required masonry screening for loading docks and argued the existing screening layout would impede trash access and be ineffective where semi‑trucks operate. The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission recommended approval of the applicant’s modified text; the District Advisory Board recommended denial. Protest petitions from properties within the notification area totaled just under 40% of the protest area, exceeding the state’s 20% threshold and triggering a supermajority requirement for approval.
Council members debated options including maintaining the MAPC language, extending screening along the west side of the undeveloped parcel, or requiring a masonry or wood fence with a tree row at 1.5 times standard landscape requirements. One motion presented amended language requiring screening with similar materials to the main building or a six‑foot wood fence combined with a landscape buffer of 1.5 times the Wichita landscape code on parcel 4. The motion to override the MAPC, adopt the amended CUP text and authorize signatures was moved, seconded and recorded as passing by voice vote (7‑0).
The nut graf: Because the protests from nearby property owners exceeded the statutory threshold, council required a six‑of‑seven supermajority for any approval. Council instead adopted alternate findings and approved modified screening and landscaping conditions intended to reduce visual impact while addressing applicant access concerns.
Ending: The council approved the CUP amendment with modified screening/landscape requirements (vote recorded 7‑0). The staff record notes that alternative findings and conditions were used and that the city clerk will publish the ordinance following approval.
