Platte County planning commission reviews rezoning request for Highway 45 church property

The Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission on April 21 heard a staff presentation on a request by Living Water Christian Church to rezone 10.54 acres at 12411 Highway 45 from agricultural to R-40 (single-family estate) to permit a three-lot subdivision, county staff said.

Jason Hawthorne, assistant director of planning and zoning, told commissioners the proposal would divide the parcel into two roughly 3-acre lots and one 4.5-acre lot that would retain the existing church. "The proposed 4 and a half acre lot will contain the existing church that is present at this time," Hawthorne said, and added the smaller lots would meet R-40 minimums for parcel size and setbacks.

According to Hawthorne, the lots would be folded into the adjoining Copper Hill residential development, which staff said is increasing from 17 to 19 lots; staff said most of the original 17 lots have sold and several have active building permits. Hawthorne listed agencies that reviewed the request, including the Platte County Health Department, Parkville Special Road District, the Department of Transportation, Public Water No. 1, Southern Flat Fire, Park Hill School District and Kansas City.

Staff told the commission that R-40 minimums in this area call for a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet and a 160-foot minimum lot frontage, and that the R-40 district’s minimum road standard is a category-3 paved surface (minimum 22-foot width). Because there is no public sewer on the property, staff said the county and health department allow septic on parcels that meet a three-acre minimum; the proposed three-acre lots meet that requirement.

Commissioners asked whether adjacent lots in the subdivision are zoned the same; staff said neighboring lots are zoned R-8 and that the applicant is proposing R-40 in this case to preserve a uniform 35-foot front-yard setback where the street centerline is shifted. Commissioners also asked about access: staff said the developer will purchase the lots and that access will occur from the west via Copper Hill Lane; a previously existing second access from Highway 45 was removed and Highway 45 at that location is a ride-in/ride-out intersection.

No formal vote on the rezoning was recorded in the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript. The commission discussed a handful of remaining parcel questions the developer is addressing; staff indicated follow-up will return to the commission as needed.