Planning commission approves Ozark Ready Mix plant amid traffic, dust and lighting concerns

The Spring Hill Planning Commission voted 4-1 to approve a conditional-use permit and site plan for Ozark Ready Mix’s proposed concrete batch facility near U.S. 169 and 183rd Street, after a three-hour hearing in which residents pressed the commission to require enforceable protections for truck routing, dust and nighttime lighting.

The commission’s approval follows staff findings that the 15.1-acre, M-1–zoned site meets development standards and is compatible with adjacent industrial uses. Staff described a 5,000-square-foot development footprint — including an approximately 3,200-square-foot maintenance building, a plant building and a 600-square-foot office — and detailed photometrics showing 30-foot downcast lighting and landscaping consistent with industrial standards. City planner Ian Treffren presented the staff recommendation that the commission approve the application subject to the conditions listed in the staff report.

Residents who live near the existing batch plant said they already experience heavy truck traffic, dust on homes and yards, and intrusive nighttime lighting from a nearby facility. “When highway access isn't safe or efficient, trucks divert onto nearby roads, and that is already happening,” said Kat Knable, a nearby resident, who also said her 10-year-old daughter has asthma and asked commissioners to require enforceable dust monitoring and safe truck routing. Andy Lundberg and Patrick Splichal echoed concerns about trucks using local streets and called for improvements at the 183rd–169 intersection.

Applicant representatives described mitigation measures they said would limit those impacts. Neil Jackson of Ozark Ready Mix said the plant will be enclosed and noted the company’s measures to reduce dust and on-road tracking, including covered aggregate bunkers, dust-collection systems on silos and a paved site with a load-and-go truck wash that captures and reuses water. Engineer Mark Brewer said the design captures and recycles wash water, encloses conveyors to reduce windborne material and includes a dust-recovery system on cement silos. He estimated a conservative maximum of roughly 106 truck trips for deliveries and about 146 total daily trips when employees and other vehicle movements are included, and said many cement deliveries would cross Webster Street rather than routing onto more residential roads.

Commissioners probed those claims and asked staff to request a traffic memo from the applicant to better document trip distribution and peak-hour impacts; staff agreed that a simplified traffic memorandum would be provided. Staff also told the commission that KDOT is conducting a K‑7 corridor study that includes the area and that city staff has briefed KDOT about recent development applications.

One commissioner voted against the project, citing unresolved traffic-safety concerns along 183rd Street and nearby local roads; other commissioners said they were satisfied by the combination of staff conditions, the applicant’s proposed mitigation and the company’s willingness to provide additional traffic documentation. The approved motion includes an annual staff review and written report on the site’s operations to the planning commission.

The planning commission’s action is a recommendation to the governing body where required approvals and permits (including building permits and any KDHE industrial stormwater permitting) will be verified during the permit-review phase. The city’s permit process, staff representatives said, will check that final construction and operational details meet code and the conditions of approval.

Next procedural steps: the applicant will proceed to final permitting and the city will expect periodic reporting as specified in the approval. The commission’s packet shows several standard staff conditions remain attached to the approval.