The Sumner County Board of Commissioners has approved the application change of zoning and conditional use permit for the Lakes Development Company’s proposed casino development site at Exit 33.
According to a media release by the commissioners, the board approved the zoning change to permit commercial development at the site east of the Exit 33 interchange of the Kansas Turnpike. A conditional use permit which was also approved would also allow the use of the land for a casino if approved by the Kansas Lottery and Gaming Commission.
The board approved the application after receiving a “significant amount of evidence which addressed the concerns raised by the Planning Commission which had recommended that the application be denied.”
Drainage and storm water run-off, along with traffic and availability of utilities to the area were all major concerns brought up at a meeting for the Planning Commission. The commission voted against the zoning change and conditional use permit at a meeting in early May.
A vote to approve the site was met with a majority of opposition from the board as it failed to pass with a 4 to 6 vote. Board members Steve Lang, Ed Larson, Max Stinley and Daryl Yearout voted in favor of re-zoning the project. A formal denial vote was passed immediately afterward, with Yearout changing his vote to go with the majority.
Those against the Lakes sites stood and cheered as the denial vote passed.
Proponents for Lakes noted the Sumner County Comprehensive Plan designates the area as appropriate for commercial development while engineering plans presented provided for a retention system to hold storm water on site and to “maintain, if not decrease the present rate and amount of runoff.”
Lakes representatives also presented an agreement with the Kansas Turnpike Authority which would allow for direct access from the turnpike to the proposed casino site — accounting for 85 percent of the traffic to and from the casino, the release said.
A pre-development agreement with Prairie Sky was also reached at the meeting, Tuesday. On Monday, May 18, Prairie Sky told the Board of County Commissioners they were committed to building a hotel of at least 180 rooms in the initial phase of development if selected by the state. The board then approved a resolution for endorsement the next day for the Prairie Sky site at US 81 and K-53 on the condition that Prairie Sky withdraw from their proposed site at K-53 and Hydraulic, use efforts to promote the US 81 site over the other sites from Prairie Sky and explore potential for funding alternatives for utilities in the area.
The pre-development agreement has been signed by the commissioner and a representative for Prairie Sky, the media release said. The agreement includes all the conditions of the endorsement. The agreement also includes a provision for infrastructure to potentially include funds for a utility district to provide infrastructure not only to the project, but the surrounding area.
Wellington, Kan. —
