Overview
- The Olathe City Council voted to approve the Starfish Project Foundation's permit, meeting the six-vote supermajority required to move into a vacant building near 135th and Mur-Len.
- The nonprofit plans to occupy a roughly 15,000-square-foot building on about 3 acres that backs up to four Briarwood homes and sits a few blocks from Tomahawk Elementary School.
- The decision reverses a 5-3 denial by the Olathe Planning Commission and followed a recommendation in favor from city staff.
- Neighbors voiced concerns about traffic, property values, crime, loitering and littering while Starfish leaders said fewer than 5% of clients are homeless and warned losing a permanent site would hurt the families they serve.
- Starfish serves about 1,000 people each week, needs space for parking and loading docks, and now can begin planning tenant improvements and occupancy while the community watches for any conditions or operational rules the city imposes.