Hearne: Bombs Away as Developers Aim to Develop Olathe ‘Flyway’

Talk about flying low…

The horsies are history but the airport is still alive and kicking. And therein lies the problem, says Olathe homeowner Bill Nigro.

Let’s begin with a moment of silence for the fabled Hilltop Stables near the Johnson County Executive Airport in Olathe.

“You know what? It closed down about a month and a half ago and nobody’s written anything about it,” Nigro says. “And the developers have plans for the property even though it’s in the flyway of the airport.”

Meaning, planes that come and go at Executive pass over the property.

This isn’t the first time developers have tried to develop the grounds, Nigro says.

“There’s been more money spent in the judicial system on that property than what it’s worth,” Nigro says. “Because it’s located right in the path where the planes at Johnson County Executive take off and land. And there’s a law that says you can’t build any structures in that flyway – that’s the law.”

For now it is, anyway.

“It’s coming to a head this coming Monday at the Olathe city planning meeting at Olathe City Hall,” Nigro says. “They’ve already had one meeting and the neighbors who went to that one were really pissed because they want to put a gas station, a convenience store, a car wash, a bank, some offices and a restaurant in there – probably a fast food restaurant. And they’re mad because they moved out there because it was a quiet neighborhood.”

Though others have failed, Nigro – who lives nearby – is afraid this could be the plan that, you know, flies.

“The developers who bought it knew it’s been a controversial property,” Nigro says. “And they took advantage of that and bought it cheap. And now they’re suing the airport and the county.”

Stay tuned…