By Mallory Herrmann
citydesk@lstribune.ne

The preliminary development plan for Extra Space, a climate-controlled storage warehouse, has been denied by the city council.

The preliminary development plan (PDP) for Extra Space was initially recommended for approval by the commission on Jul. 24. But the city council remanded the application on Aug. 23, citing concerns about the general appearance of the building and about the mixed use of outdoor insulated units and indoor heated and cooled storage units.

The PDP was approved a second time with a unanimous vote by the planning commission on Oct. 25. Commission Chair Jason Norbury said at that meeting that he hoped the city council’s concerns had been adequately addressed.

Mayor Bill Baird said that the commission had acted “a little bit clueless” as to why the application had been sent back to them.

Many of the councilmembers cited concerns about the size of the building, as well as potential for parking and traffic headaches in both Extra Space itself and existing businesses nearby.

The developer was thanked for coming to Lee’s Summit with the proposal and for making changes to their plan in collaboration with city staff, including a reduction of the number of buildings, outdoor signs, building height and number of units available. The revised plan also included more windows and architectural elements to make it look more like traditional office space.

But ultimately traffic and the size of the building kept most of the council from supporting the plan. Councilmembers Rob Binney and Bob Johnson were the only two votes in favor. Councilmember Trish Carlyle was absent from the Nov. 6 meeting.

“I don’t feel too good about that,” Baird said of the decision after casting his vote against it. “We can talk more in the future, maybe, if you guys still want to deal with us.”

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