Topeka Planning Commission Meeting Summary - October 20, 2026

The Topeka Planning Commission met on October 20, 2026, with a recorded start time of 00:33 UTC, and seven members present: Brooks, Bowling, Hannon, Heron, Lawley, Nelson, and Pearson. The commission held public hearings and action items on a PUD rezoning, a zoning code text amendment, and a comprehensive plan amendment. It approved the first two items, continued the third to a later meeting, and received general public comments about data center impacts. No agenda or minutes were included in the source materials.

Opening Business

• Roll call established a quorum with seven commissioners present.
• The commission approved the minutes from the September 21 meeting with 3 votes in favor, 0 opposed, and 4 abstentions.
• No conflicts of interest or ex parte communications were declared.

Action Item: PUD 2607 - AMICO Station, 5977 SW 29th Street

• Staff presented a request to rezone a 0.915-acre property at the southwest corner of Wanamaker and 29th Street from C2 commercial to PUD for C2 commercial uses. The site is a gas station with a 1,000-square-foot convenience store.
• The PUD would reduce the required rear yard setback from 25 feet to 10 feet for a proposed new convenience store. Staff noted that PUDs are traditionally at least one acre, but staff allowed this slightly smaller site to proceed.
• The applicant, represented by Travis Hazlip of Cook Flat and Struble Engineers, said the project would replace the store with a more modern, larger building and needs the reduced setback to improve site circulation and traffic flow and avoid reconstructing the canopy.
• Staff recommended approval subject to 11 conditions, including landscaping or fencing along the rear property line. Staff said the shared private access driveway to the south would not be affected.
• A neighborhood meeting on September 30 drew one attendee, legal counsel for neighboring property owners to the south and east, who submitted a letter objecting that the variance was unfair to similarly zoned properties and did not arise from a condition unique to the site.
• No public comment was offered during the hearing.
• The commission voted 7-0 to approve PUD 2607 with the staff conditions.

Action Item: Zoning Text Amendment CZR2604

• Staff said this broad text amendment had been discussed at three prior meetings and does not include data centers or energy storage systems. It changes land use tables, definitions, and special use standards in multiple zoning code chapters.
• Drinking establishments: The amendment would allow a drinking establishment in the C2 district without a conditional use permit if it is accessory to a permitted primary use, is a principal use no larger than 2,000 square feet as calculated by the Shawnee County appraiser, or occupies no more than 40 percent of an existing multi-tenant commercial building. Live music or entertainment outside the enclosed building would not be permitted; larger or other establishments could still apply for a conditional use permit. Staff cited the former Dutch Goose at about 1,200 square feet and Abigail's at more than 6,000 square feet as examples of the range of establishments.
• Large truck services: A convenience store with fuel pumps that also offers large truck services would be treated like a truck stop and require a conditional use permit, reflecting the larger traffic and street impacts.
• Modular homes and multiple units: The amendment would add a definition for modular homes built to the International Residential Code and clarify that multiple single-family detached dwellings may be placed on one lot. New special use standards would require site and landscape plans, minimum building separations of 15 feet, or 8 feet rear-to-rear, and off-street parking based on dwelling size.
• Short-term rentals: During discussion, a commissioner asked that the owner-manager requirement clearly allow owners to manage their own rental properties. Staff agreed to add owner to the language.
• Secondhand shops and pawn shops: Staff said they had not been able to fully separate pawn shops from secondhand shops. Keeping them together and allowing secondhand shops in X1 districts was important to the NOTO area. The chair said she would prefer more restrictions on pawn shops but was willing to move forward.
• No public comment was offered.
• The commission voted 7-0 to approve the text amendment.

Action Item: CPA 2602 - Land Use and Growth Management Plan 2040 Update

• Staff said the plan update had been discussed at prior meetings and is intended to reflect how policies have been interpreted and applied since the plan was adopted in 2015, update density references, encourage adaptive reuse of vacant or underutilized commercial properties for multifamily residential use, and incorporate the downtown master plan. Future land use map examples at 6th and Fairlawn and near Lake Shawnee would change to mixed use.
• Commissioner Brooks asked about annexation exceptions for city water and sewer service; staff explained that utility regulations allow specific exemptions, often involving one-lot residential plats. Commissioner Brooks also suggested adding a mechanism to require a future comprehensive review of the plan, and staff said they could consider adding such a review date.
• Commissioner Pearson said she was not comfortable voting on the item without more time to review the material and would have abstained if forced to vote. The commission instead moved to continue the item for one month.
• The public hearing was opened and closed with no public testimony.
• The commission voted 7-0 to delay the vote and continue CPA 2602 to the next meeting. Staff said the continued item would not require a new public hearing advertisement.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Megan Ryan, with Protect Kansas, spoke against proposed data center siting near residential areas. She cited health concerns from lead exposure at the former firing range near the Compass proposal, potential contamination at MTAA Forbes Field, EPA deregulation, and diesel exhaust from a facility she described as 840 megawatts. She said low-income communities such as Monterra were being treated as sacrifice zones and asked whether an elementary school would be built next to a 600-megawatt facility.
• Mike Bradley, a Monterra resident and former private pilot, spoke against locating hyperscale data centers near Topeka Regional Airport. He said thermal plumes from cooling towers, condenser arrays, and exhaust stacks, often 14 to 25 degrees above ambient temperature, could pose hazards to aircraft during takeoff, landing, and traffic patterns. He cited FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-4B and airport grant assurance requirements and asked the commission to consult the FAA.
• Staff responded that the city's three-mile extraterritorial authority applies only to subdivision plating, not zoning, so the data centers discussed outside the city limits would fall under county jurisdiction. Commissioner Brooks said the airport concern made sense, but staff said the county would be the relevant authority. The city's data center text amendments will first be presented to the governing body before returning to the commission.

Discussion Items

• Special Committee on Housing: A commissioner reported that the committee had not met and was considering whether to move to a quarterly schedule or re-evaluate its planning-related work; an email about the committee's future would be sent.
• Communications and next steps: Staff noted the February agenda would include an action item and a parking discussion. A vacant commission seat was being processed for appointment. The duplex text amendment is scheduled for the governing body on November 10.

Key Outcomes

• PUD 2607 approved 7-0 with conditions.
• Zoning text amendment CZR2604 approved 7-0.
• CPA 2602 continued to the next meeting by a 7-0 vote.
• No formal action was taken on the data center public comments.
• The housing committee will communicate its future schedule by email.