After months of debate, packed public meetings and a formal protest from nearby property owners, the Starfish Project Foundation has won permission to move into the former Aldi and Quilters HQ building near Olathe’s Briarwood neighborhood — but the approval comes with a two-year trial period and a series of new restrictions intended to address concerns raised by neighbors.
The Olathe City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to approve Starfish’s special use permit for 16175 W. 135th Street, southwest of 135th Street and Brougham Drive. Six votes were exactly what Starfish needed because a valid protest petition had been filed by nearby property owners. Mayor John Bacon cast the only vote against the permit.
The vote overturned a recommendation from the Olathe Planning Commission, which voted 5-3 in July to recommend denial. City planning staff had recommended approval throughout the process. Fourteen property-owner entities subsequently filed formal protest petitions representing 42.6% of the eligible property within 200 feet of the site, well above the 20% threshold required to trigger the higher voting requirement.
The roughly 14,560-square-foot building previously housed Aldi and, more recently, Quilters HQ. Starfish has already leased the building but needed special permission because its food, clothing and personal-support operation is not automatically allowed under the property’s CP-1 Planned Neighborhood Business zoning.
Much of the months-long disagreement was not over whether Starfish performs valuable work, but whether this particular location — immediately beside the entrance to an established neighborhood — is appropriate for the size and nature of the operation. Briarwood residents raised concerns about traffic, parking, litter, loitering, pedestrian safety, property values and the possibility of problems spilling into the neighborhood and nearby Indian Creek Trail. Starfish supporters argued that some of those fears were exaggerated and that the standalone building would eliminate many of the parking and shared-property problems encountered at Starfish’s previous location.
Those concerns resulted in the City Council putting more guardrails around the operation than were originally proposed.
The permit is valid for only two years, rather than giving Starfish a long-term approval. Starfish must follow the activities and operating schedule contained in its statement of purpose; donations, merchandise and equipment cannot be stored or displayed outside; and only one box truck is permitted, with its box limited to 20 feet or less. The property must also go through a final site-development process addressing landscaping, parking-lot striping, trash screening and screening of exterior mechanical equipment.
But council members went considerably further Tuesday night.
Councilmember LeEtta Felter proposed a package of additional safeguards after saying she supported Starfish’s work but also believed residents deserved stronger protections if the permit were approved. Among the measures discussed were prohibiting vehicle queuing, loading or unloading on Brougham Drive and 135th Street; requiring visitors, volunteers and employees to park on Starfish property; establishing a formal traffic and parking management plan; limiting truck deliveries and pickups to operating hours; maintaining exterior lighting and security cameras; designating a local manager to respond to neighborhood concerns; keeping a complaint and incident log; conducting city reviews after six months and one year; and making clear that repeated or serious violations could lead to enforcement or revocation of the permit.
Post-meeting reporting confirms that the final approval includes a traffic and parking management plan, limits truck deliveries and pickups to operating hours, requires a local manager who can respond to neighborhood concerns and calls for city staff to formally review Starfish’s operation after six months and again after one year.
The council also required creation of a “Good Neighbor Committee.” The group is expected to include representatives from Starfish, nearby residents, the Briarwood Homes Association, city staff and the Olathe Police Department. Felter described it as a communication group rather than a governing body — a way for Starfish and its new neighbors to address problems before they grow into larger disputes.
Those requirements could have teeth. City planning officials told council members that complaints can be investigated through the city and that Olathe’s Unified Development Ordinance includes a formal process to revoke a special use permit. Starfish will also have to return to the public approval process when its two-year permit expires.
Police data becomes part of the debate
One of the most significant new pieces of information presented Tuesday came from Olathe Police Chief Mike Butaud, who brought police-call data from Starfish’s previous locations.
At the former Clairborne Road location, police recorded 104 calls for service throughout the surrounding commercial area during the period examined. Only seven calls were specifically associated with Starfish’s address, and just two resulted in police reports. At Starfish’s later Santa Fe and Parker-area location, police recorded 52 calls in the surrounding area, but only two were tied specifically to Starfish’s address, with one resulting in a police report. Butaud described the overall numbers as typical for commercial areas.
Police also investigated claims raised during earlier meetings about homeless encampments along the nearby Indian Creek Trail. Butaud said the department’s bicycle unit checked the trail at different times on approximately five to 10 occasions and found no evidence of an encampment. He emphasized that being homeless is not illegal, while trespassing on private property can be addressed by police.
Starfish officials have said people experiencing homelessness represent less than 5% of the organization’s clientele. The nonprofit primarily provides free groceries, clothing, hygiene products and other necessities to families and individuals in need. KSHB reports Starfish currently assists roughly 1,200 to 1,800 people per week, depending on demand.
City takes another look at traffic
Traffic remained one of the biggest concerns for neighbors, particularly because Brougham serves as an entrance to Briarwood and is near Tomahawk Elementary School.
City engineers told council members that Starfish estimates approximately 40 vehicles arriving per hour, which would amount to roughly 80 vehicle trips when arrivals and departures are counted. For comparison, Olathe engineers estimated a conventional retail use in the same size building at roughly 99 peak-hour trips, while a grocery store such as the Aldi that previously occupied the property would be expected to generate still more.
The city also presented actual historical intersection counts. In 2012, while Aldi was operating, approximately 44,000 vehicles per day moved through the 135th and Brougham intersection. A September 2025 count put the total at about 35,000 vehicles per day. City engineers cautioned that traffic counts can vary and said the figures do not allow them to attribute the difference solely to Aldi.
Two new right-turn lanes are also being constructed at the intersection — one for westbound 135th Street traffic turning north onto Brougham and another for northbound Brougham traffic turning east onto 135th Street. City officials stressed that those improvements were already planned and are not being built because of Starfish. They are expected to be completed this fall, with October mentioned during Tuesday’s meeting.
Starfish acknowledges problems at its previous location
Starfish Board Vice President LaVern Fields also directly addressed the problems that led to the nonprofit leaving its previous Santa Fe location.
Fields acknowledged that parking became a serious problem because Starfish shared a strip-center parking lot and service alley with other businesses. Neighboring customers complained about Starfish clients occupying parking spaces close to their businesses, and the landlord eventually exercised a 90-day clause requiring Starfish to leave. Fields also acknowledged criticism over litter and said Starfish chose to take responsibility for cleaning the property rather than argue over where individual pieces of trash came from.
He argued that the 135th Street property is fundamentally different.
For the first time, Starfish would occupy a standalone building with its own parking and loading dock, rather than sharing a shopping center with neighboring tenants. Fields said that means Starfish can also be held directly accountable for what happens on its property.
That argument appeared to persuade six members of the council.
Mayor Bacon remained unconvinced. He said his concern was not with Starfish’s mission but with the possibility that this particular land use could negatively affect people who have invested in their homes nearby. Bacon ultimately cast the sole no vote.
Councilmembers Kevin Deneault, Dean Vakas, Robyn Essex, LeEtta Felter, Matthew Schoonover and Jeff Creighton all voted yes.
For Starfish, the decision ends months of uncertainty and clears the way for the organization to establish the larger Olathe home it has been seeking since leaving its longtime Clairborne Road location for the city’s I-35 and Santa Fe interchange project.
For Briarwood residents, however, the vote does not end the issue.
The two-year permit, six-month and one-year reviews, traffic plan and Good Neighbor Committee essentially turn the approval into a closely watched test period. If the organization follows the restrictions and the problems feared by opponents do not materialize, Starfish will have a record to point to when it returns for renewal.
If significant problems do occur, the city now has both a record of the neighborhood’s concerns and specific conditions against which Starfish’s performance can be measured.
After months of arguments about what might happen at 16175 W. 135th Street, the question now changes.
Starfish has its chance to prove it can be the good neighbor it has promised to be — and the next two years will determine whether that promise holds.
Something Different Media Group
