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Planning Department

• Comprehensive Plan
• Development Guidelines
• Site Plans
• Plats
• Excise Tax
• Storm Water Detention
• Open Space Fees
• Fair Housing
• General Use Regulations

The Planning Department provides staff assistance to the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals. Staff is responsible for reviewing, updating, and initiating proposals to carry out the Comprehensive Plan, as well as preparing general planning and subdivision ordinances.

Other duties include administering city ordinances pertaining to zoning, subdivision activities and the sign code. The department also reviews site plans, prepares city maps, administers Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects, and prepares special reports detailing demographic trends and development patterns in the City.

Comprehensive Plan

The Comprehensive Plan for the City of Shawnee provides a policy framework for providing stability in the developed areas and guidance in future growth and change. Goals and objectives identified in the plan are used as tools to evaluate development proposals; the plan is not a rigid, graphic representation of community land use. Individual proposals are reviewed in relation to the goals and objectives in the plan as well as the recommended land use for the general area, the impact upon the neighborhood and the impact on the community at large.

Development Guidelines

Regulations pertaining to development, including land use, zoning, site plans, and special use permits are contained in the Subdivision Ordinance (Shawnee Municipal Code Title 16) and Zoning Ordinance (Shawnee Municipal Code Title 17).

Site Plans

Site Plan approval is required in the City of Shawnee to encourage the compatible arrangement of buildings, off-street parking, ingress and egress, lighting, landscaping, and drainage of the site, promote safety and convenience for the public and preserve property values of surrounding properties.

Site plan approval is required before a building permit may be issued for any duplex, multi-family, commercial or industrial buildings. Site plans are also required for any special permit use, and for any for rezoning to any zoning district besides the Agriculture (AG) district or the standard single family residential districts.

Site plan approval generally includes landscaping requirements for the site. The final site inspection includes verification of whether the approved size, type, and number of plantings have been installed.

Parking lots that contain more than a double row of stalls must have exterior and interior landscaping. At least 6% of the interior of the parking lot must be landscaped.

In general, one street tree per 50' of street frontage and 16 site trees per acre of open space are required. Trees may be clustered and need not be planted evenly at 50' intervals. In addition, one tree is required for every dwelling unit in single family use districts. Deciduous trees must be a minimum 2" caliper, ornamental trees are required to be a minimum 6-8' tall and coniferous trees must be at least 5' tall when planted. All primary lawn areas must be sodded. All landscaping must be in place prior to issuance of a final certificate of occupancy.

Site Plan Fees

Industrial

Gross Floor Area
Up to 10,000 sq. ft. $100
10,001 - 50,000 sq. ft. $125
50,001 - 100,000 sq. ft. $150
Over 100,000 sq. ft. $175

Commercial

Gross Floor Area
Up to 5,000 sq. ft. $100
5,001 - 10,000 sq. ft. $125
10,001 - 25,000 sq. ft. $150
25,001 - 100,000 sq. ft. $175
Over 100,000 sq. ft. $200

The first step in seeking approval of a site plan is to request a pre-application conference with a member of the Planning staff.  They may be contacted by phone at (913) 631-2500, x-227, for an appointment.

Preliminary and Final Plats

A Plat is a formal document containing a legal description of a parcel of land, including survey dimensions, angles, and curves prepared by a licensed engineer or land surveyor. In Shawnee, platting generally is required whenever a tract of land is split into 2 or more tracts, lots, or parcels.

The City of Shawnee requires the submission of both a preliminary and final plat. The preliminary plat is reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission. A preliminary plat indicates where the developer intends to locate lots, rights-of-way, easements and open spaces, and their relationship with neighboring developments and the Land Use Guide. Approval of a preliminary plat is effective for 1 year, unless the Planning Commission grants an extension. If a final plat is not submitted within 1 year of the approval of a preliminary plat, the preliminary plat must be resubmitted to the Planning Commission for approval. Approval of the preliminary plat does not constitute acceptance of a subdivision, but rather is an authorization to proceed with the preparation of a final plat. The application fee for filing a preliminary plat is $50 plus $1 for each lot over 50 lots, with a minimum fee of $50. The fee must accompany the application for approval of the preliminary plat.

Final plats are reviewed and approved by both the Planning Commission and the City Council.  The application fee for a final plat is $50. After being approved, a final plat is filed with the Johnson County Register of Deeds, and regulates how the land described in the plat will be subdivided.

The first step in seeking approval of a preliminary plat is to request a pre-application conference with a member of the Planning staff and Engineering Division. They may be contacted by phone at (913) 631-2500, x-227, for an appointment.

Peripheral Street Fund and Excise Tax

All plats approved and accepted by the governing body and recorded in the Johnson County Register of Deeds' office on or after July 1, 1998 are subject to an excise tax. For purposes of calculating the tax, the area of the plat shall not include land dedicated and accepted by the City for public right-of-way for arterial or collector streets or land dedicated to and accepted by the City for open space. The excise tax is 21.5 cents per square foot of the area of the plat, provided that the area will be modified by certain deductions, exceptions, and credits.

All plats approved and accepted by the governing body and recorded in the Johnson County Register of Deeds' office before July 1, 1998 were subject to a Peripheral Street Fund resolution. The Peripheral Street Fund resolution was applied to all property developed with frontage on or lying within 1/4 mile of a designated City arterial or collector street. This fee was calculated based on a per-square-foot cost for land within 1/4 mile of a designated arterial or collector street. The Peripheral Street Fund was only applied to the unimproved streets the applicant was not required to improve as part of the requirements for a new development. The amount was generally based on the estimated cost of constructing such a street.

Storm Water Detention

On-site storm water detention is normally required for proposed residential subdivisions greater than 20 acres and commercial properties greater than 5 acres. Fee payment in lieu of on-site storm water detention may be allowed on residential properties less than 20 acres, or non-residential properties less than 5 acres, where it can be shown that there are no drainage inadequacies within 1,000 feet downstream of the subject property.

Open Space Fees

Shawnee Municipal Code Section 16.16.050, Open Space Dedication and in Lieu Fees, requires the reservation and dedication of land for schools, parks, playgrounds, or other public recreational areas or open spaces for subdivisions more than 5 acres in size. Public ways, such as streets and easements are not considered open space.   If the Planning Commission determines that the tract being subdivided is unacceptable for dedication, it can require an open space fee in lieu of dedication of open space.  The open space fee is calculated by one of three methods and must be paid to the City prior to the issuance of building permits on each individual lot:

• Residential - $300/dwelling unit
• Commercial - $0.03/square foot of building lot
• Industrial - $0.018/square foot of building lot

Fair Housing

It is the policy of the City of Shawnee to provide, within constitutional limitations, for fair housing within the City limits. The City of Shawnee has adopted by Ordinance a fair housing policy to prohibit discrimination in the sale or rental of housing within the City. The fair housing policy includes provisions to protect the sale or rental of housing, financing of housing and housing brokerage services. The City of Shawnee’s fair housing policy established a Fair Housing Committee and outlines the procedure for the committee to hear complaints. Any person who violates any of the provisions within the City of Shawnee’s Fair Housing Policy adopted by Ordinance 1676 is subject to the established penalties.

General Use Regulations: Municipal Code 17.51

The Table of General Use Regulations (pdf) is a matrix designed to provide a listing of permitted, special use and non-permitted uses in each zoning district.  The list provides by reference other applicable sections of the code which may be applicable to a specific use, along with a parking code identification.

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