Plans for new building to house Flint Hills Technical College programs have moved forward. Plans for a 7Brew Coffee location in northwest Emporia are now stuck in traffic, in a manner of speaking.
The Planning Commission approved the official rezoning of 615 Overlander, changing that from Lyon County Light Industrial to Emporia Light Industrial. The board also approved a conditional use permit for a technical college.
For Flint Hills Technical College, this sets the stage for housing the Precision Agriculture and CDL programs. And College President Caron Daugherty says there is work ahead to make sure the space is ready for students.
On KVOE’s Tech Talk before the vote, Daugherty said ongoing construction on Overlander Road — including bridge replacement, a third driving lane, curb and gutter, new water line and new storm sewer — will help the college programs once they are ready.
The Planning Commission also approved a conditional use permit for storing RVs outdoors at 2606 West Highway 50, provided the space does not allow inoperable vehicles or RVs in disrepair to park there.
The Lyon County Board of Zoning Appeals, meanwhile, had a variance request from 7Brew involving the front and side yard building line at 2803 Eaglecrest, in the same parking lot as Emporia’s west Taco Bell location — but Tuesday’s conversation had nothing to do with the building line. In fact, board members expressed significant concerns about traffic flow, both in the parking lot affecting both businesses and for 18th and Eaglecrest, which is already busy with McDonalds across 18th as well as Starbucks currently on Eaglecrest but planning to move to the One9 travel plaza at some point. Developers did not attend the meeting, so the BZA tabled the request to give the developers a chance to answer questions in a public meeting.
