Lecompton — Developer J. Stewart walked into the Lecompton City Council meeting Thursday night with a stack of drawings and high hopes that the meeting would lead to plans to complete his housing and business development project.
Stewart first approached the council more than a year ago with a concept of growth for the small town of 750 people. Council member Nancy Howard, also known as the "matriarch of Lecompton," said it was what the city wanted.
"We called together about 50 citizens and we asked them what they wanted to see the city do," Howard said. "Three-fourths of them said they wanted to see the city grow."
Although that may have been what residents were saying a year ago, Thursday night's meeting brought into the open the many reservations Lecompton residents had about the new additions.
Stewart said the proposed development southeast of Lecompton could bring up to 2,000 new houses, many new businesses, a new school, a pool and a trailer park.
With the realization that the plans included a trailer park moving into town, some of the reservations escalated into full-blown arguments between Stewart and several residents.
Issues also were raised about tax increases, overdevelopment and affordability.
One resident accused Stewart of avoiding scheduled meetings to make development plans more concrete. Stewart advised the group that he was fully committed to making the plans a reality, but he did allow that, in some aspects of planning, "right now, it's only a dream."
Stewart isn't completely alone in his desire to see Lecompton grow. Several council members, including Mayor Roy Paslay, explained to the group that growth was inevitable.
"This is going to happen, whether we annex (the proposed development site) or not," Paslay said.
Paslay said at the rate Lawrence is growing, if Lecompton didn't take advantage of the land, Lawrence would. The development site is near Lawrence's northwestern boundary.
Should that happen, Paslay said, Lecompton would not have the chance to expand.
Stewart told those gathered that he still hoped the people of Lecompton would join his excitement to make the expansion a reality. He said he was confident that plans would be agreed upon soon. Outside of the council meetings, Stewart noted, he encountered many people who wanted to see Lecompton grow.
"Every time I talk to someone, they say when they try to go to Kroeger's (Country Meats), it's not open," Stewart said. "They want more options and more convenience." Kroeger's is the only retail store in Lecompton.
Paslay said the council did not have any additional meetings scheduled on Stewart's proposal.
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