Kaw Valley Greenhouses Seeks New Seasonal Market Location at Southview Plaza
A proposal to relocate Kaw Valley Greenhouses’ seasonal open-air market within Southview Plaza was on the Salina Planning Commission agenda Tuesday afternoon. The request, filed as Application #SUP26-001, seeks approval of a special use permit for a 14,000-square-foot seasonal market in the central portion of the Southview Plaza parking lot at 1808 S. 9th Street, near the southwest corner of South 9th Street and Cloud Street.
According to the staff report, the applicant is Megan Pickford on behalf of Kaw Valley Greenhouses, Inc., and the property owner is listed as Southview Plaza of Salina, LLC (Genesis Health Club). City planners described the site as an 8.07-acre tract used for multi-tenant commercial space and parking.
City documents show Kaw Valley Greenhouses has operated an outdoor garden center at Southview Plaza since 2014, originally from the northeast corner of the parking lot under a previously approved special use permit. Staff said this year’s request was triggered after the company submitted a temporary-use application showing the market in a different location than the one previously approved by the Planning Commission. Because of that location change, city staff said a new special use permit was required. If approved, the new permit would replace the earlier approval.
The proposed market would be located east of Sky Trampoline and Charles D. Jones in the central section of the parking lot. According to the staff report, the garden center would continue to function as a seasonal outdoor retail site selling plants, flowers, garden accessories, and fresh fruits and vegetables. No permanent structures or physical changes to the parking lot are proposed.
For 2026, the staff report says Kaw Valley would begin operations as soon as practicable after Planning Commission approval and completion of required building review and inspections. Beginning in 2027, the market would be limited to operating from March 1 through June 15 each year. Proposed hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The site plan includes a 20-by-40-foot shade structure, a 21-by-36-foot Quonset greenhouse, and a fenced sales area. The application states electricity would come from an existing pole and meter, water would come from the property’s irrigation system, and a portable toilet would be placed on site. The applicant also told the city the operation would use no amplified sound and would rely on daily cleanup, backhaul trash removal, and on-site security measures including locks and cameras as needed.
Parking was one of the main issues reviewed by staff. The city report says the 14,000-square-foot market footprint would cover about 46 existing parking spaces and require 56 additional spaces under city code. Even with those impacts, staff calculated that Southview Plaza would still remain in compliance with off-street parking requirements, with nine surplus parking spaces left over during market operations. The report lists 449 existing spaces at the plaza compared with 338 required spaces at full occupancy.
City planners also noted that the operation has a long track record at the property. Staff wrote that Kaw Valley has operated there for 11 years without known noise complaints and that the proposed relocation within the same shopping center would not significantly change the market’s operating characteristics or create adverse effects for surrounding properties. Staff also found the proposed site configuration, including fencing and interior placement in the lot, would help reduce vehicle-pedestrian conflicts.
One item that does not fully match city code is the proposed banner sign. The staff report says Kaw Valley is requesting use of a 3-foot by 10-foot banner, which is larger than the normal 10-square-foot sign limit for this type of temporary use. However, planners noted that the same banner size was authorized under the previous special use permit and said the Planning Commission has the authority to allow it again as a condition of approval.
Staff recommended approval of the application, subject to 11 conditions. Those conditions include limiting the site to a single operator, restricting the season and hours of operation, requiring all activity to stay within the approved fenced footprint, requiring structural plans and anchoring details for the temporary structures to be approved by the Building Official, and requiring the site to be cleared and restored by June 20 each year. If approved, future renewals could be handled administratively through a temporary-use permit as long as the market does not change in scope and stays in compliance with the approved plan.