Amazon Drones come to Kansas City and new subdivisions in the Northland.
- Northland
- Fairlane
- West Plaza
- Plaza Westport
- Clayton
- Gashland
- Old Hyde Park
- Southmoreland
City Planning Commission
Wednesday, April 2nd at 9am
The City Planning Commission (CPC) was attended this week by Vice Chair Tyler Enders, Commissioner Matt Hasek, Commissioner Luis Padilla, Commissioner Forestine Beasley, Commissioner Betsy Lynch, and Commissioner Sean Arkin.
CD-CPC-2025-00036 approved a new residential subdivision within the Northland, containing 31 units. The subject site is currently undeveloped, with additional neighborhoods to the south, and commercial property to the north and east.
CD-CPC-2025-00040 requested the approval of a plan showing the construction of a new warehouse located at 15100 Hardesty Ave, within the Fairlane neighborhood. This warehouse is a part of the previously approved I-49 Commerce Center. The site currently sits undeveloped.
Both of the previous two cases were placed on the City Planning Commission’s consent docket, and were therefore recommended for approval without much discussion.
CD-SUP-2024-00048 requested the approval of a Special Use Permit (SUP) which would allow vehicle maintenance and mechanic repair at 100 E 39th St, near the Old Hyde Park and Southmoreland neighborhoods. This case was heard at the last City Planning Commission meeting on April 2nd. There, the commission directed the applicant, Jose Cordova, to produce documents showing more details about the flow of the site, including upgrades to the building, striping for vehicle parking, and the nature of proposed fencing on the site.
Jacob Hodson, an urban planner from Ollson Studio, also attended the meeting on April 2nd for a different case. Seeing Cordova’s confusion at the Commission’s requests, Hodson offered to assist Cordova. At Wednesday’s meeting, Hodson acted on behalf of the applicant and prepared the additional documents that were requested. City planner Ahnna Nanoski also presented this case with Hodson.
According to Hodson, the building had already received many of the planned improvements before the applicant had requested the Special Use Permit. After reviewing the new site plan, the commissioners suggested some small edits to traffic flow on the site. After the applicant agreed to these changes, the commission unanimously recommended approval of the case.
CD-SUP-2025-00010 approved a Special Use Permit (SUP) to allow Amazon to develop a drone delivery service within an existing warehouse, located at 4001 E 149th St near the southern edge of Kansas City. City Planner Ahnna Nanoksi presented this case with a representative from Amazon, Sam Bailey.
Nanoski gave a short presentation about the site, followed by Bailey, who gave more details about the logistics of drone delivery. The warehouse currently employs over 600 people and sits within Kansas City’s 6th district. Prime Air, the drone delivery service, has been operating since 2022 in College Station, Texas and Tolleson, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona). Amazon was approved to operate their new MK30 drones by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2024, which is the model of drone which will be used in Kansas City.
According to Bailey the MK30 drone has several advantages, including autonomous operations, detection technology to avoid obstacles, 40% quieter operations, and greater resistance to wind and rain. When using Amazon Air, customers define a delivery area, which could include a backyard, driveway, or sidewalk. The drone service is integrated into Amazon.com, but customers have the option to opt out of the service if they choose.
The drone has a range of 7 miles for delivery, and flies at 58 miles per house between the warehouse and the dropoff location. The drones are designed by Amazon, built in Washington state, and tested prior to operation in Pendleton, Oregon. According to Bailey, the approval process requires Amazon to coordinate with the local FAA office, hospitals, and other aviation services to determine where drones need to avoid flying. The City Planning Commission recommended approval of this Special Use Permit.
CD-CPC-2025-00019 and CD-CPC-2025-00001 requested a rezoning from Residential to Neighborhood-Business at 4420 & 4408 Madison Ave, near the West Plaza and Plaza Westport neighborhoods. This rezoning was required for the zoning to match the building’s use as an office space for Genesis Companies. City planner Ahnna Nanoksi presented this case.
Genesis Companies is a real estate developer for Kansas City, owning over 90 hotels. Omid Shahbazian, a representative from Genesis Companies, also attended the meeting to answer any questions. The commission unanimously recommended approval of these cases.
CD-CPC-2025-00038, CD-CPC-2025-00034, and CD-CPC-2025-00033 approved a development plan for a single-family subdivision located at 6717 N Holly St, within the Clayton neighborhood in the Northland. City planner Mattew Barnes presented this case with applicant planners from Ollson Studio. Currently, the subject site remains undeveloped, but is surrounded by other single family subdivisions. The plans call for 57 homes, a dog park and walking trails, and three entrances to the subdivision.
Qiyamah Muhammad and Jacob Hodson, from Ollson Studios, also attended the meeting to answer any questions. During public testimony, a resident from the area brought up her concerns about runoff water on site. The resident stated that she wasn’t necessarily opposed to the development, but was concerned with how runoff would be managed. Another resident was worried about the congestion produced by the new homes in the area. The representative from Ollson Studio informed the residents about the infrastructure improvements which would handle the additional stormwater being produced. The commission recommended approval of these cases.
CD-CPC-2025-00028 and CD-CPC-2025-00030 approved a development plan for 7800 N Oak Trfy, within the Gashland neighborhood, just north of Gladstone. City planner Geneieve Kohn presented this case to the commission with applicant Sam Molinowski, from SM Engineering.
This plan includes construction of townhome style buildings, totalling 29 for rent units in 8 different buildings. The plan also includes adequate amenities to address the creek that runs through the site. The developers also included park features around green space on the site. The City Planning Commission recommended approval of these cases.
Grayson Johnston is the author of This Week at City Hall, and an Urban Planning and Design Student at UMKC. He moved to Kansas City two years ago and has loved it ever since. Grayson became interested in community and neighborhoods while still in high school, when he discovered the field of Urban Planning. As he learned about the theory of walkability, transit, and strong communities, Grayson became committed to going to planning school and starting a career growing his community.
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