New development plats in the Northland, CID and PIEA designations across town, and updates to the zoning code to include standards for Data Centers.
- Brown Estates
- Center City
- Crossroads
- Downtown Loop
- Eastwood Hills
- Hyde Park
- Northland
- Tri-Blenheim
- Union Hill
Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee
Tuesday, July 15th at 1:30pm
The Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee is headed by Chairperson Ryana Parks-Shaw, Vice Chair Eric Bunch, and Councilmembers Nathan Willett and Melissa Patterson Hazley.
Ordinance 250511 requested approval of the plat for Fareway Meat Market, located at 1307 W 79th St in the Ward Parkway Plaza neighborhood, allowing for the expansion of the facilities onto three residential parcels south of the site (7918, 7922, and 7924 Mercier St). This item was on the Committee’s Consent Agenda, and was recommended for approval with little deliberation.
The Kansas City Star published an article on this development in April of this year.
Ordinance 250513 requested approval of a petition to establish the Grey Oaks Community Improvement District located at the east of North Oak Trafficway and south of Northeast 79th Terrace in the Northland. Councilmember Wes Rogers was the sponsor of this ordinance. Patricia Jensen and Patrick Sterrett, representatives for the applicant, presented the ordinance to the case.
The Grey Oaks site is a shopping center which was purchased by the current property owner in 2018. In his testimony, he stated that he has been diligent in making attempts to revitalize the property, but has fallen short of goals due to limited cash flow from tenants. The proposed CID would address deteriorating conditions on the site such as roof, concrete, asphalt, electrical, and drainage. It would levy a 1% sales tax and last for 27 years.
The Committee recommended approval of the ordinance.
Resolution 250515 requested appointment of Alexa Barkley, George Farrill, Danny Lake, and Rob Sight as successor directors to the Martin City Community Improvement District.
The Committee recommended approval of the resolution with little deliberation.
Ordinance 250521 and Resolution 250522 requested to rezone the site at E. 12th St and Hardesty Ave in the Sheffield neighborhood from B3-2 and R-1.5 to B1-1 to allow for the construction of a new medical clinic and office. In addition, they requested approval to amend the Truman Plaza Area Plan to change the recommended land use for the site from residential urban low density to mixed use neighborhood to allow for the aforementioned clinic. Staff Planner Larisa Chambi and representatives for the applicant presented the ordinance to the Committee.
They explained that zoning designation B1-1 was recommended by staff as it would prevent future drive-thrus at this busy intersection.
The resolution to amend the area plan is necessary because according to the State of Missouri in Revised Statute 89.040, zoning “shall be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan”. That means that any changes to zoning that don’t conform to the existing plan require that the plan be amended to maintain compliance.
The Committee recommended approval of this ordinance and resolution.
Ordinance 250523 requested approval an amendment to the KCI Area Plan by replacing the Proposed Land Use Map, and updating the land use categories and definitions.
This ordinance was brought before the City Plan Commission on June 18th and an update was given to the Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee on June 24th and was covered in those weeks’ editions of This Week at City Hall.
This ordinance was held by the Committee until next week, but updates were still heard from Staff Planners Susan Cronander, John Myers and Alexis Berra. These included footnotes addressing comments made by the NPD on June 24. Conversation in the June 24 meeting regarded an industrial designation for data centers, which Councilmember Willett is in favor of creating, and redirection of freight traffic to N Congress Dr to minimize the use of NW Skyview Ave.
Ordinance 250530 requested approval to amend Chapter 88, the Zoning and Development Code, by repealing Section 88-805-04, titled “Commercial Use Group” and enacting in its place a new section in like number and subject matter, but which would establish special use permit requirements and operational standards for used motor vehicle sales lots.
This ordinance was held in advance of the NPD until September 9th.
Ordinance 250482 requested approval to rezone the site located at the northeast corner of Blue Ridge Blvd and E. 102nd St, in the Hickman Mills neighborhood, from O-2 to B1-2 to allow for a sports and recreation facility. Councilmember Darrell Curls was the sponsor for this ordinance.
This ordinance was held by the Committee at the request of the applicant.
Resolution 250481 requested approval of an amendment to the Hickman Mills Area Plan that would change the recommended land use for the aforementioned site at Blue Ridge Boulevard and E. 102nd Street from Residential Low Density to Mixed Use Neighborhood. Councilmember Curls was the sponsor for this resolution in conjunction with the previous ordinance.
This resolution was held by the Committee at the request of the applicant.
City Plan Commission
Wednesday, July 16th at 9am
The City Plan Commission was attended this week by Chairperson Coby Crowl and Commissioners Forestine Beasley, Luis Padilla, Sean Arkin, and Matt Hasek.
CLD-FnPlat-2024-00021 requested approval of the final plat for 19th and Locust Townhomes located at the southeast corner of E 19th St and Locust St in the Crossroads.
This case was on the Commission’s Consent Agenda, and was recommended for approval with little deliberation.
CLD-Fn-Plat-2025-00015 requested approval of the final plat for Marketplace 152 (Lot 5) located at the northwest corner of Missouri State Route 152 and N Indiana Ave in the Northland.
This case was on the Commission’s Consent Agenda, and was recommended for approval with little deliberation.
CLD-Fn-Plat-2025-00024 requested approval of the final plat for Forest Hill Village located at 3500 NE Prather Rd in the Northland.
This case was on the Commission’s Consent Agenda, and was recommended for approval with little deliberation.
CLD-Fn-Plat-2025-00020 requested approval of the final plat for Weatherby Meadows located at 11501 NW Barry Rd in the Northland.
This case was on the Commission’s Consent Agenda, and was recommended for approval with little deliberation.
CLD-Fn-Plat-2025-00021 requested approval of the final plat for Monarch Townhomes located at 4001 NE Barry Rd in the Northland.
This case was on the Commission’s Consent Agenda, and was recommended for approval with little deliberation.
CLD-Fn-Plat-2025-00017 requested approval of the final plat for Twin Creeks (Lots 1-7 & Tract A) located at 8601 N Madison Ave in the Northland.
This case was on the Commission’s Consent Agenda, and was recommended for approval with little deliberation.
CD-CPC-2025-00089 requested approval of the 9th and Central PIEA Plan to redevelop the area bounded by W. 8th St, W. 10th St, Wyandotte St, and Broadway Blvd in the Downtown Loop. The area is deemed to be undeveloped industrial land in need of rehabilitation, pursuant to Missouri’s PIEA law 100.400.1. Staff planner Olofu Agbaji and Jim Potter, David Macoubrie, and Jonathan Arnold, representatives for the applicant team, presented the case to the Commission.
The site contains about ten tax parcels and is made up of two office buildings, the Poindexter and the Centennial, a parking garage, and surface parking lots. All of the buildings are completely vacant and the parking facilities see very little use. Proposed projects for the site include repairs to the parking garage and rehabilitation of the historic structures for mixed-use residential. The project anticipates an estimated 190+ units of housing to be generated from this. Potential development on the surface parking lot was also suggested, but has yet to be programmed.
The Commission moved to recommend approval of this Plan.
CD-ROW-2025-00014 requested approval to vacate a section of the public right-of-way located 100 feet south of the intersection of E. 31st St and Grand Ave in the Union Hill neighborhood to allow for the construction of new electrical service for the KCTV Transmitter Tower. Staff Planner Justin Smith and the applicant, Mike Sulzman presented the case to the Commission.
The Commission moved to recommend approval of this vacation.
CD-SUP-2025-00021 requested to approve a major amendment to a special use permit for new tennis courts, baseball concession building, and performing arts center for Oak Park High School on the site located on the border with the City of Gladstone at the intersection of North Troost Ave and NE 79th Terrace in the Northland. Staff Planner Larisa Chambi and Braden Taylor, a representative for the applicant, presented this case to the Commission.
The Commission moved to recommend approval of this special use permit.
CD-CPC-2025-00079, CD-CPC-2025-00077, and CD-CPC-2025-00076 requested approval to rezone, approval of a development plan, and approval to amend the Shoal Creek Area Plan, to allow for the construction of a 177-unit cottage house (3 and 4 bedroom homes) development at the northeast corner of NE Shoal Creek Parkway and Maplewoods Parkway in the Northland. Staff Planner Olofu Agbaji along with representatives of the development team, Jacob Hudson from Olsson and Aaron Schmidt and Brenner Holland from Hunt Midwest, presented these cases to the Commission.
Zoning for the site would change from B3-2 and R-2.5 to just R-2.5. The Area Plan would be amended to reflect this by changing the recommended future land use for the site from Mixed Use Community, Residential Low Density, and Residential Medium Density to Residential High Density.
The development team explained that this is a privately-managed rental development with some variety in home layout. Units are one story tall, all have a garage with some being attached and some being detached. Units show large front yards in renderings. Units do not face the surrounding parkways, and include retaining walls against those roads. Neighborhood population is expected to increase by 200-300 people.
Commissioner Beasley asked about how far residents of the new development would need to travel for amenities such as restaurants and retail. The development team explained that there were some stores about a mile away on N Oak Tfwy.
Public testimony was mostly supportive of the developers, but concerns were levied regarding the proposal. These included traffic congestion, density of the proposed homes, rental nature of the properties, street parking, overextension of services like water and police.
After deliberation and asking some follow-up questions of the applicant, the Commission moved to recommend approval of these cases.
CD-CPC-2025-00078 requested approval of amendments to Chapter 88, the Zoning and Development Code. These included changing the use tables in Sections 88-120, 88-130, and 88-140, adding Sections 88-353 to establish Large Format uses and 88-339 to establish applicable standards for Data Centers, and amending Section 88-800 to establish definitions for the proposed amendments to the Zoning and Development Code. Jennifer Reinhardt, Project Manager for the case, and Brian Jackson, a representative for the City’s consultant, Wilson & Company, presented the case to the Commission.
The Commission moved to continue this case to September 3 to allow for all Commissioners to be present. Ms. Reinhardt and Mr. Jackson still gave an update on the project to those Commissioners in attendance, but the case was left to be voted on until then.
This update addresses the concerns over Large Format uses (LFUs) like distribution centers and data centers, which have seen an increase in use. Public concerns over these uses include truck traffic, water and energy usage, and spillover noise and lighting. This update would provide standards for such uses and give clarity to developers, planners and city staff.
These standards would include building design and layout, buffering and screening, and compatibility with the surrounding area. Limiting proximity of these uses to neighborhoods and mitigating traffic impacts were also noted as being greatly important. The code would also change to include a definition of Data Centers, as this is a relatively new use.
The proposed definitions would appear as follows:
- 88-805-05-H. Data Center
A Building dedicated to the storage, management, processing, and/or transmission of digital data, including supporting equipment related to digital data operations.
- 88-805-05-I. Large Format Uses
Large format uses are any large-scale industrial use facility with a continuous building footprint of 300,000 square feet or larger. Uses primarily include data centers, manufacturing, warehousing, wholesale trade, and other industrial activities.
These uses would only be permitted on thoroughfares, commerce/mixed use, and established arterial street typologies. Alternatives would be allowed by the Director of City Planning.
The language in staff’s presentation did not appear to address the stated public concerns of water and energy usage, however this change to the code only provides definitions. A larger conversation that addresses those and other concerns may be forthcoming.
CD-CPC-2025-00075 requested approval to rezone the site located at both the southeast and southwest corners of E Linwood Blvd and Troost Ave in the Hyde Park and Center City neighborhoods from B4-5 and B3-2 (Commercial) to MPD (Master Planned Development) to allow for the construction of 194 residential units.
This case was continued to August 20 at the request of the applicant, Taliaferro & Browne, INC.
CD-SUP-2025-00019 requested approval of a special use permit to allow for the expansion of Brookside Charter School onto a site zoned R-0.5 and R-1.5 located immediately north of E Meyer Blvd and west of the Research Medical Campus in the Tri-Blenheim neighborhood. The expansion would house classrooms and facilities for Pre-K through 2nd Grade students.
This case was continued to August 20 at the request of the applicant, ACI Boland Architecture.
CD-SUP-2025-00013 requested approval of a special use permit to allow for the construction of a new gas station on a site zoned B3-2 and R-7.5 located at 5900 Dr. MLK Jr. Blvd in the Eastwood Hills and Brown Estates neighborhoods.
88-347-02-A (Gasoline and Fuel Sales) requires any gas station to be at least 2,000 feet from any existing gasoline or fuel sales establishment and at least 200 feet from a residential zoning district. The subject property is located immediately south and southwest of an R-7.5 zoning district and does not comply with this requirement. This is a primary reason for the applicant seeking the special use permit.
This case was continued off-docket at the request of the applicant, KAM Design Group LLC.
Ben Robinson is the author of This Week at City Hall, and an Urban Planning and Design Student at UMKC. He is a Kansas City native, having lived on both sides of the state line. From a young age, Ben has been interested in neighborhoods, communities, and the built environment, but only discovered the field of Urban Planning in college. He is now committed to a career in the profession, and is excited about using his education to support and grow the city he grew up in.
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