Changes to liquor licenses, crucial sidewalk repairs, and newly funded housing.
The following neighborhoods will be directly affected items covered in this edition:
- Town Fork Creek
- Wendell Phillips
- Tiffany Springs
- Beacon Hill
Transportation, Infrastructure, and Operations Committee
Tuesday, July 30th at 9am
The Transportation, Infrastructure, and Operations Committee (TIO) includes Chairperson Kevin O’Neill, Vice Chair Melissa Robinson, Councilmember Lindsay French, Councilmember Eric Bunch, and Councilmember Johnathan Duncan.
Ordinance 240618 expanded the budget for KC’s green infrastructure program. As the City continues to use native plants to collect stormwater runoff, the total area KC Water needs to maintain only grows. This ordinance authorizes the water department to train and contract with private companies for the stewardship of the City’s green infrastructure. Andy Shively, from KC Water, presented the department’s plan to employ four small businesses to care for the plants. Committee Chair Kevin O’Neill asked Shively if this job could be done by the City, to which Shively replied that the City was doing most of this work already. The planned growth of this practice means the City needs to use outside contractors, according to Shively. The TIO committee recommended approval of this ordinance, which City Council upheld on Thursday.
Ordinance 240628, Ordinance 240630 and Ordinance 240631 approved the continued funding of the City’s sidewalk inspection program and sidewalk repair within the 4th, 5th, and 6th council districts. The Public Works department is currently within year six of a ten year sidewalk audit, cataloging the conditions of sidewalks throughout KC. Sidewalk Auditor Uday Manepalli presented these ordinances, and stated the project was ahead of schedule. The committee unanimously recommended approval of these ordinances, and City Council passed them on Thursday.
Ordinance 240629 employs Wilson & Company to design curbs and sidewalks along MLK Blvd between Prospect Ave and Benton Blvd, in the Town Fork Creek neighborhood. Nicholas Bosonetto, City Engineer, presented the project to the committee, saying “This will bring pedestrian access to bus stops along the corridor”. This section of MLK Blvd includes some of the City’s worst pedestrian infrastructure, despite the many people who walk along MLK everyday. The committee recommended approval of this ordinance, and City Council approved it on Thursday.
Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee
Tuesday, July 30th at 1:30pm
The Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee (NPD) includes Chairperson Ryana Parks-Shaw, Vice Chair Eric Bunch, Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley, and Councilmember Nathan Willett.
Ordinance 240633 continued funding of the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program. These programs use federal money to subsidize housing projects in communities that have been underserved by the private market. This specific ordinance funds Jazz District III and Prospect Summit Homes, in the Wendell Phillips neighborhood, and Amethyst Place, within the Beacon Hill neighborhood. The Prospect Summit Townhomes include housing for 55+ residents. The committee recommended approval, and the City Council passed the ordinance on Thursday.
Ordinance 240640 and Ordinance 240641 amend the City’s code pertaining to Alcoholic Beverages, specifically creating a distinction between bars with live music and those without. This allows the city to create further regulation for live music bars, which usually stay open later.
These ordinances also give neighborhoods a vote in the issuance of liquor licenses in their community. If approved, these ordinances require businesses to notify neighborhoods when they apply for a liquor license. The neighborhood then has 30 days to submit their opinion to the City. The City will incorporate the neighborhood’s vote into their standard process for liquor license approval. The committee recommended approval of these ordinances, and City Council passed them on Thursday.
Ordinance 240564 approved a development plan for a 109 unit hotel, within the Tiffany Springs neighborhood. City planning staff Andy Clarke presented the case to the committee, outlining its 4 story design and connection to future trail. The committee unanimously recommended approval of the plan, and upheld the decision on Thursday.
Ordinance 240572 directs the City Manager’s office to enter into an agreement with a non-profit organization for improvement of housing durability, efficiency, and affordability. The selected non-profit will achieve this by providing modern insulation, improved AC units, and other home improvements. The non-profit will focus on homes from historically underserved communities. The committee recommended approval of this ordinance, and City Council will hear the ordinance next week.
Ordinance 240424 proposes an alternate method for getting building permits approved. A full inspection into the changes proposed in Ordinance 240424 and the HERS system, as well as further context surrounding KC stance on climate change was covered in a previous edition of This Week at City Hall.
At Tuesday’s NPD meeting, Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley introduced a third version of Ordinance 240424. After initial community and council backlash, ordinance sponsors Nathan Willet and Wes Rogers began introducing small changes to sooth the opposition. After the failure of this ordinance’s second version, Patterson Hazley asked Dennis Shriver, president of Kansas City’s Home Builders Association, and Sharla Riead, owner of Hathmore Technologies, to sculpt the ordinance into something they could both support. As Riead and Shriver represent opposing interests, Patterson Hazley hoped their final product would be supported by both developers and climate activists.
Shriver and Riead presented the ordinance’s third version to the committee, which added many procedures necessary for the complete inspection of a home, as well as a procedure which lowers the required HERS score by 3 points every year. Shriver and Riead could not agree on what HERS score to set as the current standard, leaving that final decision up to the committee. Shriver, concerned with the hardship placed on builders, wanted a higher score of 60, while Riead assured that a score of 54 would be best for the City. Both Councilmen Bunch and Mayor Pro Tem Parks-Shaw wanted more time to fully read the new ordinance, and consider both Shriver and Riead’s testimony. The committee voted to continue the ordinance until next week.
Special City Planning Commision session held Friday. The City Planning Commission heard a special presentation on the City’s Gas Station Moratorium at their special session, over Zoom. CD-MISC-2024-00001 was the case in question, and proposed an extension on the moratorium until October 7th, 2024, to allow City staff to continue preparing the new code standards for gas stations.
City planning staff Andy Clarke presented this case to the commission, first mentioning his work with the Regulated Industries department, KCPD, and the Office of Environmental Quality to ensure the new regulations meet everyone’s standards. KCPD requested the new regulations include CPTED (see below for definition) principals, as current gas stations are often crime centers. Since 2012, 22 of the City’s 163 current gas stations have been approved through a Special Use Permit (SUP). This ensures the City will be able to review these stations and request changes whenever the SUP needs to be renewed. After hearing Clarke’s presentation, the commission voted to extend the moratorium until October 7th.
Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is the theory of preventing crime by designing our city according to certain principles. CPTED believes that by naturally controlling access, keeping spaces well maintained, and getting more eyes on the street, a place will be less suitable for crime. The International CPTED Association outlines the theory in great detail on their website.
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.
Grayson – thank you SO MUCH for providing these summaries! What happens in the committees leading up to council action is very important, and it is extremely hard to keep up with everything to the level of detail and nuisance you provide!