Welcome back to “This Week at City Hall”, a blog committed to bringing you important updates on the decision being made at City Hall. Each week, the various boards, commissions, and committees of City Hall make decisions that affect the many communities of Kansas City. If you have a tip about an upcoming agenda item – please email gojgbt@umsystem.edu with “This Week at City Hall” in the subject.
This edition covers a neighborhood connection project, new policy on downtown event parking, continued grant funding for several health programs, and several new developments.
The following neighborhoods will be directly affected items covered in this edition:
- Indian Mound
- Blue Hills
- Town Fork Creek
- Blenheim
- Marlborough
- East Meyer Cluster
Transportation, Infrastructure, and Operations Committee
Tuesday, June 4th at 9am
The Transportation, Infrastructure, and Operations Committee (TIO) includes Chairperson Kevin O’Neill, Vice Chair Melissa Robinson, Councilmember Johnathan Duncan , and Councilmember Eric Bunch. Councilmember Lindsay French did not attend this meeting.
Ordinance 240517 approved an addition of policy to allow the Public Works Department to adjust street parking rates during events. After it is passed, the Public Works Department will increase the hourly rate for street parking on roads surrounding an event or venue during the time of the event.
Angie Laurie, Associate Director of Transportation for the City, introduced the ordinance to the committee. After hearing this, both Councilmember Bunch and Duncan had questions about the expansion of parking enforcement following this new policy. Laurie, along with Public Works Director Michael Shaw, explained their goal of expanding the parking enforcement to the rest of the City. They additionally explained the City’s return on investment for parking enforcement, stating “it’s about three or four. So for every dollar we spend on enforcement, we get a return of three of four dollars back from tickets”. Satisfied with the enforcement policy, Bunch suggested the department look into better ways of informing the public about parking rate increases prior to the events. The committee recommended approval of the ordinance, which was passed by the full City Council on Thursday.
Ordinance 240518 accepted a $5,000,000 federal grant for a project focused on reconnecting the neighborhoods on either side of Highway 71. This funding is for the planning and community engagement portion of the project, which will be done by several consultants within Kansas City.
Jason Waldron, City Transportation Director, Nicolas Bosonetto, City Engineer, and Earl Harrison Jr., an HG Consult, sat before the committee to summarize the project. Within their presentation, the team explained how these neighborhoods were divided when Highway 71 was constructed in the 1970’s. This division led to disinvestment and alienation in the communities, and today contributes to this corridor containing three of the ten deadliest intersections in the state. This project will start by engaging with the community about the solutions they want, which will be implemented later in the project. Harrision outlined his strategy for community engagement, including neighborhood meetings, pop-up engagements, City Councilperson “check-ins”, and a video series documenting the whole thing.
After the presentation, Vice Chair Robinson questioned Harrison’s strategy for using as much of these funds as possible on residents of the corridor. Robinson stated her concern for spending this much on a project plan without pumping any of the money into the actual community. Robinson additionally asked for an amendment to the ordinance, requiring the team to come back to the committee in 18 months to propose a final implementation budget. After some discussion as to the plausibility of Robinson’s initial request, the committee decided to hold the ordinance until the next meeting, as to allow the team to account for the committee’s requests.
Note to neighborhoods: The US 71 Hwy Reconnecting Neighborhoods project provides an opportunity for the neighborhoods on either side of Highway 71 to get the changes they want to see funded and implemented by the city. Although the process of community engagement hasn’t begun yet, be on the lookout for communications from Earl Harrison or anyone from Hg Consulting. The closest neighborhoods to the project’s scope are Blue Hills, Town Fork Creek, Blenheim, Marlborough, and Easy Meyer Cluster, but feedback from any neighborhoods within the area is welcome. To contact Harrison, visit Hg’s website here.
Before committee chair O’Neill could adjourn the meeting, a Kansas City westside resident stood to demand the committee hear her testimony. She then explained to the committee the uncomfortable experience of using transit on the west side, due to lack of investment by the City. She cited over hour long wait times, dirty bus stations, and lack of amenities. She ended her statement by saying that while transit is free within Kansas City, it should also be equitable and comfortable for all.
Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee
Tuesday, June 4th at 10:30am
The Fiance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee (FGPS) includes Chairperson Andrea Bough, Councilmember Crispin Rea, Councilmember Darrell Curls, and Councilmember Wes Rodgers. Vice Chair Quinton Lucas could not attend this meeting due to other mayoral duties.
Resolution 240529 directs the City Manager’s Office to develop plans for expanding the City’s Community Action Network (CAN) Centers, including the creation of executive director jobs at these centers.
Councilmember Melissa Robinson presented this resolution to the committee, telling them about the importance of the CAN centers in Kansas City, especially for those experiencing homelessness. Robinson explained this ordinance would standardize the practices at all CAN centers, and provide them with additional support. The committee unanimously recommended approval of the ordinance. The full City Council passed this resolution on Thursday.
Resolution 240530 directs the City Manager’s office to create an assessment on the needs of the transgender community within Kansas City.
Councilmember Johnathan Duncan explained the necessity of this ordinance, and how his work with the trans community has shown him the importance of putting trans leaders at the head of developing new policies and resources for the community. Chairperson Bough also took a moment to apologize to the community for the City’s slow pace in adopting new policies, and restate the importance of the resolution, especially in regards to healthcare and police policies. Bough stated, “I want to be an ally, I want to be a voice, but I can’t speak for the trans community”.
During public testimony, several Trans leaders spoke to the committee on the importance of Trans activism, this included: Harper Rose, a Trans women and business owner; Olive Cooke, from the Cauldron Collective; and Merrique Jenson, executive director of Transformations KC. After testimony, the committee unanimously recommended approval of the ordinance. The full City Council passed this resolution on Thursday.
Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee
Tuesday, June 4th at 1:30pm
The Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee (NPD) includes Vice Chair Eric Bunch, Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley, and Councilmember Nathan Willett. Chairperson Ryana Parks-Shaw attended the meeting via zoom.
Ordinance 240508, Ordinance 240512, Ordinance 240513, and Ordinance 240516 were all ordinances centered around the acceptance of federal grants that provide funding for health services programs in Kansas City. With the passing of this ordinance, the City will be able to continue funding for Hepatitis B Case Management programs, a COVID-19 racial disparity study, HIV Prevention programs, and STD Prevention programs. Several employees from the KC Health Department attended the meeting to summarize the programs, including Kenneth Moore, Cynthia Jaramillo, and others. The full City Council passed this ordinance on Thursday.
Ordinance 240509 approved an amendment to a development plan. The amendment changes the planned use from two small office buildings, to a large child care facility, located 9880 N. Cedar Ave, within the Shoal Creek Neighborhood. After Councilmember Willet asked about the effect this change would have on traffic in the area, the committee unanimously recommended approval of the ordinance. The full City Council passed this ordinance on Thursday.
Resolution 240520 and Ordinance 240523 involved the rezoning of a small area within the Indian Mound neighborhood, located at 5716 Scarritt Ave. This change will be from residential to mixed-use residential, allowing the site to be used as a daycare. This change is necessary as daycares are considered ‘commercial’ uses by the City, and are only permitted within areas zoned as such.
City Planning staff explained the specifics of these cases, and used the 1940 Tax Assessment Photographs to show that while this use is currently zoned as residential, there is evidence of it being used for commercial purposes for over 80 years. The committee unanimously recommended approval of these cases, and the full City Council passed them on Thursday.
The 1940 Tax Assessment Photographs are a resource used by many City employees to show records of buildings over 80 years ago. In 1940, the city of Kansas City used a surplus of tax money to photograph every building within the City. These photographs are very useful for determining the history of a building without extensive records. The photographs can be accessed through the Secretary of State’s website.
Ordinance 240528 approved the rezoning of a site from low density residential to high density residential, which would allow the site to be used as student housing.
This site, located at 12100 Wornall Road within the Blue Hills Estate neighborhood, was used as a retirement home until January of 2024. After the home closed, nearby Avila University acquired the site, and are planning to convert it into student housing this summer. After quick questioning by acting Chairperson Bunch to ensure there would be a crosswalk for students to get to the university, the committee recommended approval of the ordinance. The full City Council passed this ordinance on Thursday.
Ordinance 240411 approved an amendment to the regulations on Marijuana Dispensaries. The amendment would require new dispensaries to be 1,500 ft away from each other, but allows them to remain open until midnight. Currently, dispensaries are only allowed to be open until 10pm, and must be 750 feet from schools, and 300 away from churches.
After City staff Ahnna Nanoski presented the ordinance, Councilmember Willet expressed his concern over extending the hours of dispensaries. He stated how the concentration of dispensaries on the City’s border with Kansas (presumably to give Kansas residents easy access to weed), gives the City a bad look. Going off of his point, acting Chairperson Bunch wondered whether it would be possible to further limit dispensaries and even liquor stores by creating areas within the City (Westport or the Crossroads) where stores can only remain open until midnight. Bunch cited his experience living in Westport and constantly hearing gunshots as reason enough to look into further regulation. After deliberating on the specifics of hours and proximities, the committee decided to hold the ordinance until July 16th.
Ordinance 240429 and Ordinance 240430 approved the vacation of small sections of Washington Street and West 17th Street within the Crossroads district.
Vacation is a term used when the city gives up its right to public land, usually a street or alley, to allow a private developer to use the land as part of their project. Vacation is usually the least favorable option, as too much vacation can leave a city without the right to control its own roads and streets. If a city does not own the land between the parks, homes, and businesses which make up the city, then private landowners can limit the access citizens have to the amenities they pay for. Acting Chairperson Bunch holds a similar view, stating in the meeting, “I do like the kind of vacation where you go to the beach, but vacations of the public right-of-way, I don’t like”.
Acting Chairperson Bunch recommended, in the future, developers should have a site plan for their development before the City vacates its property. This process would prove to the City the developer actually has an intention to improve the land, instead of selling it for a profit. Despite its reservation, the committee recommended approval of this ordinance.
Ordinance 240447 updates the City’s Capital Improvement Sales Tax Fund- Tree Planting policy to adjust how funds from this tax are distributed. Currently, when building in Kansas City, developers are required to replant any trees taken down during construction. If this is impossible due to site constraints, developers can pay this tax instead. The money will then be put into a large fund, to be used anywhere in the City.
This ordinance updates the policy so that whenever someone pays the tax, half the money will go towards improvements within the council district they are building in, and the other half will still go to the general fund. With little deliberation on the ordinance, the committee recommended approval of the ordinance.
Author’s Bio
Grayson Johnston is the author of This Week at City Hall, but also 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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