Councilperson insists an urban farm change their plan, neighbors resist industrial uses, and Mayor Pro Tem introduces anti-gentrification measures.
- Western Blue Township
- Leeds
- Dunbar
- Town Fork Creek
- Shoal Creek
- Valentine
- Blue Valley
- Oak Park
- Clayton
Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee
Tuesday, November 19th at 9am
The Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee was attended this week by Vice Chair Eric Bunch, Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley, and Councilman Nathan Willet. Mayor Pro Tem and Chair Ryana Parks-Shaw attended this meeting via Zoom.
Ordinance 240953 approves the master-plan for Quintanilla Farms, located at 2808 Blue Ridge Blvd, within the Western Blue Township neighborhood. This case has been covered in a previous edition of This Week at City Hall. City planner Olofu Agbaji presented this ordinance with former councilman Terry Riley and applicant Tim Gates. Carlos Quintinia, the farmer who owns the land, was also in the chambers. Agbaji summarized the history of this site for the committee. Quintanilla Farms requested a rezoning in 2023, but the City Planning Commission denied their case. After that, Quintinia met with city staff and planned another rezoning, which would be supported by the commission.
The new Master Plan Development (MPD) includes various uses, including residential, pasture, and various farming activities that would not be allowed within any one zoning district. The CPC recommended approval of this case on August 7th, and the farm has the support of its neighbors. Neighbors even sent notarized letters to City Hall stating their support. Former Councilman Terry Riley also expressed his support for the farm. After Councilwoman Paterson Hazley asked about the setbacks between livestock and the surrounding homes, the committee unanimously recommended approval of the plan. City Council approved the rezoning on Thursday.
Resolution 240997 was sponsored by Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw, and directed the City Manager’s office to develop an anti-displacement plan. Resolution 240094, passed on January 25th, 2024, originally directed the City Manager to study gentrification and the risk of displacement, especially to low-income neighborhoods. This resolution, according to Parks-Shaw, is the next step of that process. Parks-Shaw quickly presented this resolution with colleagues from the Housing Department, Connor Swanton, Kyle Elliot, and Samantha Bradford. This resolution will include a comprehensive study of peer city’s strategy to mitigate gentrification. Councilman Bunch stated his support for the resolution, and asked to be added as a sponsor of it. The committee unanimously recommended approval of the resolution, and the city council approved it on Thursday.
Ordinance 240971, Ordinance 240972, Ordinance 240843, and Ordinance 240849 vacated four separate pieces of right-of-way adjacent to 3557 North Stadium Drive, within the Leeds and Dunbar neighborhoods. The applicant, Langley Recycling Inc., is requesting these vacations so they can further expand their operations. This case has been covered in previous editions of This Week at City Hall. City Planner Justin Smith presented these four ordinances to the committee.
Councilwoman Patterson Hazley questioned how people living near East 32nd Street and Topping Avenue would be affected. Smith told her that no neighbors had objected to the vacation after being informed about the project, and they would remain relatively unaffected. City Engineer Nicolas Bosonetto agreed with planning staff, and assured Councilman Bunch that this vacation would not affect future plans for trails along the Blue River. These ordinances were recommended for approval by the committee, and City Council approved it on Thursday.
Ordinance 240995 officially approved an area of 49th and Montgall Avenue, within the Town Fork Creek neighborhood, as blighted. The applicants for this ordinance were from the Planning Industrial Expansion Authority of Kansas City (PIEA). PIEA operates under the larger Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (EDC), which was examined in a recent edition of This Week at City Hall. The PIEA studies certain areas within KC to determine their condition. If they are determined to be blighted, the PIEA can then fund and coordinate redevelopment.
David Macoubrie, a representative from PIEA, and Pat Sterrett, founder of Sterrett Urban and the developer for this project, both presented this ordinance and the blight study to the committee. The study found only five remaining homes on over twenty parcels, with the average age of the homes being over 100 years old. According to Sterrett, the study also found large amounts of illegal dumping and “transient activity” on site. A full outline of the blight study can be found within the ordinance’s attachments of the City Clerk’s website. The redevelopment plan will satisfy all requirements of the Swope Park Area Plan and include mixed-use buildings, and residential high and low density homes. The project timeline is a decade, and the proposed use is an assisted living facility. The committee recommended approval of this ordinance and the City Council upheld the recommendation on Thursday.
Ordinance 240922 and Ordinance 240923 extended development plans for areas within midtown Kansas City. Former Councilman Jerry Riffle and Midtown KC Now executive director Kevin Klinkenberg presented these ordinances to the committee. Midtown KC Now is an organization that operates three Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) within the midtown area of KC. Their goals are to foster development and growth of midtown, which has fallen from a population of 73,000 people in 1950 to 28,000 in 2020, according to Klinkenberg.
These ordinances would open up PIEA funds to sites within midtown, making it easier for projects to get off the ground. With PIEA funds, developers can reduce lot vacancy, blight, and the underutilization of historic buildings. The committee recommended approval of these ordinances, and City Council approved them on Thursday.
Ordinance 240979 adopted an amendment to city code, requiring Community Improvement Districts to submit their bylaws to the city annually. City analyst Abbey Brinkley presented this ordinance, and gave a presentation on CID’s compliance with code in the last two fiscal years. In 2024 more CID’s submitted their budget on time and in full when compared to 2023. After the presentation, Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw requested that the ordinance be continued for one week to allow more CID’s to hear about the changes.
City Council
Thursday, November 21st at 2pm
This week’s City Council meeting was attended by Mayor Quinton Lucas, Councilman Nathan Willett, Councilman Kevin O’Neill, Councilwoman Lindsay French, Councilman Wes Rodgers, Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley, Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, Councilman Eric Bunch, Councilman Darrell Curls, Councilwoman Ryana-Parks Shaw, Councilman Johnathan Duncan, and Councilwoman Andrea Bough.
Willett opposes special action recognizing Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA). Councilman Duncan introduced special action 241025 to recognize the PAMA, which was founded in Kansas City but now operates nationwide, with thousands of members. Prior to the resolution’s adoption, Councilman Willett stated his moral opposition to the action, saying “this body needs to recognize Israel and our American Allies” before leaving the chambers in protest. Every other council member voted to adopt the resolution, and then welcomed the representatives of PAMA into the chambers. PAMA’s representative stated their goal as “Building bridges of hope and peace”, and then honored several Kansas City families who have lost children and relatives in Gaza.
Councilwoman makes demands of local farmers. The City Council heard Ordinance 240879, which approves the master plan of Urbavore Urban Farms. Councilman Bunch introduced the ordinance, stating that he wishes it would have been approved already. Councilwoman Patteson Hazley responded with a motion to send the plan back to the City Planning Commission, with expectation that the CPC only approve the plan once the applicants, Urbavore Urban Farms, have moved the planned location of their driveway to the northern side of their property and moved the existing location of their compost to the northwest corner of the lot. Patterson Hazley explained that she wanted these changes made to support the neighbors who oppose the farm’s operation. Councilman Duncan stood to agree with Patterson Hazley, stating that the farmers must follow the rules of Kansas City’s code if they want to be in compliance with the city. The motion passed, meaning the case will be sent back to the City Planning Commission in December.
City Planning Commission
Wednesday, November 20th at 9am
The City Planning Commission (CPC) was attended this week by Chairperson Coby Crowl, Commissioner Tyler Enders, Commissioner Matt Hasek, Commissioner Sean Arkin, Commissioner Betsy Lynch, Commissioner Luis Padilla , and Commissioner Forestine Beasley, who attended this meeting via zoom.
CD-CPC-2024-00167 approved a landscaping plan for Staley Farms Villas, located at 10400 N Olive Street, within the Northland. This item was placed on the CPC’s consent agenda, and was therefore approved with little discussion from the commissioners.
CD-CPC-2024-00142 and CD-CPC-2024-00143 were cases approving the construction of two commercial buildings at 8699 N Indiana Avenue, within the Shoal Creek neighborhood. City planner Andy Clarke presented these cases with applicant Patricia Jensen. After working with staff, the applicants added increased landscaping, as well as architecture on all four sides of the building, instead of only on the eastern side, facing the neighborhood. These buildings resemble strip mall type developments. The only concerns Clarke still had with the project were the lack of pedestrian infrastructure in the surrounding area. According to Clarke, both Barry Road and Indiana Avenue lack sidewalks near this intersection. To fix this, Clarke proposed a condition which requests that the applicant work with the Director of Public Works to partially fund infrastructure improvements.
Patricia Jensen introduced her client John Conforti, who is proposing the commercial development. Jensen argued that the improvements were not the responsibility of Indiana Commons, the developers. Jensen believed that the plan would not significantly increase traffic in the area, making it unfair to require the developers to contribute funds to intersection improvements, calling it “off-site improvements”.
Commissioner Enders approved their plan to change the use to commercial, and agreed with Jensen’s assessment. Commissioner Arkin asked City Engineer Nicolas Bosonetto to explain why the city lacked the funds to do their own improvements to the intersection, and how long it would take to get them. According to Bosonetto, the commercial developments at the intersection were originally supposed to fund improvements, but were “relieved of their duties” under the assumption that the $2 million would come from PIAC funds. When that never happened, “the responsibility fell on Public Works”, who did not have the funds to build. Despite Bosonetto’s request, the commissioner generally felt this was a city-wide issue, and needed to be addressed at that level, instead of by individual developers. The commission voted to recommend approval of the case, and removed the condition requiring the developer to contribute to intersection improvements.
CD-CPC-2024-00170 and CD-CPC-2024-00153 approved the rezoning on a property at 7198 NW Barry Road from low-density residential to mixed use. City planner Andrew Clarke presented this case with applicants Ryan Westoff and Scott Zigler, from Trademark Property Company. This parcel is on the edge of the Zona Rosa mall, but currently sits undeveloped, despite being approved for a Chick-fil-A in 2008. As a part of this request, the developer has contributed $7,000 to infrastructure improvements along Barry Road.
Westoff explained how this parcel was zoned both residential and commercial when originally developed, as the city didn’t have mixed use zoning at that time. Zona Rosa also held a neighborhood meeting prior to the rezoning, but no one objected or even attended. Chair Crowl asked Westoff what type of use might go on this lot, but Westoff stated that he “couldn’t speculate” as to what use it would be. Crowl stated that he found it hard to approve this without a specific plan, saying “I’m kind of protective of Barry Road in general” due to its prominence in Kansas City. Despite this, the commission voted to recommend approval of both cases.
CD-CPC-2024-00148 requested the rezoning at 629 39th Street and within the Valentine neighborhood, from urban redevelopment to community business. The site is currently an abandoned car wash, and this rezoning would allow Good Day Farms to operate a dispensary business on the property. City planner Ahnna Nanoski presented this case with applicant Ryys Williams.
Commissioner Enders asked Nanoski to summarize the process of developing marijuana dispensaries because didn’t have extensive experience with these kinds of cases. According to Nanoski, there are only a certain number of dispensary permits available within the city. Additionally, dispensaries must have a buffer between other dispensaries and protected uses such as schools and churches.
Williams gave a brief presentation about the project, including outlining the expressed support from the neighborhood. The Valentine Neighborhood Association sent a letter of support to the city prior to Wednesday’s meeting. During public testimony, neighborhood resident Stephanie Myers expressed her opposition to this development due to the traffic increases it would bring to the area. According to Myers, the area is already too dangerous, and needs to be improved before additional uses are added. Stacey Kenyon also opposed the development because it didn’t support the relevant area plan, which called for a “mixed-use community” development. Kenyon was also concerned about a “high turnover business” coming to her neighborhood. Chris Jordan, a representative from the Valentine neighborhood, explained how her letter of support came with conditions, including a request that the business close off their parking lot during off hours. Jim Martin further explained Valentine’s support, including how the current site had many problems with crime and vagrancy.
Commissioner Hasek explained his opposition to this rezoning, which would only increase the parking for the dispensary being built next to the subject site. Hasek was concerned that this use decreased the density in the area, and supplemented car-oriented uses instead of pedestrian uses. Hasek also outlined how this route has been highlighted for a potential streetcar line in the future, which would not be supported by this development. Chair Crowl and Enders stated that they would support this case, as nothing in the code prevented it. The CPC voted to recommend approval of this case 5-1.
CD-SUP-2024-00038 and CD-SUP-2024-00037 approved two Special Use Permits (SUPs) which allow car sales and repair at 6228 Truman Road, within the Blue Valley neighborhood. City planner Alec Gustafson presented this case with applicant Bryan Ruoff and Martin Arling. The lot currently operates as a car sales and repair lot, but the applicants requested this SUP to clean-up the site and get their planned improvements approved by the city. The CPC unanimously voted to recommend approval of this case.
CD-SUP-2024-00039 approved a special use permit to allow a school within several different zoning districts, located at 4201 Indiana Ave, within the Oak Park neighborhood. City planner Justin Smith presented this case with applicants Whitney Morgan and Melissa Brown, from Hollis + Miller Architects. The Kind Empowerment Campus will include an elementary school, a child care facility, and a family empowerment center.
Whitney Morgan outlined the services that will be provided by the campus, including a food kitchen, clothing closet, desktops, wireless access for the community, meeting spaces, and a community kitchen, all monitored by security. Commissioner Enders asked the applicants to provide more details about the building. Brown gave an outline of the building using staff’s slides, including the various uses, campus circulation, and building materiality. According to Morgan, Kansas City Public Schools has been involved with the Oak Park neighborhood association throughout the development process, which gained them the support of the neighborhood. KCPS also plans to develop a similar campus within the Woodland area, providing the same campus with access to early childhood services. The commission unanimously recommended approval of the case.
CD-CPC-2024-00138 approved the development plan for 20 million square feet of commercial, office, and warehouse space in the KCI development area. City planner Olofu Agbaji worked with Jacob Hodson, a planner from Olsson Studio, and Tony Borchers, to present this case to the commission. This amendment will add seven acres to the master plan, which will supplement an Ace Hardware warehouse facility.
During public testimony, Tracey Hansen, who is a resident near KCI, stated her frustration with the level of engagement that the community received in relation to these developments. According to Hansen, “they didn’t consider the air pollution in our community”, and many of the public meetings for major developments happen at inconvenient times. Agbaji responded to these comments, clarifying that public meetings are required to be held after normal work hours, theorizing that Hansen was referring to CPC and City Council meetings being held during work hours. The CPC recommended approval of this case.
CD-CPC-2024-00137 approved an amendment to an already approved development plan at 510 NE 68th Street, within the Clayton neighborhood. City planner Olofu Agbaji presented this case with applicant Amy Grant. The previously approved plan allowed for three retail and office buildings, a bank drive-through, and one long term acute care hospital (LTACH). The amendment replaces the three smaller buildings with one 26,000 square foot building. The CPC voted to recommend approval of this case.
Neighbors unite against a large industrial development in their backyard. CD-CPC-2024-00141, CD-CPC-2024-00144, and CD-CPC-2024-00145 approved the rezoning and development plan at 7401 Cookingham Drive, near the city of Fairview. City planner Genevieve Kohn presented this case with applicant Lindsay Vogt, who plans to construct commercial and industrial buildings on site. Because of the project’s speculative nature, Kohn asked the applicants to return to the CPC whenever a specific tenant had been found for each site. Similar to a previous case, this applicant was asking for the condition which requires them to contribute to infrastructure improvements in the area to be removed.
Lindsay Vogt elaborated, saying that they felt that their impact would be covered by the over $200,000 in impact fees they were already paying to the city. Commissioner Enders asked Kohn why this area was being changed from mixed-use to regular commercial, and why the long range planning division had approved this plan specifically. According to city planner Lexi Barrow, this area was originally planned to have mixed-use developments adjacent the neighborhood, with industrial uses to the south.
During public testimony, neighbor Lisa Rainier testified in opposition to the development. Rainier showed her home’s close proximity to the proposed development and stated that “Mr. Man is playing the development card, and destroying the land with no regard for people around him”. Rachel Stumpf, Stacey Hilton, John Gervis, Edward Brundage, Marlicia Scroggins, Mary Joe Stump, Tracy Hansen, Walter Schrey, Jennifer Botta, and April Baxter were other long-time neighbors who opposed the development along Cookingham due to the increased intensity. Several neighbors questioned if the developers or the city had considered the adverse effects industrial uses would have on the area, as well as why the developer was targeting this low-density area as opposed to other established industrial zones. Councilman Nathan Willett also testified before the CPC, saying that the city shouldn’t be doing “one-off” developments in areas without an organized effort to control industrial uses.
After hearing all of the public testimony opposed to this project, the commission asked the applicants to hold a public meeting before coming back to the CPC. The CPC unanimously voted to continue this case to December 18th.
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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