This Week at City Hall (October 20 – 24, 2025)

An update to the City’s Public Engagement Processes, a new tenant right-to-counsel program, and an update to the ongoing case of the Norman School Historic District in Valentine.

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Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee

Tuesday, October 21st 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 250905 requested approval of the plat of West Bottoms Redevelopment UR District, located on the blocks bounded by Union Avenue, Santa Fe Street, St Louis Avenue, Union Pacific Rail Road Right-of-Way, and Mulberry Street, creating 4 lots for the purpose of a constructing a mixed use community development.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on October 1st as CLD-FnPlat-2025-00001 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

This item was on the Committee’s consent agenda and was recommended for approval with little deliberation. The City Council later moved to approve this item on Thursday.

Resolution 250906 requested adoption of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) standards as the City’s guiding principles and approach toward public engagement; directing the City Manager, within 90 days, to develop a coordinated plan to implement the Kansas City Public Engagement Plan Recommendations, review sections of City’s Code of Ordinances that may need to be amended to implement such Recommendations and report to Council and propose any corresponding amendments to the City’s Code. Annelissa Taylor, from the Neighborhood Services Department, presented this item before the Committee.

IAP2 holds seven core principles and values. These are: inclusiveness and equity, mutual accountability, respect, early involvement, sustained collaboration, consistency, and follow-up and evaluation. They also use a spectrum of different levels of public engagement, displayed below.

As part of the changes to the City’s policies from this recommendation, Staff will have criteria that they can apply to different types of projects that will help define what level of engagement is appropriate for each. The “inform” level acts as a baseline that Staff and Departments should strive to achieve. 

In addition to adoption of IAP2’s standards, there were several specific recommendations made, including:

• Expanding the radius of notification to 500 ft.
• Sending notice of application to occupants in addition to owners.
• Increasing efforts to inform and support neighborhood leaders and consider a Neighborhood Liaison program.
• Sending public hearing notifications for utility construction to neighborhood/civic organizations in addition to property owners.
• Expanding the deadline to respond to Notice of Application from 10 to 15 days, to allow for travel time of mail.
• Developing publicly available educational materials on how to effectively provide input at public hearings and how to serve on a commission or board.
• Expanding the content of project notifications to include, where possible, things like anticipated impact on traffic and estimated project timelines.
• Fully funding and staffing the Office of Language Access to not only address translation services but to help reduce jargon and expand the use of sign language.
• Exploring additional methods of communication including but not limited to the Alert KC system, MyKCMO app, and printed notifications.
• Including a disclaimer on the website explaining how information (particularly press releases) are disseminated to the news media/ease of use audit for the city website and MyKCMO app.
• Making tracking PIAC project progress more accessible.

The Committee moved to recommend approval of this item. The City Council later moved to approve this item on Thursday.

Resolution 250912 directed the City Manager to develop minimum maintenance standards for historic buildings and make recommendations to Council within 60 Days.

The Committee moved to continue this case after losing a quorum and ending the meeting early.

Ordinance 250902 requested establishment of an Emergency Rental Assistance Program for qualified tenants participating in the Right to Counsel Program; authorizing the Manager of Procurement Services to execute agreements with United Way of Greater Kansas City and First Call Technologies, LLC, $912,400.00 and $27,600.00, respectively; authorizing the Director of Housing and Community Development to expend up to $940,000.00 from funds previously appropriated in the General Fund; and directing the Director of Housing and Community Development to report annually to the Mayor, City Manager, and City Council on the program’s effectiveness. Evan Schiarelli, the Division Director of Local Initiatives in the Housing Department, and Mary Owens, the Deputy Director of Local Initiatives, presented this item before the Committee.

This ordinance establishes a Targeted Emergency Rental Assistance Program (T-ERAP), in the effort of creating an eviction mitigation strategy for tenants. This program is aimed at reducing the risk of eviction and homelessness for tenants, and mitigation the effects should a tenant become evicted. 

Some of the objectives of this program are to provide Right-to-Counsel (RTC) attorneys to tenants, reduce administrative burden on the court systems by resolving cases earlier on in the process, and promoting collaborative relationships between property managers and tenants.

The operations of this program are displayed above. The City is expected to act as oversight as part of this relationship, while the T-ERAP service providers (United Way of Greater Kansas City and First Call Technologies, LLC) will work with right-to-counsel attorneys to provide assistance to tenants. 

Over the summer, the City performed a pilot of this program, working with other providers such as Heartland Center for Jobs and Freedom, Legal Aid of Western Missouri, and UMKC Law School. This helped provide assistance to families to avoid homelessness or the long-term consequences of eviction, with the cost per case averaging about $2,700. 

In addition to receiving public testimony in support of this ordinance from representatives from organizations including United Way, Legal Aid, and UMKC, the Committee spoke for some time about this case. Councilmember Willett, while supportive of the work of the Housing Department and the various aforementioned non-profit organizations, voiced concern about the use of the City’s general fund dollars for this project. The pilot program for this project had been funded using COVID-era federal grant money. The use of the City’s general fund for this project, going forward, he said, would not be as sustainable. 

Councilman Bunch spoke as well, in support of the ordinance. He emphasized the critical need to help people avoid eviction early-on, referencing not only the mental health services often needed for people who have experienced long-term homelessness, but also the black mark that eviction puts on a person’s record. “In the long-term,” he said, “we’re saving money, by keeping people housed.”

The Committee moved to recommend approval of this item. The City Council later moved to approve this item on Thursday.

Ordinance 250907 requested designation of the honorary street name of “Lawrence A. Jones Way” for a portion of Woodland Avenue from the north line of East Linwood Boulevard to the south line of East 31st Street in the Boston Heights and Mount Hope, Ivanhoe, and Key Coalition neighborhoods. Staff Planner Justin Smith along with Lindsay Jones, president and general manager of Lawrence A. Jones Funeral Chapels, presented this item before the Committee.

The Jones family, who were the applicants in this case, had received at least 75% of adjacent owners’ consent and provided a petition of support with at least 50 residents’ signatures. The Funeral Chapels company was started seventy-five years ago by Lawrence A. Jones, Sr. and the family were seeking approval of this ordinance in order to honor his service to the neighborhoods in the area.

The Committee moved to recommend approval of this item. The City Council later moved to approve this item on Thursday.

Ordinance 250908 requested approval to rezone the site located on the east side of North Oak Trafficway at Northeast Hill Street near the Briarcliff neighborhood in the Northland from District B3-2 to District B3-4, and approving an associated development plan to allow for a multi-unit residential development. 

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on September 17th as CD-CPC-2025-00121 and CD-CPC-2025-00122 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The Committee moved to continue this case after losing a quorum and ending the meeting early.

Ordinance 250850 requested approval to amend Ordinance No. 241051 conditionally approving the application of Historic Northeast Lofts, LLC, for a Brownfields loan to remediate Buildings Nos. 1 and 2 of the former Hardesty Federal Complex at 607 Hardesty Ave in the Lykins and Sheffield neighborhoods by repealing and replacing Sections 1 and 3. 

The Committee moved to continue this case after losing a quorum and ending the meeting early.

Ordinance 250858 requested approval to rezone the site located at 8625 Troost Avenue B in the Marlborough neighborhood from District R-2.5 to District B1-1 to allow a mesh security fence with barbed wire to be installed around a utility substation at the site. 

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on September 3rd as CD-CPC-2025-00091 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The Committee moved to continue this item for one week, ahead of the meeting Tuesday.

Ordinance 250861 requested approval of the petition to establish the Tiffany Frolics Community Improvement District, located between Barry Road to the north, N.W. Prairie View Road to the east, N.W. 81st Street to the south (extended), and N. Berkley Avenue (extended) and N.W. Milrey Drive (extended) to the west, in the Northland. Mitch DeCarlo – Bloch and Co. Real Estate, Pat Sterritt – Sterritt Urban, and Chris Kline – Husch Blackwell, presented this item before the Committee.

This Community Improvement District would support the revitalization of two shopping centers serving the surrounding neighborhoods, Tiffany Plaza and Frolics Plaza. The site contains several one-story retail pad developments, all built in the 1970s and 80s. The total vacancy rate of each shopping center is 28.3% and 25.7%, respectively. The applicants were making the case for this Community Improvement District, in order to help them address poor site conditions such as deteriorated pavement and storefronts. 

Councilman Willett asked that there be added language to the ordinance to address the multiple large signs on the property, removing and consolidating them into one monument sign at the corner of Barry and Prairieview Roads. With that added amendment, the Committee moved to recommend approval of this item. The City Council later moved to approve this item on Thursday.

Ordinance 250871 requested to rezone the area located at West 35th Street to the north, Pennsylvania Avenue to the east, Valentine Road to the south, and Summit Street to the west (in the Valentine neighborhood) to include an HO (historic) overlay zone in order to designate the area as a local Historic District on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places. Base zoning for the area is R-1.5, R-5, R-6, and UR. Historic Preservation Planner Tessa Ramirez, along with applicants Anna Zeidel and Christine Jordan, presented this case before the Committee.

This case was brought before the City Plan Commission as CD-CPC-2025-00100 on August 20th and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog. Prior to that hearing, it had been heard by the Historic Preservation Commission on June 27th and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The proposed historic district is eligible for listing on the Kansas City Register of Historic Places under Criterion C of the National Register’s Criteria for Evaluation. This criterion emphasizes the distinct architectural nature of an area, in this case the residential “streetcar suburb” of Valentine. According to the Midtown/Plaza Area Plan, in which the proposed district is located, 94% of the area’s residents, surveyed in 2013, believed it was very important or somewhat important to preserve historic buildings and the heritage of the area. 

Ms. Zeidel explained that surveys of the proposed historic district, conducted by the applicants within the last two years, showed that out of a total of 47 property owners, 23 favor designation (58%), and 17 are opposed (42%). 7 were neutral or did not respond for comment, and weren’t counted in this number. Property owners with multiple properties in the district were only counted once. The applicants also received endorsement from organizations including Historic Kansas City, the Norman School Lofts, Parkside Properties, and surrounding neighborhoods like Roanoke, Coleman Highlands, Old Hyde Park, Hyde Park, Union Hill, and Plaza Westport.

It is important to note that eighteen of the properties located in the proposed district are owned by Kansas City Life Insurance Company. Ms. Jordan explained that a major reason the Valentine Neighborhood Association was applying for this designation was to protect the remaining homes in the proposed district from demolition, namely by KC Life. In October 2024, KC Life demolished 23 houses in the Valentine neighborhood. It was at this time that concern began to circulate that demolitions (and corresponding lack of development) may proceed south, into the proposed district. In October of 2025, four additional homes in the district were indeed demolished. Speaking to the alleged pattern of demolition by neglect from KC Life, Ms. Jordan said, 

“We understand that demolition of these homes was attributed to unsafe structural conditions. While deterioration of this kind happens over time, it remains the responsibility of property owners to maintain their buildings, and in this case that responsibility was clearly not met.”

While Kansas Life Insurance Company has produced artistic renderings for the sites they’ve demolished, Ms. Jordan asserted that no plans have yet been submitted to the city.

The Committee moved to continue this case to the following week, after losing a quorum at 3:00. The following week’s NPD will begin at 12:30pm on Tuesday October 28th and is planned to start with this item as the top of the regular docket. 

Ordinance 250872 requested approval to rezone the site located 200 feet south of the intersection of West 39th Terrace and Broadway Boulevard in the Westport neighborhood from District UR to District B3-2.  Staff Planner Justin Smith presented this item before the Committee.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on September 3rd as CD-CPC-2025-00113 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The subject site is a vacant commercial building that is subject to an Urban Redevelopment plan, limiting its use to a medical office. The property is for sale, and the applicant was requesting to rezone to allow for greater flexibility of use.

The Committee moved to recommend approval of this item. The City Council later moved to approve this item on Thursday.

Ordinance 250874 requested vacation of approximately 1,168 square feet of public right-of-way in District DX-15 generally located at the northwest corner of Baltimore Avenue and West 20th Street in the Crossroads neighborhood.  Staff Planner Justin Smith presented this item before the Committee.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on September 3rd as CD-ROW-2025-00021 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The section of right-of-way in question is a part of a paved parking pad and extended sidewalk. The property owners have proposed a new restaurant (to be known as Crossroads Cantina) at the site and have proposed this vacation in order to provide ADA Access and an additional landscape buffer. No street parking or existing sidewalks will be impacted with the proposed vacation.

The Committee moved to recommend approval of this item. The City Council later moved to approve this item on Thursday.

Ordinance 250875 requested approval of a major amendment to a previously approved development plan on about 23 acres to allow additional permitted uses in District B3-2 generally located in an area abutting 150 Highway on the west, W. 135th Street on the north and W. 138th Terrace on the south in Martin City.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on September 3rd as CD-CPC-2025-00120 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The Committee moved to continue this case after losing a quorum and ending the meeting early.

Ordinance 250876 requested amendment of Chapter 88, the Zoning and Development Code, by repealing and replacing Subsection 88-445-06, Residential Signs, for the purposes of allowing digital signs for Institutional and Office Uses in residential districts and adopting new standards for such signs.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on August 20th as CD-CPC-2025-00128 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The Committee moved to continue this item for three weeks, ahead of the meeting Tuesday.

Ordinance 250877 requested approval to rezone the site located at the northwest corner of East 135th Street and Oak Street in Martin City from District B2-2 to District MPD and to approve an associated development plan to allow for commercial and storage development.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on September 17th as CD-CPC-2025-00124 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The Committee moved to continue this case after losing a quorum and ending the meeting early.

Resolution 250878 requested approval to amend the Martin City Area Plan and approval of a rezoning of the area located at the northwest corner of E 135th St and Oak St near the Village Glen and Newcastle neighborhoods in Martin City.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on September 17th as CD-CPC-2025-00140 and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The Committee moved to continue this case after losing a quorum and ending the meeting early.

Resolution 250887 directed the City Manager to review and recommend updates to

Chapter 88, the Zoning and Development Code in order to improve development processes and align them with current best practices.

The Committee moved to continue this case after losing a quorum and ending the meeting early.

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Board of Zoning Adjustment

Wednesday, October 22nd at 9am

The Board of Zoning Adjustment was attended this week by Chairman Mark Ebbitts and Board Members Emerson ‘Jaz’ Hays, Theresa Otto, Myeisha Wright, Tom Gorenc.

CD-BZA-2025-00131 and CD-BZA-2025-00132 requested approval of two variances to permit driveways that cover over 40% of the front yards of two sites, in an R-7.5 zoning district located at 4226 and 4222 NW 77th Terrace near Lake Waukomis in the Northland. Staff Planner Stephanie Saldari along with Sean Flandermeyer, the owner, and Sara Ladd – Elevate Design + Build, his architect, presented this case before the Board.

The applicant was seeking approval of these variances to build driveways for two houses in a relatively new subdivision that would exceed the permitted coverage of the front yard. This would allow for easier vehicle maneuvering. Two other homes at the end of the cul-de-sac of these proposed developments show code compliant driveways.

The applicant explained their worry of drivers creating mudpits on the subject sites, as the entrances to the driveways would need to be narrower than their width as they approach the garage. 

A neighbor who lives in the adjacent property spoke in opposition to the variances, citing overcrowding of impervious surfaces that would reduce green space and may potentially lower surrounding property values. Mr. Flandermeyer offered that the shape of the proposed driveways may be changeable, and asked that these cases be moved to the end of the docket for him and Ms. Ladd to make those alterations.

Upon returning, the applicants presented alternative site plans from the originals, wherein a greater degree of green space was allowed for.

The Board moved to approve these requested variances per modified site plans.

CD-BZA-2025-00103 requested approval to appeal a Notice of Violation related to an outdoor vehicle sales use for the site located at 7730 N Oak Trfy near the Bridgepointe neighborhood in the Northland.

This item was brought before the Board on September 10th and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The Board moved to continue this item with fee to December 10th, ahead of the meeting, Wednesday.

CD-SUP-2025-00027 requested approval of Special Use Permits in proposed District R-80 (residential) on about 20 acres generally located on the south side of Northeast 108th Street appropriately 1000 feet east of Northeast Shoal Creek Parkway (City PIN: 220600) near the New Mark neighborhood in the Northland, allowing for the construction of a sports field. Staff Planner Matthew Barnes and Jacob Dobbs – Kaw Valley Engineering, a representative for the applicant, presented this case before the Board.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on September 3rd, and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The applicant team had sought to rezone the property from R-7.5 to R-80 to allow them to apply for the aforementioned Special Use Permit, to build a sports field, and had received approval for this change. 

The sports field in question would be for personal residential use only, restricted to the owner and occupant of the parcel the field would be constructed on. Because no residential structures exist on the property, yet, however, a rezoning is required to allow for the field to be developed prior to the building of the house

The Board moved to approve the requested Special Use Permit.

CD-BZA-2025-00141 requested approval of a variance to permit a shorter setback for a proposed swimming pool in an R-7.5 zoning district for the site located at 2721 NE 91st Place near the Bridgepointe neighborhood in the Northland. Staff Planner Stephanie Saldari and Stephen Smetana presented this case before the Board.

The proposed pool, per site plans submitted by the applicant, would be too close to the rear property line, approval of which may set negative precedent for other properties in the neighborhood. The purpose of the pool’s placement, however, was to accommodate a family member with impaired vision. The 13-foot distance from the house is to avoid accidents.

The Board moved to approve the requested Variance.

CD-BZA-2025-00137 requested approval of a variance to permit a larger accessory structure in the rear yard, in an R-2.5 zoning district for the site located at 2446 Lawn Avenue in the East 23rd St PAC neighborhood. Staff Planner Stephanie Saldari and Jesus Barcenas, the owner/applicant presented this case before the Board.

The subject property contained an oversized carport built in the rear yard that was constructed without permits. In addition to requesting a variance to the permitted size of the carport, the applicant was seeking a variance to the separation distance requirements for accessory structures (the carport being less than ten feet from the house), and a variance to permit a gravel driveway.

Recognizing that the carport abuts the house, the Board recommended that the applicant speak to the building codes department to determine the correct way to attach it, thus eliminating the separation distance variance. This would create new variances to setback requirements, but these are typically easier for the BZA to grant or compromise on. The applicant agreed and the Board moved to continue the case until December 10th.

CD-BZA-2025-00109 requested approval to appeal a zoning violation related to an abandoned nonconforming sign, within a B4-5 (Heavy Business) zoning district, for the site located at 1700 E Truman Rd near the Wendell Phillips, Parade Park, and Forgotten Homes neighborhoods. Staff Planner Ahnna Nanoski and Mohammad Noor, the owner/applicant, along with his attorney Michael Kinder, presented this case before the Board.

This item was brought before the Board on September 24th and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The applicant requested that this case be dismissed after conversations with Staff. The matter of the abandoned sign had previously been abated, therefore the appeal was no longer necessary. The Board moved to dismiss this case.

CD-SUP-2025-00033 requested approval of a Special Use Permit, within a R-0.5 zoning district, in order to construct a parking garage on the site located at 414 E 22nd St in the Crossroads and Hospital Hill neighborhoods. Staff Planner Ahnna Nanoski and Paul Osborne – McClure, a representative for the applicant, presented this item to the Commission.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on October 15th, and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

This case follows a separate demolition review brought before the Historic Preservation Commission as CH-DM-2025-00070. This review covered the demolition of a facilities building on the site. Built in the 1930’s, it was a product of Kansas City’s first Ten-Year Plan for public improvements. It housed utilities such as central heating, laundry, incinerator, and an ambulance garage for the Kansas City General Hospital. While demolition was held for 45 days, it was ultimately permitted to proceed, allowing for the construction of the new parking garage.

The proposed parking garage would serve hospital staff for the Hospital Hill campus. Per 88-420-13-A, required parking spaces must be located on the same lot of the use to be served by the parking. Accessory parking areas require the same or a more intensive zoning classification than that required for the most intensive of the uses by the accessory parking area, unless approved as a special use permit. Ms. Nanoski explained that the criteria for approval of a special use permit in this case includes things such as whether the plans are compatible with the surrounding area’s scale and design, and whether or not it will have an adverse impact on pedestrian safety and comfort. 

The Board moved to approve the requested Special Use Permit.

CD-BZA-2025-00140 requested approval of a variance to the boulevard and parkway standards for the height of a fence in a B4-5 and R-1.5 zoning district for the site located at 3435 Broadway Blvd in the Old Hyde Park neighborhood. Staff Planner Alec Gustafson and Nickolas Baumgarten – Multistudio, a representative for the applicant, Citizens of the World Charter Schools, presented this case before the Board.

Per 88-323-02-D, “any fencing that is visible from the boulevard or parkway shall be 80% transparent and constructed of high quality, permanent materials. Maximum height shall be 6 feet in the rear and 4 feet in the side. No fencing shall extend beyond the front building line.” 

The applicant was proposing a height of 8 feet of wrought iron fence in the front and side yards of the subject property. In addition, the applicant was proposing a height of 8 feet of chain link fencing on the opposite (east) side yard of the site. 

The applicant explained that materials and placement, along with plantings to provide proper screening and streetscape experience, were intentionally designed to respect the spirit of the Boulevard and Parkway Standards. The chain link fence, he went on, is only abutting non-pedestrian areas, including parking lots and play areas for students.

The Board moved to approve the requested Variances.

CD-SUP-2025-00018 requested approval of a Special Use Permit in District R-6 (Residential) for the site located at 4843 Woodland in the Blue Hills neighborhood to allow for Neighborhood Serving Retail in an existing building. Staff Planner Matthew Barnes and Robert Pendleton, the applicant presented this case before the Board.

This item was brought before the City Plan Commission on October 15th, and was covered in that week’s edition of the blog.

The site contains an existing corner store and small parking lot, which the applicant plans to repave. The building is currently vacant and boarded up. The applicant will also add small planters along the sidewalk of the site, and plans to reopen the vacant structure, repairing walls, windows, and doors.

A list of permitted uses for Neighborhood Serving Retail was also provided by Mr. Barnes. This list excludes liquor stores, taverns and nightclubs, and tobacco and vape stores. 

The Board moved to approve the requested Special Use Permit.

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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.