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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Kansas City Council Business Session: Comprehensive Plan and Fire Station Conditions - March 17, 2023

City Council Business Session — Friday, March 17, 2023

BodyKansas City, Missouri

SessionCity Council Business Session

DateFriday, March 17, 2023

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:21:51

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:10

So move.

0:11

Second.

0:15

Aye.

0:16

All opposed.

0:17

Motion passes.

0:18

The planning department and our KC playbook presentation.

0:22

Everyone is here for you.

0:25

Complet.

0:29

Thank you, Mr.

0:29

Mayor, members of the council.

0:31

Just gonna pull everything up here real quick.

0:35

So I am here today to give you an update on the process to create the city's new comprehensive plan to be called the Kansas City Spirit Playbook.

0:45

We have a short video that we would like to show you announcing the final draft plan.

0:54

City planning is no accident.

1:01

Our city today is the vision of past generations.

1:05

But just like people, cities grow and evolve.

1:09

And the time is now to make decisions for our city's future.

1:13

And the future is the KC Spirit Playbook.

1:16

With this playbook, you are the play caller.

1:20

This is your city.

1:26

All right.

1:28

To get us started today on our presentation, um, my supervisor, Gerald Williams is available online.

1:37

Go ahead, Gerald.

1:39

Good afternoon, everyone.

1:40

Gerald Williams, City Planning Department, a long-range planning division, and thank you for making some time for us.

1:45

This afternoon will be quick.

1:47

Um you enjoyed the video.

1:49

We'll have another longer version uh explaining uh the major points in the plan coming out uh in a few weeks as well to help us education and and things like that about the plan itself.

2:01

Um here today to to talk to you about the Casey Spirit playbook, the draft plan rollout, which happened uh last week.

2:10

Although we've really been rolling the plan out crash and then chapter by chapter since October, uh, to allow plenty of time for people to review and react and give us feedback on the document as well.

2:20

Uh but last week we finally completed the full website.

2:24

This is a web-based document.

2:26

Um and I don't that's up uh we'll go walk you through uh most of that site today and use some of the highlights and the functionality and how to use it and uh and things of that nature.

2:35

Um the C Square playbook is sorry, Gerald.

2:39

If you could speak just a little bit louder into your microphone, it's a little hard to hear.

2:43

Yeah, sure.

2:44

Is that better?

2:45

Yes, that's a little bit better.

2:46

Thank you.

2:47

All right, great.

2:49

So the C Sparrow Playbook will be our new comprehensive plan uh when it's adopted.

2:55

It's used to guide the physical development of the city.

2:57

So this deals with things like land use and transportation and neighborhoods and housing and things that that that sort that are the built environment, the physical uh environment.

3:08

Um the existing comprehensive plan that we have is the KC government uh the focus Kansas City plan uh adopted back in 1997.

3:17

So if you think about these plans having a roughly 20-year time horizon, then we are we are a little overdue, perhaps for having a new uh fresh to-do list for Kansas City uh for the next 20 years or so.

3:30

Um we've been working on this project now for about uh three years since we started just right before the pandemic began in 2020.

3:41

Um spent most of that time in a community conversation in a dialogue, uh, feedback and input from the community.

3:48

And we just in the past year or so have been working very hard to coalesce all that into strategies and actions and the plan that we see the coordinate today.

3:59

Um I can't see Morgan your presentation, so I'm not sure which slide that you're here currently showing, but um I wanted to touch on there we go, put it up to it.

4:13

Thanks.

4:14

Uh next slide, please.

4:17

So one of the one of the reasons we update the plan is because the state statute requires that we have the comprehensive plan, but also you know it's important to make sure that it's that it's fresh and it's current and it's addressing the current issues we're facing today.

4:30

Next slide.

4:31

A little louder, please, Gerald.

4:33

Okay.

4:35

You know, Gerald, uh Gerald, I'm just I'm gonna save you the time on this because he is kind of hard to hear.

4:40

If you could just go with the presentation to the extent you're able, and that'll help us move along, and perhaps he'll be here to answer questions for us.

4:48

I will say this as far as I can tell, this is like one of the most important things that your department does.

4:54

I would have expected the director, perhaps, to appear and others.

4:58

These aren't choices you make.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety███████████████████████████████31%

Land Use Planning████████████████████████████28%

Fire Prevention█████████████████████21%

Budget Equity Analysis██████6%

Transportation Safety████4%

Public Works████4%

Economic Development███3%

Airbnb Experiences██2%

Procedural█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Kansas City Council Business Session: Comprehensive Plan and Fire Station Conditions - March 17, 2023

The council convened on March 17, 2023, for a business session that included presentations on the city's new comprehensive plan (KC Spirit Playbook) and an extensive discussion on fire station facility conditions, particularly regarding gender-neutral accommodations, mold, and pest issues. The meeting also saw the introduction of a short-term rental ordinance.

Discussion Items

KC Spirit Playbook Comprehensive Plan Update: The planning department presented the final draft of the city's new comprehensive plan, a web-based document replacing the 1997 Focus Kansas City Plan. Developed over three years since late 2019, the plan includes a vision statement, five big ideas, 10 citywide goals, 21 objectives, and community-supported actions. An implementation dashboard tracks metrics. Three development review tools (goal supporting criteria, global design guidelines, and form/context guidelines) are proposed. The plan will go to the City Plan Commission on April 4, 2023, before returning to council for adoption. Councilmembers asked about conformance checks, coordination with other departments (e.g., Economic Development Corporation), and parking minimums. Councilwoman Shields expressed concern about reduced parking requirements along transit corridors and potential impacts on historic neighborhoods. The department stated the plan does not eliminate all parking minimums but provides site-specific guidance.
Fire Station Facility Conditions: Following a resolution from Councilwoman Parkshaw, the council discussed the state of fire station facilities, focusing on gender-neutral bathrooms, secure bunk rooms, and health hazards. Interim Fire Chief Ross Grundison outlined completed upgrades (stations 37, 8, 38, 40, 7, 15) and planned work for fiscal 24–25 to address four remaining stations needing gender-neutral renovations and two with open bunk rooms. Equity Officer LaDonna McCullough reported on inspections of nine stations conducted the week of March 13–17, 2023, revealing open or unsecured bunk rooms, mold, sewage backups, rodent infestations, and lock issues. Councilmembers criticized the lack of progress since 2017 GO bonds and demanded immediate action on life safety issues (mold, rodents) within the week. A proposed resolution was floated to mandate a consolidated plan including costs, timelines, and minimum standards. City Manager Brian Platt committed to weekly updates and accelerated work pending funding.
Short-Term Rental Ordinance: Councilman Bunch introduced an ordinance to regulate short-term rentals, aiming to address unlicensed properties and improve enforcement. The ordinance will go through the typical committee process.

Key Outcomes

The council directed the city manager to address mold and rodent issues at fire stations within one week (by March 24, 2023).
The city manager committed to providing weekly updates on fire station inspections and to develop a plan for concurrent facility upgrades, including cost estimates and timelines.
The council agreed to seek a dedicated funding amount in the upcoming budget for fire station improvements, leveraging the fire sales tax capital fund ($2.5 million committed annually).
The short-term rental ordinance was introduced and referred to committee for further refinement.
The comprehensive plan process will continue with a presentation to the City Plan Commission on April 4, 2023, and subsequent adoption hearings.

Meeting Transcript

So move. Second. Aye. All opposed. Motion passes. The planning department and our KC playbook presentation. Everyone is here for you. Complet. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the council. Just gonna pull everything up here real quick. So I am here today to give you an update on the process to create the city's new comprehensive plan to be called the Kansas City Spirit Playbook. We have a short video that we would like to show you announcing the final draft plan. City planning is no accident. Our city today is the vision of past generations. But just like people, cities grow and evolve. And the time is now to make decisions for our city's future. And the future is the KC Spirit Playbook. With this playbook, you are the play caller. This is your city. All right. To get us started today on our presentation, um, my supervisor, Gerald Williams is available online. Go ahead, Gerald. Good afternoon, everyone. Gerald Williams, City Planning Department, a long-range planning division, and thank you for making some time for us. This afternoon will be quick. Um you enjoyed the video. We'll have another longer version uh explaining uh the major points in the plan coming out uh in a few weeks as well to help us education and and things like that about the plan itself. Um here today to to talk to you about the Casey Spirit playbook, the draft plan rollout, which happened uh last week. Although we've really been rolling the plan out crash and then chapter by chapter since October, uh, to allow plenty of time for people to review and react and give us feedback on the document as well. Uh but last week we finally completed the full website. This is a web-based document. Um and I don't that's up uh we'll go walk you through uh most of that site today and use some of the highlights and the functionality and how to use it and uh and things of that nature. Um the C Square playbook is sorry, Gerald. If you could speak just a little bit louder into your microphone, it's a little hard to hear. Yeah, sure. Is that better? Yes, that's a little bit better. Thank you. All right, great. So the C Sparrow Playbook will be our new comprehensive plan uh when it's adopted. It's used to guide the physical development of the city. So this deals with things like land use and transportation and neighborhoods and housing and things that that that sort that are the built environment, the physical uh environment. Um the existing comprehensive plan that we have is the KC government uh the focus Kansas City plan uh adopted back in 1997. So if you think about these plans having a roughly 20-year time horizon, then we are we are a little overdue, perhaps for having a new uh fresh to-do list for Kansas City uh for the next 20 years or so. Um we've been working on this project now for about uh three years since we started just right before the pandemic began in 2020. Um spent most of that time in a community conversation in a dialogue, uh, feedback and input from the community. And we just in the past year or so have been working very hard to coalesce all that into strategies and actions and the plan that we see the coordinate today. Um I can't see Morgan your presentation, so I'm not sure which slide that you're here currently showing, but um I wanted to touch on there we go, put it up to it. Thanks.

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