Kansas City, Missouri

Zoning Ordinance and Code Review
   

For the City of Kansas City, Duncan Associates is conducting an in-depth review of existing land use regulations to determine their consistency with the goals, policies and strategies of the FOCUS Plan and their compliance with state and federal laws pertaining to zoning, development and redevelopment matters, including historic preservation. The review will include a survey and evaluation of "state-of-the-art" regulatory practices and policies used by other communities that may be appropriate for Kansas City, and development of a detailed plan for revising existing zoning and development-related regulations.

The review examines the seven component FOCUS Kansas City Plan to acquire an understanding of the basis of changes to be made in the City Codes that will serve as the policy framework that will guide the overall review project. Representatives from the Departments of Law, Public Works, Codes Administration, Landmarks Commission, Parks and Recreation, Neighborhood and Community Services and other City Staff and the Oversight Committee will be convened to discuss organizational issues and discuss substantial project issues. The purpose of this meeting will be to identify other studies, policies, plans or issues, pertaining to the project, and to identify individuals and other interested groups. A review and analysis will be made of various Kansas City ordinances, including the zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, property maintenance, dangerous building, floodplain, landmark and all building codes and State of Missouri enabling legislation, federal laws and relevant case law.

A survey will be conducted to obtain input from City Staff and other users of the ordinances, codes and regulations. Small group interviews/workshops will be held with such users, which may include developers, lawyers, citizens, community groups and others. The consultant will then submit examples in the form of regulations, codes or ordinances that reflect FOCUS objectives in each of the following areas of regulation: zoning, subdivision regulation, unified development, property maintenance, landmarks and building rehabilitation in cities or other jurisdictions that are relevant or similar to Kansas City. Such examples will identify the jurisdiction, the applicable code and summary documentation of as to how each example reflects FOCUS objectives and relevance to Kansas City.

The consultant will finally prepare a plan for the next phase of the project that will implement the revision of existing ordinances, codes and regulations to ensure consistency with the FOCUS.

Period:    October 2000 - Present                           Contact:     Virginia Walsh
Team:      Duncan Associates (Lead)                                           Planning Director
               Wallace, Roberts & Todd                                            816.513.2846 
               Building Technologies, Inc.                                        
               Housing Futures Institute
               Taliaferro & Browne
               Cooper Consulting Company