LENEXA, Kansas (KCTV) – A day after an information session in Johnson County, the Lenexa Planning Commission explained its reasons for rejecting a plan to build a homeless assistance center in the area.
While acknowledging that there is a need for additional homeless services in Johnson County, the Lenexa Planning Commission said the current request “places an undue burden on this portion of the community and ultimately on the city’s resources and should be denied.”
The Planning Commission cited four additional reasons for rejecting the proposal, which would house a homeless assistance center for Johnson County in a converted old three-story La Quinta hotel east of I-35 and just off 95th Street.
READ MORE: Johnson County hosts public information sessions on planned homeless assistance center
A list of the four reasons was released Thursday evening by the Lenexa Planning Commission:
- The proposed use is contrary to the character of the district, which has been identified by the city as an important redevelopment corridor.
- The proposed use will result in a concentration of negative externalities in this area of the community due to its proximity to the only other homeless shelter for single adults in Johnson County, which will adversely affect surrounding properties.
- The City’s current law enforcement resources are inadequate for the proposed use, and the additional costs of hiring the necessary personnel will impose an undue financial burden on the City, which will be exacerbated by the loss of tax revenue due to the conversion of the subject property to a tax-exempt use.
- That, despite the best intentions of the applicant, the extremely accelerated timeframe within which this project was conceived and developed has resulted in many of the required elements of a mandatory management plan for the use of the shelter being incomplete and/or inadequate, thereby creating significant uncertainty as to important details of the proposed use, its financing, and ultimately the overall viability of the shelter operation.
Members of the public who wish to speak at the August 26 Lenexa Planning Commission meeting where this issue will be discussed are asked to register online.
All rights reserved.
