ORDINANCE NO. 250838
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Sponsor: Mayor Quinton Lucas
Directing the City Manager to initiate the vacant property receivership process as described in Code Chapter 56, Article VII, for the vacant nuisance property known as the former Paul Robeson Middle School site, located at 8201 Holmes Road, in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of City’s residents by remediating the blight at the property.
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WHEREAS, the structures and land of the former Paul Robeson Middle School, located at 8201 Holmes Road, (the “Property”) have languished unused with progressive decay and deterioration since its closure in 2006; and
WHEREAS, the Property’s vacancy and nuisance conditions directly inhibit the ability of nearby households to generate wealth and depresses regional commercial activity; and
WHEREAS, residents near the site lament the two decades of inactivity and decomposition, citing both aesthetic and security concerns involving the site’s crumbling structures, rampant weeds and vines, prevalent graffiti, and its serving as a haven of chronic nuisance activities; and
WHEREAS, the current developer’s failure to prevent and remediate these nuisance conditions violates multiple provisions of Code Chapters 48 and 56; and
WHEREAS, the current developer of the site purchased the lot in 2018 to develop a recreation center, athletic fields, and in-fill housing; and
WHEREAS, no significant development activity has occurred on the site in any of the seven years since the site was purchased; and
WHEREAS, substantially all lawful business activity at the property has ceased; and
WHEREAS, the current developer failed to pay property taxes on the site since at least 2021, paid the bare minimum to prevent a tax sale of the site in Summer 2025, and still owes over $130,000 in delinquent property taxes; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 56, Code of Ordinances, enables the City to petition the Circuit Court to appoint a receiver to rehabilitate vacant and blighted properties in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of neighborhoods by rehabilitating vacant and blighted properties; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. The City Manager is hereby directed to ensure that the property located at 8201 Holmes Rd. is reviewed for eligibility for vacant property receivership pursuant to Code Section 56-600 et seq. and to serve the parties in interest with notice of the intent to file for receivership, pursuant to Code Section 56-603, as may be appropriate.
Section 2. That the City Manager is directed to conduct public engagement with the residents, neighborhood associations, and community coalitions of the surrounding neighborhoods to identify the needs and priorities of the surrounding residents and to incorporate those needs and priorities as possible in the development of the Property.
Section 3. That the City Manager is directed to report back to the City Council in writing as to the progress with the Property within 45 days.
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Approved as to form:
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Emalea Kohler
Associate City Attorney