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[COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR]RESOLUTION NO. 260306
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Sponsor: Mayor Quinton Lucas
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Directing the City Manager to establish expedited permit approval timelines and a fee waiver structure for qualifying affordable housing projects as defined by City Code § 88-810-058; to designate an Affordable Housing Permit Navigator to assist qualifying applicants; and to report to the public on additional housing production strategies including pre-approved housing plans, development timeline transparency, density zoning, and complementary housing stock initiatives.
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WHEREAS, In November, 2017, the City Council passed unanimously Resolution 170825 that directed the City Manager to provide information on the overall state of housing policy at the federal, state and local levels; and in 2024, the City Council adopted Resolution 240997, directing the development of a Comprehensive Anti-Displacement Plan to address rising displacement risks across the City; and
WHEREAS, the Anti-Displacement Plan, adopted by Ordinance 250600, identified improvement of the development process as a critical strategy to create more affordable housing, finding that developers cite permit delays and that streamlining these processes is essential to meeting the City’s affordable housing goals; and
WHEREAS, Kansas City continues to face a significant affordable housing shortage, with a substantial share of low- and moderate-income households experiencing cost burden, with an estimated shortage of 64,000 units as of October 2025; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Kansas City Code § 88-810-058, “Affordable Housing” is defined as housing that a household having income equal to or below seventy percent (70%) of the median income for all households within Kansas City as estimated and reported by the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, as updated from time-to-time, would be able to afford if it were to expend not more than thirty percent (30%) of such income for the mortgage or rent, including other housing expenses such as property taxes, insurance, and utilities; and
WHEREAS, regulatory barriers and delays, such as delayed permitting, add unanticipated costs to housing construction with a deleterious effect on housing production, including the affordable supply; and
WHEREAS, while Ordinance No. 251058 addresses economic development incentive review timelines, it does not govern the operational permitting process, and clear, enforceable permitting deadlines are a distinct and necessary complement to those efforts;
WHEREAS, transparent and accessible permitting information is essential to both municipal accountability and developer success, and the City is committed to ensuring that residents, builders, and developers have accurate, plain-language information about the complete timeline of each residential permitting process from application to approval, so that all parties can plan effectively and hold the City to its commitments; and
WHEREAS, development on long-vacant parcels, defined as parcels that have remained vacant for ten (10) or more years, serves an additional public interest by returning underutilized land to productive use, reducing blight, and increasing the City’s tax base, and the City therefore finds it appropriate to provide enhanced incentives for affordable housing development on such parcels; and
WHEREAS, a coordinated, comprehensive approach to housing production, including pre-approved housing designs, self-permitting pathways, transit-oriented development, and activation of vacant land, is necessary to meaningfully address the City’s housing shortage; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. The City Manager is hereby directed to conduct a ninety (90) day review and report publicly recommendations, feasibility, and implementation barriers, including conducting stakeholder engagement, as pertains to the following proposals to expedite permitting procedures to allow construction of more housing in Kansas City, with particular focus on qualifying affordable housing projects:
A. Expedited Permitting Deadlines as Required by Ordinance
a. Within five (5) days after receipt of an application permit for a qualifying affordable housing project, or within twenty (20) days for all other residential construction projects, the City shall review the application and shall request submittal of all additional information the City, by and through its different departments, is permitted by law to require. Within five (5) days after receipt of such additional information for qualifying affordable housing projects and twenty (20) days for all other projects, the City shall review it and may request only that information needed to clarify such additional information or to answer new questions raised by or directly related to additional information.
b. A permit shall be approved, denied, or subject to a notice of proposed agency action within thirty (30) days after receipt of the original application for a qualifying affordable housing project, or within sixty (60) days for all other residential permit applications.
c. For purposes of this resolution, a “qualifying affordable housing project” means a residential development in which housing units meet the definition of ‘Affordable Housing’ as set in City Code § 88-810-058, which defines it as the following:
i. “A household having income equal to or below seventy percent (70%) of the median income for all households within Kansas City, Missouri, as estimated and reported by the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, as updated from time-to-time, would be able to afford it if it were to expend not more than thirty percent (30%) of such income for the mortgage or rent, including other housing expenses such as property taxes, insurance, and utilities.”
B. Affordable Housing Permit Navigator
a. The City Manager is directed to designate a single point of contact, an “Affordable Housing Permit Navigator,” to assist applicants for qualifying affordable housing projects in navigating permitting requirements. The Navigator shall be staffed from the City’s existing Development Concierge group and shall serve a citywide function, coordinating across all geographic areas of Kansas City.
b. The Navigator shall be responsible for coordinating among City departments as necessary, tracking permit application status, and flagging applications that are approaching the expedited deadlines established in this resolution.
Section 2. The City Manager is hereby directed to develop and present to the Council, within ninety (90) days, a proposed tiered permit fee waiver structure for qualifying affordable housing projects. The proposed structure shall incorporate the following elements:
a. Affordability Scoring System. Fee waivers may be determined through a standardized affordability scoring sheet developed by the City Manager. The scoring system shall be designed to reward greater depth of affordability and specific site conditions that serve the public interest. At a minimum, the scoring criteria shall include:
i. Depth of affordability below the 70% AMI threshold established in City Code § 88-810-058 (e.g., units affordable at 30%, 40%, 50%, or 60% AMI); and
ii. Percentage of total units in the project that qualify as affordable housing; and
iii. Length of the affordability period beyond the minimum restriction period; and
iv. Development on a vacant parcel that has remained unimproved for ten (10) or more years, which shall receive a weighted bonus in the scoring calculation to reflect the additional public benefit of returning long-vacant land to productive, affordable use; and
v. Conversion of vacant school buildings and commercial buildings to residential; and
vi. Meeting City set-aside policy for affordable units, as set forth in Code Section 74-11.
b. Automatic application. Fee waivers shall apply automatically upon a project’s demonstration that it meets the applicable scoring threshold, without requiring a separate waiver application. The City Manager shall establish a clear process for applicants to self-certify eligibility as part of the standard permit application, and shall make the approved scoring sheet publicly available on the City’s website.
c. Minimum Affordability Restriction Period. The proposed structure shall make a recommendation for an established minimum affordability period during which projects receiving fee waivers must remain affordable at the qualifying income levels.
Section 3. The City Manager is hereby directed to report back to the Council, within ninety (90) days, on the following additional housing production and transparency measures:
A. Pre-Approved Housing Designs. The City Manager shall develop and implement a community engagement and outreach strategy to promote the adoption of the pre-approved housing designs made available on April 1, 2026. The City Manager shall analyze and report the projected financial impact if permit fees were waived for pre-approved housing master plans, for the City Council's consideration.
B. Public Permit Timeline Transparency. The City Manager shall have the City's permitting website display, in plain language, historical data showing the average and typical range of total processing time for each residential permitting pathway offered by the City, from initial application through final approval.
C. Other Complementary Housing Strategies. The City Manager shall report on the status of the following additional housing production strategies, including any actions taken, barriers identified, and recommended next steps for Council consideration:
a. Self-permitting pathway for qualified licensed contractors on defined residential project types;
b. The Vacant Land Activation Initiative to activate City-owned or long-vacant parcels for affordable housing;
c. Increased housing density along high-frequency transit corridors, including by-right zoning and corner setbacks; and
d. Single-stair building code reforms, consistent with reforms adopted in peer jurisdictions; and
e. Inventorying and appraising City-owned property and creating partnerships for affordable housing development on City-owned property; and
f. Establishing a bridge financing program for eligible property development.
D. Staff Capacity. The City Manager shall report on the additional staff capacity necessary should the City pursue expedited permit procedures for all residential development projects.
c. Requiring that all future ordinance revisions proposed by staff be reviewed under a cost-benefit analysis and that regulatory changes be presented to public stakeholders in sufficient for timely public notice and comment review, and that each such analysis shall include an explicit affordability impact assessment identifying whether the proposed regulatory change is likely to increase, decrease, or have a neutral effect on production of qualifying affordable housing in Kansas City.
C. Affordable Housing Permit Navigator
a. The City Manager is directed to designate a single point of contact, an “Affordable Housing Permit Navigator,” to assist applicants for qualifying affordable housing projects in navigating permitting requirements.
b. The Navigator shall be responsible for coordinating among City departments as necessary, tracking permit application status, and flagging applications that are approaching the expedited deadlines established in this resolution.
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