KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There will not be a homeless shelter in a Lenexa hotel after the city council voted Tuesday night to adopt the planning commission's denial.
The vote was 5-2 to deny the special use permit.
A supermajority, six votes from the eight council members and the mayor, would have been needed to overturn the recommendations from city staff and the city's planning commission that the special use permit for the homeless shelter be denied.
After 30 minutes each of presentations from city staff and proponents of the shelter, the council listened to public comments before discussing the ordinance and taking a vote.
The shelter would have been run by reStart and would have been located in the current La Quinta Inn just off Interstate 35 and West 95th Street.
The La Quinta Inn would have been converted to 50 non-congregate shelter units, 25 transitional housing units and would have offered support services.
Non-congregate shelters offer privacy to people who stay in the rooms.
The plan also included remodeling a former Denny's restaurant into storage and potential office space.
reStart CEO Stephanie Boyer shared a statement with KSHB 41 following the council's decision.
"We are disappointed by Lenexa's decision to deny the special use permit for the homeless services center. We will continue to advocate for those experiencing homelessness in Johnson County and are committed to working on effective solutions to end homelessness in the area. We are heartened by the majority of public commenters who spoke out in favor of the project," Boyer said. Like Councilwomen Arroyo and Eiterich, they see their neighbors struggling, affirm the need, and have the belief that this is the right project at the right time.
"Your dedication of time and energy has been inspiring and invaluable. Despite strong public support, fear and stereotypes ultimately prevailed. We believe the awareness generated by [this] has been valuable — data supports the growing need. We urge the community to continue to support initiatives aimed at finding solutions and services for this growing population in Johnson County."
The shelter would have been the first in Johnson County to be a year-round, 24-hour-a-day homeless services center, according to an August news release from Johnson County.
Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers also released a statement after the vote.
"On behalf of the Lenexa professional staff, planning commission and governing body, I hope our message is not one of failure by the applicant or rejection by our team, but rather a chance to learn from this process how all the relevant stakeholders in Johnson County can work together to find a countywide solution to the problem of homelessness," Sayers said. "Our hope is that other cities in the county will adopt codes to accommodate homeless shelters similar to ours, so that options for appropriate properties throughout the county will become available for consideration."
Additionally, she went on to say, "With Johnson County's leadership, we believe it is possible to find a comprehensive solution to this complicated problem and a property or properties that fits this need but is also equitable to the goals, economics and ability for all cities in Johnson County to deliver services to support it."
You can read Sayers' full statement here.
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