KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas. Share your story idea with Olivia.
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Johnson County began work on plans for a homeless services center in the county in 2023, but the initiative's been met with controversy ever since.
After reaching an agreement with Kansas City nonprofit reStart to run the shelter, the next step was acquiring a special land use permit from the city of Lenexa for the shelter to be located at the La Quinta Inn at 95th Street and Interstate 35.
But the Lenexa Planning Commission voted unanimously in August to deny recommendation for the necessary permit.
RELATED | Johnson County Commission sends letter to Lenexa City Council, urges approval of homeless shelter
More than 70 people commented at the meeting before the vote.
“We have watched this go through the process from the county to your desk, and it was railroaded through without much thought,” one resident said at the meeting.
In a letter sent last Thursday from Johnson County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Kelly to the Lenexa City Council, the board disagreed with the Lenexa Planning Commission’s reasons for denial.
The board also urged the council to approve the shelter, offering county assistance to address some concerns.
"We feel this project is a solution at a crucial time and hope you support the SUP application on Tuesday,” Kelly said in the letter.
One of the planning commission's reasons for denial was the belief the shelter would be inconsistent with the neighborhood's character.
The commission also questioned if the city's law enforcement resources were inadequate to serve the shelter.
“This is not about caring for people because if it was, you wouldn’t put them there. You wouldn’t put this right next to four schools,” a resident said at the meeting
The Lenexa City Council will need a supermajority to overturn the planning commission's decision.
The council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
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