KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, including Olathe and Lenexa. Send Olivia a story idea.
—
Johnson County has been working to open a homeless shelter since 2021.
KSHB 41 shared in May the county found a building and an organization to run it. Now, the future of the shelter lies in Lenexa's hands.
The Lenexa La Quinta Inn is still operating as a hotel. However, the county has reached an agreement with Kansas City-based nonprofit reStart to buy the building and run it as a shelter.
First, Lenexa must grant reStart a special land use permit. The city planning commission is currently reviewing reStart’s application and will vote later this month.
Scott McCullough, Lenexa's community development director, explained what the Lenexa planning commission is looking for before using the grant.
"For a homeless shelter, in particular, there is a binding management plan that is submitted by the applicant, and it’s going to cover things such as what is the security plan for the shelter, what is the transportation plan for the shelter, what type of shelter is it,” McCullough said.
The shelter is a hot topic in Lenexa and Johnson County.
Johnson County's January 2024 point-in-time count found 250 people experiencing homelessness.
McCullough said the planning commission will make its decision based on the application, how the use aligns with the code and what people who live in the area think.
“Staff will run through several factors that the code requires us to review and make findings related to things such as character of the area, nearby zoning, whether external impacts can be mitigated,” McCullough said.
The planning commission votes on Aug. 26. There will be a public hearing at that meeting so people can weigh in.
If it's approved, the full city council will vote on it on Sept. 17.
If the special land use permit is denied, then the county would have to come up with another plan because reStart would have to wait an entire year to apply for another special use permit in the same location.
—
