KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In an alert to residents Tuesday afternoon, Raymore city leaders said they feel positive about discussions they’re having with legislators and the developer of the proposed landfill to enter a “mutually beneficial agreement that eliminates a landfill near our city limits.”
For years, the city of Raymore and its residents have opposed a plan for a landfill in southern Kansas City near the border with Raymore.
Missouri legislators did not pass any bills related to the matter in 2023.
This year, bills in the House and Senate advanced past committees. The identical bills would include cities within one mile of a proposed landfill in the approval process. Current law only includes cities within a half-mile of a proposed site in the approval process.
If the law changes, Raymore, Lee’s Summit, Grandview, and Belton would be included in the approval process for this proposal within Kansas City limits located south of Missouri Highway 150 between Peterson and Horridge roads and north of 155th Street.
Residents in the area created the “Kill the Fill” PAC to hire a lobbyist to advocate on their behalf this year in Jefferson City.
“We just need to get that vote,” said Kill the Fill treasurer Jennifer Phanton. “But I am very, very optimistic about our chances this year.”
Phanton and others oppose the landfill because it could create a smell, hurt property values, increase traffic, and for other reasons.
“The reality is the Kansas City region has a trash problem,” developer Jennifer Monheiser told a House committee in January. “We’re trying to work to develop a common sense solution to address the region’s needs for decades to come.”
A Raymore spokesperson said the settlement in the works is contingent on the state passing legislation about landfills.
