RESOLUTION NO. 970280

Supporting submission of the Riverfront Park Urban Village Redevelopment Plan to the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Missouri.

WHEREAS, on January 8, 1997, United States District Judge Dean Whipple ordered the City to appear in his court and show cause why the court should not allow the Housing Authority to proceed with its proposed renovation of Guinotte Manor without obtaining the zoning or other approval of the City; and

WHEREAS, the City strongly opposed the court's proposed action and believes that allowing an entity to ignore the zoning and building codes of the City would violate state and federal law and would take away the City's ability to protect the health and safety of its residents and preserve the viability of its neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, during the hearing on the Show Cause Order the parties agreed to continue the hearing for a period of at least thirty days during which time the City, working with the Housing Authority, the Guinotte Manor tenants, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was to develop a plan for Guinotte Manor that would be more compatible with the surrounding area, that would be a better and more long-term approach to address the problems long associated with traditional public housing, and that would lessen the impaction of public housing units in the Columbus Park area; and

WHEREAS, the City has spent considerable time and resources over the last thirty days to develop a plan titled the Riverfront Park Urban Village Redevelopment Plan, Final Concept, that it believes is the best possible compromise of the interests of the various stakeholders in the Columbus Park/Guinotte Manor area; and

WHEREAS, the plan developed by the City is an innovative long-term solution for the problems the Guinotte Manor project has had in the past; and

WHEREAS, the plan developed by the City contains 219 public housing units to be rebuilt on the site, which now contains 412 units, thereby reducing the density of public housing units in the Columbus Park and the immediate surrounding area; and

WHEREAS, the plan developed by the City commits the City to contribute up to $2,250,000.00, approximately one half from Community Development Block Grant Funds and one half to be identified from other City sources, to fund any gap created by its plan; and

WHEREAS, the plan developed by the City commits the City to contribute further to the project by transferring 77 units of new housing built by the City to the Housing Authority for $70,000.00 per unit, which is less than the City's cost to build these units, and which will be a significant savings for the Housing Authority; and

WHEREAS, the plan developed by the City commits the City to work with the Housing Authority to contract for the redesigned project in a manner that will allow the project to be built with available funds; and

WHEREAS, the plan developed by the City will use to the extent possible the floor plans and other design elements already agreed to by the Guinotte Manor tenants; and

WHEREAS, the City is committed to work further with the Housing Authority to identify more sites in the City for scattered-site housing in non-impacted areas of the City; and

WHEREAS, the City believes that its plan represents a giant first step toward a future of working in partnership with the Housing Authority to provide safe, decent and sanitary public housing while at the same time preserving and bettering the City's neighborhoods; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

That the Mayor and Council support the Riverfront Park Urban Village Redevelopment Plan which is to be submitted by City staff to the Housing Authority on Friday, March 7, 1997, and subsequently to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and commit to work with all interested parties to provide the reasonably necessary resources to make the plan work.