May 13, 2025

SHAWNEE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

May 12, 2025

You can stream the full City Council meeting at the link below! If you don't have time to watch, here's my quick recap. 

Tonight’s meeting saw a few discussion items about housing; everything else was fairly routine.

The governing body held a public hearing on the Community Development Block Grant Program; each year they have to complete a needs assessment about community development and housing needs for low- to moderate-income residents. Staff provided a brief overview of the CDBG program - basically the city is required to devote a certain percentage of this federal grant to projects that benefit low- to moderate- income or disabled residents. It is intended to be used to provide decent housing, suitable living environments, and enhanced economic opportunity. Previously they have not typically received any public feedback during this needs assessment public hearing, so staff moved the public hearing to a normal council agenda and three members of the public ended up speaking. 

There wasn’t a ton of discussion from the council; Councilmember Knappen did raise some concerns about the usage rate of programs such as rent, utility, and minor housing rehab assistance. City staff clarified that the rent and utility assistance programs administered by our community partners are fully used up every year as there’s plenty of demand. The minor housing rehab assistance fund administered by the city does see a usage shortfall each year, so the city has paused that program so funds can be used up. Councilmember Burchfield expressed an interest in seeing CDBG funds used to address housing needs. The first speaker during the public hearing was Alex Welch Blattner, who called on the council to consider renters and other working-class people when making housing, infrastructure, and development decisions. The next was Melissa Sabin, who spoke about the “missing middle” multifamily and smaller single-family homes that can offer a path to first-time homeownership, and also the need for accessibility in housing. Finally, former planning commission member Randy Braley shared that he lives near the Hedge Lane Terrace apartment complex and while he heard a lot of terrible comments about it when it came before the planning commission, the people in the apartments have been great neighbors and he didn’t have any issues. 

Interestingly, this public feedback asking for multifamily housing was immediately followed by discussion of a multifamily project on 71st Street. This owner-occupied townhome/condominium project passed the planning commission unanimously, with the developer making several concessions to address neighbors’ concerns including ensuring there are more than 2 parking spots per unit and committing to preserving the existing treeline. Still, neighbors put together a protest petition that meant the project required 5 Yes votes to pass (staff did note that several signers of the petition did not live within the petition area.) One homeowner expressed that he would like to see architectural changes made to the homes facing his neighbor to make them more appealing, and also to see 2-car garages on each unit. One business owner in the area expressed concerns about drainage and traffic.

Councilmember Kemmling expressed concerns about the density of the project (around 8 units/acre, which is less than most townhome projects in Shawnee) and parking logistics, which Councilmember Walters later echoed. Councilmember Knappen expressed that while he does not usually like 3- and 4-plexes, he was supporting this project because they have an HOA, plenty of parking, the developer isn’t asking for incentives, and the developer will be paying for a collector street for the adjacent neighborhood. Councilmember Gillette felt that all of the units needed 2-car garages because that is what he would prefer if he downsized, and made a motion out of turn remanding the project back to the planning commission so the developer could remove homes from the project in order to add 2-car garages to each unit. The developer clarified this could be done, but that removing units would make the remaining units more expensive (around $450-500k.) They said there were other options for adding parking such as covered parking spots adjacent to the houses. Councilmembers Burchfield, Whitted, and Murphy all said that they did not think 2-car garages were necessary for all units and would not want to make the homes more expensive just so garages could be added. 

When the mayor asked for a motion, Councilmember Burchfield made a motion to approve the project, which passed 4-4 with Gillette, Kemmling, Stiens, and Walters in dissent and Mayor Sandifer breaking the tie. Councilmember Gillette complained that he had made a motion first, but per the rules of order, he made his earlier motion out of turn as several councilmembers had not yet had a chance to speak and the mayor had not asked for a motion. 

The governing body also discussed approving the contract with a design firm to put together the Rail Creek Park Master Plan & Market Analysis. Councilmembers Knappen and Kemmling were hesitant to commit to the entire master plan, but staff assured this was only for the design of the park and each phase of the park would come before the council for final approval before moving forward. Three members of the public spoke expressing enthusiasm for this park (specifically the cyclocross course) and offering feedback on accessibility elements for the playground. Ultimately, the contract passed unanimously.

Additionally, the Council considered the following:

• Passed consent agenda (unanimous)

• Approved Final Change Order for the Monrovia Street Improvement Project (unanimous)

• Heard a presentation from staff on the Old Shawnee Days road closure plan (no vote needed)

• Ratified semimonthly claims (unanimous)

At Council Committee, staff heard a presentation from Public Works Director Kevin Manning on safety improvements at 47th and K7 following a tragic accident there in March. Sometimes, people don’t realize that K7 has traffic signals and they may need to stop, so staff is looking at adding additional signage that says "Be prepared to stop when flashing" and adding reflectivity to the signal back plates. Councilmember Stiens asked about signal timing because she had heard feedback from residents who feel the signal changes too fast. Manning explained the formula used to determine signal timing and clarified that staff did review signal timing, but signal timing was not a factor in that crash. Staff tries not to deviate from the formula too often because studies show that if red lights are too long, people get used to it and start pushing the limits. Despite Manning’s expertise and evidence-back approached, Steins insisted that staff should lengthen the signal timing anyway. Councilmember Knappen asked if KDOT was willing to consider decreasing the speed limit (Manning advised they are not) or adding a guardrail (Manning advised they may consider it if the city comes to the negotiating table.)

The committee also heard presentations from United Community Services, Old Shawnee Days, and the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce/Visit Shawnee on their budget requests for this year. The only real discussion that came up was Councilmember Kemmling balking at the city’s contribution to Old Shawnee Days. He felt that Old Shawnee Days should be able to bring in more revenue, where the Old Shawnee Days organizers put a lot of effort into ensuring the event can remain free to the public. 

City Council Meeting: 

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/309109/?splitscreen=true&media=true 

Council Committee Meeting:

https://cityofshawnee.civicweb.net/document/309112/?splitscreen=true&media=true 

Recap by: Alex Welch Blattner