By Matt Flener, KMBC
Homeless advocates and providers are now planning their next steps after the Lenexa City Council rejected a proposed homeless shelter early Wednesday morning.
It came after years of planning went into the project, which would have utilized La Quinta Inn near Interstate 35 and 95th Street as a temporary and transitional shelter.
The council meeting, which lasted until about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, ended with a 5-2 vote denying the special use permit needed to complete the proposed deal.
ReStart would have operated the shelter, providing transitional and wraparound services like the work happening at its headquarters near downtown Kansas City.
“We were so excited for folks in Johnson County to have that opportunity in Johnson County,” ReStart CEO Stephanie Boyer said. “And that is lost for them now.”
Boyer spoke at and sat through an hourslong meeting where most speakers voiced support for the project, which would have been paid for using COVID-19 funds.
However, the location and concerns over the cost of operation were all cited as reasons behind the decision to deny the permit.
ReStart even floated the idea of potential litigation for violation of the Fair Housing Act.
Boyer on Wednesday said the organization has not decided if it will proceed with any litigation.
“We weren’t necessarily threatening anyone,” she said. “But we do have some concerns around some potential Fair Housing violations. We had to raise those, and so we’ll continue to dig a little deeper.”
Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers declined an interview on Wednesday, citing the possibility of litigation.
Sayers, in a statement, said the property was not the right location for a shelter.
“Our hope is that other cities in the county will adopt codes to accommodate homeless shelters similar to ours so that options for appropriate properties throughout the county will become available for consideration,” the statement read.
The plan would have converted the shuttered hotel into a shelter with 50 units for single adults experiencing homelessness, with stays ranging from 30 to 90 days.
The Good Faith Network, a coalition of 30 churches doing justice in Johnson County, supported the project.
The Rev. Eileen Stulak, associate minister of operations at Unity Church of Overland Park, said she will continue to work to end homelessness in Johnson County.
“It is a big, big problem because it’s not going to go away with this decision,” she said. “And the trend has been it’s gotten worse, that more people are finding themselves homeless.”
It would have taken a supermajority of six council members to override the Planning Commission’s recommendation.
View the original story here.
