Tuesday, January 28, 2020
7pm Uptown Theatre Encore Room
- Todd – superintendent of the development project of Uptown Shops
- Starting to re-shore first floor, then will start on wood structure upward.
- Soon, the gym will move upstairs.
- Question: Are you on schedule?
- Answer: Weather has caused delays; hoping to make up time once the weather improves. Scheduled finish: 5/21/21.
- Question: Is the hotel still part of the plan?
- Answer: Yes.
- Update from Chris Jordan: developers have updated plans for the hotel; will circulate once they’re available. Lauren, the architect, plans to attend the next neighborhood meeting.
- Q: What kind of hotel?
- A: Marriott Moxy Hotel (boutique hotel)
- Q: Current issues with traffic?
- A: Construction on Pennsylvania not associated with this project.
- Q: Will there be a restaurant in the development?
- A: 12,000 square feet of retail space, plus the gym relocating to the first floor and a bank on the end (not sure which bank). No knowledge of leases for first-floor retail yet.
- Q: Who is the developer?
- A: First Construction out of Lawrence, KS.
- Q: Is the vault from the old bank intact?
- A: Yes, will be part of storage area for the apartments.
- Holly Sticken – KCPD Community Liaison Officer
- Cold weather can lead to increases in crime.
- Spike in stolen autos (likely caused by unlocked cars with cars running) – 15 in one week (within central patrol division)
- City ordinance prohibits leaving your car unattended.
- Q: If your car has remote start, can you leave your car running in the morning?
- A: If you can leave your vehicle locked, with no keys inside, then the city ordinance does not affect you. You cannot leave your car unlocked or with the keys/key fob inside. Cars newer than the year 2000 do not need to be warmed up before you start driving.
- Theft from autos has gone up a little bit, but not by a lot.
- A group of perpetrators of theft from autos/stolen autos (a juvenile gang using scooters) has been identified and moved out of the state. Rates of theft from autos have since gone down.
- Theft from autos is typically a crime of convenience – don’t leave items visible, even if they are not of value.
- Neighborhoods in which residents know and talk to one another also see lower rates of thefts from autos/stolen autos.
- KCPD will begin introducing various trainings that neighborhoods can sign up for. More information on that forthcoming.
- Q: Our neighborhood did Block Watch training several years ago. Should we do it again? Would it be the same training?
- A: Program needs to be revamped to serve the different demographics in the district. Will bring in new information over the next 2 months, particularly addressing different ways neighbors can communicate with one another to discuss safety concerns. Holly suggests holding one training event to see how it goes. Each neighborhood would have one point-person to communicate with their counterparts in other neighborhoods to help facilitate information sharing.
- Q: Recently observed a trespasser on back outdoor stairway. What would be correct response?
- A: Call 911 citing an intruder. Get a good look at person’s clothing, race, stature, height. Give all those details to dispatch so they can give a complete description to officers driving over. Even if the person has not committed a crime, their description goes on record and can be used if crimes are committed elsewhere and the reported description matches.
- Call 911 if harm is being caused to person or property.
- Call 234-5111 for situations that are not emergency (e.g. property damaged, but perpetrator is not present)
- Q: Should we just call 911 for any concern and let the dispatcher determine how to prioritize?
- A: The same people answer 911 and non-emergency calls, so they can make the determination. Just recognize that not all 911 calls result in immediate officer response.
- Supervisor from Communications Unit can come talk about prioritization for calls made to KCPD, if we would like.
- Holly can bring handouts to the next meeting with information on calling 911.
- Valentine Membership Party on Valentine’s Day (Wednesday, Feb. 12) – at Browne’s Irish Market 5-7pm
- Renew membership to the VNA (annual membership is February-February).
- Can pay at the event or pay online at valentineneighborhood.org.
- Neighborhood vision for development – Co-chairs of VNA Development Committee Mary Jo Draper & Chris Jordan
- In 2005 there was a ‘visioning’ workshop in the neighborhood precipitated by proposed building of QuikTrip in the neighborhood. Wanted to give developers an articulated view of what types of development would be welcomed by the neighborhood. (Another meeting in 2015 was used to update the document created in 2005.)
- This is a good time to go over the priorities articulated in 2015 to see if anything has changed, given increased interest in development in the neighborhood.
- Want to make sure that the VNA Board and the Development Committee is representing opinions of the neighborhood accurately.
- Tonight’s goal is to get a feel for how much discussion there will be. If further discussion is needed, we can schedule a separate meeting.
- Stacy (President of Coleman Highlands neighborhood association) – there is a great deal of overlap in the interests/impact of development between our two neighborhoods.
- Chris Jordan’s plan for KC Life has been to have them divest of single-family houses south of 35th St.
- KC Life has continued to buy properties on the SW Trafficway, but they did sell about 10 houses south of 35th St. They still own all but about 2 properties north of 35th St.
- 33rd-35th along the SW Trafficway – Chris Jordan and the VNA board discussed mixed use development with Jim Stacey, who was representing KC Life at the time. Current representatives do not acknowledge any previous discussions on this matter.
- Q: As a neighborhood association, what authority do we have to dictate development/what KC Life can do with its property?
- A: Our approval is needed for rezoning requests. There is also a tradition in Kansas City of consulting neighborhoods before major changes impacting neighborhoods are made. Neighborhoods can also share their opinions with City Council people, who will have more of an impact on development projects.
- Q from Development Committee: Do we need to set up a dedicated meeting to discuss this?
- Response from attendees: Yes. We need to have a full understanding of the issues facing the neighborhood in terms of development. People would like to learn more about projects already in place, the history of KC Life’s properties in the neighborhood, and learn about potential future developments.
- In the next month, we can try to set up a meeting and give everyone notice. It would last at least 2 hours.
- Would also want to discuss potential for historic designation of the neighborhood. There are 2 types of historic designation.
- National – based on documented ages of properties. This would be the starting point. Largely symbolic documentation; is not tied to restrictions on properties.
- Local – has restrictions (residents need to consult a board regarding changes). A future discussion would need to be had (aiming at May 2020) about whether there is interest in pursuing this designation.
- Q: What was the strategy in 2015 for the Knickerbocker building?
- A: Save it. It has been closed for over ten years. KC Life has expressed an interest in tearing it down.
- But this could be a topic for discussion at the next meeting: Is preserving the Knickerbocker still a priority in the neighborhood?
- Q: Redevelopment of the Knickerbocker could contribute to parking congestion on Pennsylvania. Would our call to save the building include a plan for parking?
- A: There is a garage on the ground floor. KC Life owns other parking lots in the neighborhood that could be opened for use to help alleviate additional car traffic. This could be looked into for the next meeting.
- Comment: I’ve heard many opinions in the neighborhood that are indifferent about saving the Knickerbocker. We need to make sure that we are making an effort to gather all opinions, not just those from people who are able to attend the VNA general meetings.
- Response: We seek input through a variety of means to make sure we are getting opinions from a range of people (e-mail, flyers). Please spread the word and ask people to give their opinions. We will set something up online so that people who cannot attend the meetings in person still have a chance to give their views.
- Q: What is the historical importance of the building aside from its history as a prestigious apartment building? I’m more interested in seeing more affordable housing in KC than in money going into restoring residential buildings that will likely charge high rent.
- Comment from attendee: St. Louis has incentives in place to have developers set aside a certain number of units to tenants with income cap.
- Response: This is perhaps a state measure, not local.
- Comment: Lucas Abatement Plan going through City Council, which would include Valentine Neighborhood, could have options for affordable housing.
- Comment: What can we do to take a next step? Can we even negotiate with KC Life?
- Response from Development Committee: This topic will go on the agenda for the next meeting.
- Linwood Corridor Plan – city is looking for a plan starting at Truman Sports Complex, going across Linwood, extending through Roanoke Park and across 39th St. to KU Med Center. VNA has links on Facebook to the survey. VNA will send out links in an e-mail soon, as well.
- If you drive, bike, or walk that area, you might consider giving your input by Friday, 1/31/20.
- There is interest in adding bike lanes to this area; others may be concerned with reducing traffic congestion.
- There was a public meeting on this in November and less than 100 people attended.
- In Spring 2020, the city will come up with 3 options based on feedback from the survey. From there, they want to decide on a plan and have it inserted into the Public Works plan.
- Mackenzie Yeager – graduate student in landscape architecture at Kansas State University is doing a project on enhancing communities through neighborhood garden design.
- Working on a project at the former Westport Junior High School
- Seeking input from people in the area
- An e-mail with more information will be sent out shortly.
- VNA moving to monthly general meetings – 4th Tuesday of the month. Next meeting will be Tuesday, February 25th at 7 pm.