City council to have final say on proposed homeless shelter in Lenexa

LENEXA, Kan. — The Lenexa City Council is expected to have the final say on a controversial proposed homeless shelter already rejected by its planning commission.

The shelter would occupy an old La Quinta hotel off I-35 and 95th Street.

The proposal states the building will operate as a services center and shelter.

It will include 50 individual rooms and bathrooms and 25 transitional housing units and provide resources to help get people into stable housing.

A month ago, city staff and the planning commission gave their recommendation to deny the special permit needed to operate the center. Both stating it would put a strain on city resources and would be in an area that’s intended for development to grow the local economy.

Soon after the council meeting started Tuesday night, the city council called an executive session to discuss potential litigation. This comes after Restart Inc., who would run the operations, sent a letter to the mayor and council members last Wednesday.

In the response it stated, “as such, we are concerned that if the city council follows city staff’s and the planning commission’s inappropriate and arguably discriminatory suggestions, the city’s actions could be in violation of the Fair Housing Act and or Restart’s constitutional rights and could result in a legal dispute.”

Restart says people will need a referral to stay and rules will be enforced, including a curfew.

Before the meeting, members of the Good Faith Network were outside city hall and hosted a prayer vigil in support of helping the homeless.

There wasn’t an opposition demonstration but people were there Tuesday night to share their concerns during public comment.

Again, the planning commission gave its recommendation to deny the permit. The city council now has the final say.

They have three options. Adopt the planning commission’s recommendation, overturn it, or send it back and request more information.

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