Englewood Arts District eyes zoning overlay to allow accessory dwelling units

KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers portions of eastern Jackson County, including areas like Blue Springs and Independence. If you have a story idea to share, send an email to Claire at claire.bradshaw@kshb.com .

The Independence Planning Commission will hear a proposed plan Tuesday night to create an overlay zoning in the Englewood area.

The Englewood Arts District wants to create the Englewood Arts Overlay District (EAOD) because it said it will give property owners more rights.

If approved, the EAOD would allow that portion of western Independence to build Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, and homes, less than 1,000 feet, matching existing homes in the community.

“It deals with aging in place, so folks that have lived here for 30 years or plus, and they're retiring, it allows them to stay in their home longer, but also it's attractive for young families or single individuals that are just looking for community and an affordable place to live, which, right now, affordable housing is the top of everyone's mind,” said Michael Baxley, the Englewood Arts executive director.

The map below shows the proposed EAOD in green with the current arts district in red.

Baxley said the AUDs could allow people to house their aging family or as an artist workshop.

The arts center and EAOD attracted GK Callahan to move to Independence three years ago.

“You know ADUs in your backyard, being able to have a studio or my parents aren't getting any younger, I would love to be able to take care of them in their older life if we could be able to build another dwelling in our back and be able to stay in our home and take care of my parents," Callahan said. "I mean, there's things like that that are really beneficial."

Leigh Phillips, another Englewood resident, is against the EAOD. Phillips is part of the Concerned Citizens of Independence, Mo PAC .

She said they have gathered over 200 "notarized protest petitions" of people against the overlay that were then turned into the city.

Phillips said she doesn’t want the zoning decision involving her private property to be made for her.

"We are not being asked our permission to do this; this is something that is overlaid on us that we didn't expect. We didn't anticipate," Phillips said. "I bought a home in a residential neighborhood to live in a residential neighborhood. If I wanted to live in mixed-use, I have several choices around the cities to be able to do that."

The proposal outlines certain requirements for ADUs, such as, they would need to be detached, in-between 300-900 square feet, and only one allowed per property.

The Cottage Neighborhood Cluster would be a planned community of three to 12 smaller homes.

Baxley said this would provide affordable housing to the area.

The full proposal to the planning commission can be seen here . Englewood Arts also has an FAQ page on its website.

Following the planning commission's meeting, the Independence City Council will tentatively have its first reading of the proposal on Oct. 7.

—