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If the Lenexa City Council on Tuesday denies a special use permit to operate a homeless shelter, Johnson County could be sent back to the drawing board — possibly needing to find a new location and deciding whether to commit alternate funding in the face of a fast-approaching federal deadline.
The decision would be a major setback after the county has spent months evaluating the Lenexa site, following years of planning for a much-needed shelter.
Late last month, the Lenexa Planning Commission voted 9-0 to deny a special use permit request to operate a year-round shelter at the La Quinta Inn and Suites off of Interstate 35 and 95th Street. The permit is required for the county to close on the real estate purchase, and needed for reStart, the Kansas City-based homeless services agency, to run the shelter.
In its recommendation to reject the permit, Lenexa city staff said the use is inconsistent with the character of the neighborhood, would “create a concentration of negative external impacts” in the community, detrimentally affect nearby properties and strain law enforcement resources.
But the Lenexa City Council has the final say to approve or deny the permit, or send it back to the planning commission with reasoning for it to be reconsidered.
The council will consider the permit request at its meeting next Tuesday evening.
In the meantime, the county commission at its Thursday morning meeting will vote on submitting a letter to the council urging it to approve the permit.
“We believe this project is consistent with the character of the surrounding neighborhood, will not negatively impact property values in the area, and will have a significant positive effect on public health, safety and welfare,” the letter reads.
Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers has declined to comment on the permit request ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.
Denial of the permit would put the current shelter plans in jeopardy, requiring the county to move funds around and consider whether officials need to seek out a new location.
If the council rejects the permit, Johnson County is expected to reallocate the more than $6 million in federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds — money that had been dedicated to purchasing the hotel site — to other programs.
Proponents have viewed the use of federal COVID dollars as key in pushing the project forward, allowing the county to buy a site and establish a shelter without pulling money from elsewhere in its budget.
The county in December entered into a real estate agreement to purchase the hotel and a shuttered restaurant nearby, at 9461 and 9471 Lenexa Drive. Staff then spent 270 days evaluating the site and doing other due diligence activities in preparation to close on the sale.
Under the federal program, those dollars must be obligated and under contract by the end of the year, and spent by the end of 2026. But if the Lenexa council denies the shelter permit, Jody Hanson, spokeswoman with the county, said about $6.2 million would need to be reallocated.
It’s possible those dollars could be redirected to other programs, such as an eligible wastewater project, something county staff previously mentioned as a back-up for the money. If not obligated in time, the county would lose that money altogether.
But reallocating those funds wouldn’t necessarily spell doom for paying for a future shelter with federal dollars, if commissioners remain dedicated to the idea.
Will Johnson County remain committed to a shelter?
Understanding the tight timeline to obligate the COVID funds, the commission in February built in a buffer for itself by setting aside $6 million in available countywide support funds to purchase the shelter.
The countywide support funds also came from federal COVID-19 relief dollars, that allowed the county to calculate revenue lost due to the pandemic and put that money in general reserves to fund a variety of uses, such as salaries.
The commission set that money aside in the event officials could not close on the sale of the hotel by the end of the year. Those funds do not have the same timeline restrictions as the other federal dollars.
Commission Chairman Mike Kelly said if Lenexa denies the special use permit, the board would need to decide if it wants to continue committing those funds to the shelter project.
The commission also has dedicated $3.7 million in countywide support funds to provide reStart to renovate the hotel. Of that, 10% would go toward early operating costs and capacity building.
Earlier this month, the commission approved an amendment to the real estate contract, delaying the payment of $150,000 from Sept. 9 to Sept. 20, after the council will vote on the permit.
Whatever the outcome of Tuesday’s council meeting, county commissioners said they will be weighing their options moving forward.
“We always, as a matter of practice, have contingency plans knowing that we need to be prudent and innovative and nimble when unexpected circumstances arise,” Kelly said.
A “no” vote by the Lenexa City Council would deal a serious blow to the current plans. And it is unclear how difficult it could be to find a new site, in a city willing to allow a shelter.
Still Kelly said he remains hopeful the project will move forward and federal funding will be used for establishing a shelter.
He previously said “there’s community consensus” around addressing the long-time need for a permanent shelter. He added the county is taking several steps toward addressing the lack of affordable housing and increase in homelessness, and the shelter is only one piece of that work.
“I know as a community we will continue to work toward solutions. And I welcome all cities to the table to determine how best we can address these issues,” Kelly said. “The homeless services center still provides the right solution at the right time. I look forward to those continued conversations.”
Does the Lenexa site stand a chance?
For proponents of the shelter project, the hotel site in Lenexa checked a lot of boxes, including sitting off of I-35, next to commercial properties, with access to public transportation.
But Lenexa city staff said the city could need increased law enforcement to oversee the proposed shelter, which they said it doesn’t have money for. And they argue Lenexa faces a higher burden than other cities, considering it is also home to Johnson County’s temporary winter shelter at Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church.
Staff also cited the county’s speedy timeline for pushing the project forward, arguing that the plans for managing and sustaining the shelter were inadequate.
After a public hearing where more than 70 people spoke, both for and against the shelter, last month, the planning commission denied the permit.
In the letter Johnson County commissioners will vote on submitting to Lenexa ahead of the council’s vote, the board vows to work with the city to provide additional service by the sheriff’s office, including deputies and mental health co-responders, to respond to calls. It also says officials will explore programs and funding, such as housing vouchers, to help off-set any overflow at the winter shelter.
“When we can address homelessness via housing and supportive services instead of through criminalization and hospitalization, we get a much better return on our investment and give folks a much higher chance of exiting homelessness,” the letter reads.
ReStart has proposed turning the hotel into a 50-bed shelter, with private rooms and bathrooms. Another part of the project would include 25 transitional housing units, to help residents move into permanent homes. The organization intends to provide residents with several resources, including access to health care, job opportunities and more.
The total project cost is estimated at about $10.5 million, which includes renovating the hotel. Officials estimate it would cost about $1.7 million a year to operate the shelter, which would be funded through grants and private donations. Leaders also are asking the county and its cities to help fund $500,000 of the annual operating cost.
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