KC ballot questions ask voters to remove small parcels from parks system

Under Kansas City’s charter, parkland can only be removed from the city’s parks system by a vote of the people.

That’s the underpinning of two questions on Kansas City’s Nov. 8 ballot. These questions are at the bottom of a very long ballot that also contains the presidential, Congressional and legislative races and numerous state and county issues.

Question 1 on the Kansas City ballot seeks voter approval to remove from the park system about 1.2 acres of vacant land between East 23rd and East 24th Streets, west of Flora Avenue.

This question aims to clean up a technical title problem with land that was already conveyed in 2012 from the city to the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church-Kansas City, 2329 Flora Ave.

The land is just west of the church, along Bruce R. Watkins Drive. The city received the land from the state of Missouri after it was left over from Bruce Watkins Drive construction in the late 1990s. The city never did anything with the vacant parcel and didn’t need it.

The church, which has already helped redevelop the nearby neighborhood with a successful residential facility for seniors, now wants to redevelop this parcel and other land that it owns with a 48-unit senior housing development and small activity center.

As part of that redevelopment work, the church sought title work. According to the city attorney’s office, Chicago Title found the land may be subject to a “parks purpose” deed restriction from when the state conveyed the land to the city. So out of an abundance of caution and to satisfy the title company, the city is seeking voter approval to remove that “parks purpose” that was never really in place anyway.

Question 2 seeks voter approval to remove about 2.6 acres of vacant land east of Lister Avenue and south of East Linwood Boulevard. According to Deputy Parks Director Terry Rynard, this land is a tiny part of 17.7 acres that the Kansas City VA Medical Center donated to the city in 1974. Rynard said this parcel is just greenspace, is not needed by the parks system, and the parks department would retain the other 15 acres of land as greenspace in its system.

If voters approve, Rynard said the VA hopes to redevelop the parcel as housing for families of patients, although it would be offered for other private or nonprofit development proposals as well.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 1:52 PM with the headline "KC ballot questions ask voters to remove small parcels from parks system."