A metro man has gone head-to-head with the City of Shawnee for decades, but he said, as he gets older, he just can’t do it anymore.
It all comes down to a natural stream that runs through the front of his property. David King spoke at last week’s city council meeting, something he said he’s been doing for years. “The storm water system is not natural. They built it! They created it! That’s my whole story right there,” he said.
King has lived off 71st Street for 40 years. For the first two decades, he didn’t have any issues with storm water and maintained the stream as outlined in city code.
“That is where water naturally runs, but it was a reasonable, controllable type of water,” he said.
But he said when the city made upgrades to 71st Street almost 20 years ago, the city also put in a storm water drainage system that re-routes water onto his property. That was the beginning of a 20-year battle.
The city released the following statement in regard to King’s frustrations:
“City staff has been in contact with Mr. King periodically for years. As with any citizen, we are always ready and willing to keep the lines of communication open.
(Read more: fox4kc.com | FOX 4 – WDAF)