Concrete plans to cap building heights in Leawood, but only along 135th Street, are starting to take shape. The Leawood City Council on Oct. 16 considered creating specific rules for new office and mixed-use buildings on 135th Street. City leaders had initially proposed and discussed capping building heights on all new office and mixed-use developments citywide. The city council’s decision last week comes as the latest of extensive discussions in Leawood about amending the city’s development ordinance to keep future developments from creating too much density in the southern part of the city. The Leawood Planning Commission first saw the city council’s request to bring maximum building heights down from 90 feet to 55 feet this summer. At the time, the commission widely disapproved of the plan, voicing concerns that the move would stunt growth in Leawood too severely. The topic itself stemmed from concerns from city councilmembers who wanted to avoid a “canyon effect” along 135th Street with incoming projects like the East Village development.
Source: Prairie Village Post
