The Merriam 2040 comprehensive plan is approaching final draft form, but there’s still time for residents and other stakeholders to provide input. Since July 2019, the city along with a Midwest-based consulting firm Confluence have been working on a 20-year plan to help guide future infrastructure, development and redevelopment of Merriam. A virtual public meeting on Wednesday provided an overview of the draft and offered the public a chance to provide some feedback on what’s been created so far. Board presentations will be made available at both city hall and the Merriam Community Center, and the boards will be accompanied by notecards for the public to provide feedback.
Source: Shawnee Mission Post

Shawnee’s city code now includes homeless shelters, crisis shelters and emergency disaster shelters. After extensive and lengthy discussions Monday night, the Shawnee City Council unanimously adopted the new regulations that allow shelters in almost any part of the city. Shawnee’s regulations are more lenient than what city staff have seen in other communities, said Stephanie Malmborg, deputy community development director. “We pretty much across the board allow shelters in some capacity anywhere,” Malmborg said. “No other communities that I’ve seen anywhere have that flexibility, at least according to the codes that we researched.”
Source: Shawnee Mission Post