County commissioners on Thursday okayed a proposal to spend $950,000 in federal pandemic relief money toward a unique Habitat for Humanity development of 20 yet-to-be-built homes in Olathe that will be available to low-income buyers for 99 years and beyond.
It’s one of a slate of new measures the county is trying to enact to chip away at persistent housing affordability concerns. The Habitat Olathe Pathway project at 159th Street and Blackbob Road will allow eligible applicants to own and collect partial equity on their home structures, while the land remains in a trust so that the homes can continue to be offered at below-market rates to future applicants. The project was made possible by the Pathway Community Christian Church’s sale of land at below-market rates.
Source: Prairie Village Post

A two-year test program that allows Overland Park residents with at least a quarter acre of land to keep chickens has so far been a success, according to the city department that oversees it. As the program approaches its ending date December 31, the city animal control department noted there have been no documented complaints on properties with chicken permits since the pilot began in March 2022. City councilmembers now will begin to consider whether to make the chicken rules permanent, as some members of the council’s Community Development Committee proposed at a meeting Wednesday.

Source: Prairie Village Post