Another northeast Johnson County city is getting closer to adopting a tree preservation ordinance. The Mission City Council during the Nov. 6 community development committee moved a draft tree preservation ordinance forward to a city council meeting for formal consideration. This comes a few months after the city of Mission began discussing a tree preservation ordinance, with a focus on protecting mature trees on commercial or a big residential project. In nearby Roeland Park, the city council recently adopted a tree preservation ordinance after years of discussion on the issue. Other cities like Fairway and Prairie Village have had such ordinances on the books but have revisited these policies in recent years.
Source: Johnson County Post

Overland Park has started the legal process of removing historically racist deed restrictions on residential property records in older parts of the city. A century ago, racist covenants barred Black and Jewish people from owning homes in some communities but haven’t been enforceable for decades. Still, the offensive language has remained on property records like plats, deeds and neighborhood declarations. Last week, the Overland Park City Council Community Development Committee unanimously voted to recommend the city take the first step in releasing such restrictive covenants. City staff described the action as mostly symbolic since the original documents won’t be changed, but according to city documents, it does allow Overland Park to “express that [the covenants] are inconsistent with the city’s values.”
Source: Johnson County Post