24 Friday, March 24

Residents of unincorporated Johnson County can now apply for the 2023 Dust Control Cost Share program

2023-03-24T11:48:29-05:00March 24th, 2023|

Johnson County’s 2023 Dust Control Cost Share Program is now accepting applications. To be eligible for this program, residents must live on a gravel road in the unincorporated area of Johnson County. This program involves spraying a product on the gravel road in front of homes to help reduce the dust. The road will still look like a gravel road, but the dust created by traffic is significantly reduced. This is the fourth year of the program and each year has seen an increase in residents participating. The program covers a 400-foot treatment area, and the county will pay for half [...]

24 Friday, March 24

Kansas lawmakers hear from businesses, city officials about growing homelessness issues

2023-03-24T11:02:55-05:00March 24th, 2023|

... city officials and other speakers ... came to discuss Kansas’ growing problem with homelessness during a House Welfare Reform Committee roundtable discussion Thursday. The discussion comes after widespread backlash to House Bill 2430, a bill that would make it illegal to use state or local government property for unauthorized sleeping, camping or long-term shelters. Towns and cities with a higher per-capita rate of homelessness than the state average would lose state funding. After Kansans who had dealt with homelessness showed up en masse to voice disapproval of the bill, the committee pivoted to the roundtable idea, though critics say more [...]

24 Friday, March 24

Johnson County Emergency Communications Center earns award for dispatch excellence

2023-03-24T11:48:36-05:00March 24th, 2023|

Johnson County Emergency Communications Center has been recognized by The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch as an Accredited Center of Excellence for emergency medical dispatching. Johnson County ECC is the 277th Emergency Medical Dispatch ACE in the world. IAED is the standard-setting organization for emergency dispatch services worldwide. Accreditation (and subsequent re-accreditation) from the IAED is the highest distinction given to emergency communication centers, certifying that the center is performing at or above the established standards for the industry. Centers who earn ACE status are the embodiment of dispatch done right, and have demonstrated strong local oversight, rigorous quality processes, and [...]

24 Friday, March 24

Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission forms subcommittee to tackle revisions to wind farm regulations

2023-03-24T11:00:41-05:00March 24th, 2023|

It’s not yet clear what the next draft of Douglas County’s revised regulations for wind energy development will look like, but it is clear that the work to codify the updated rules is far from finished. At a meeting on Monday, the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission discussed some of the changes it wanted to see in the second draft of that document. The conversation came about a month and a half after the public comment period for the first draft wrapped up in early February. Now, the planning commission has formed an ad hoc committee that’ll meet outside of regularly scheduled [...]

24 Friday, March 24

Hutch welcomes tens of thousands, brings in more than $1M hosting its 75th NJCAA Championship

2023-03-24T11:48:58-05:00March 24th, 2023|

The city of Hutchinson is welcoming tens of thousands of people this week for its 75th year of hosting the NJCAA Basketball Championship. The city says this is one of its biggest events of the year, and the benefits reach far beyond just the court. Every year, crowds pack the Hutchinson Sports Arena hoping for exciting basketball, and this year hasn't disappointed. Hutchinson resident Holly Spellman says it's a long-time family tradition. "Our boys are all ball boys, so they help warm up the teams, help mop the floors, so we spend our spring break here," said Spellman. For others, it's [...]

24 Friday, March 24

Riley County considers new dangerous dog ordinance

2023-03-24T11:49:10-05:00March 24th, 2023|

Riley County leaders are considering imposing new, stricter rules on dangerous dogs. The Riley County Commission is considering a proposal to update the county’s long-standing dangerous dog ordinance. This comes at the a request of a group of concerned citizens. The commission is looking at changing the county’s classification of a dangerous dog. The current policy, which has been in place since 1988, considers a dog as dangerous if it attacks a human or domestic animal without provocation or is a dog kept for fighting. Riley County Deputy Counselor Craig Cox said under the new proposed policy, a dog would considered [...]

24 Friday, March 24

Emporia Metropolitan Area Planning Commission possibly nearing end of zoning regulation refinement

2023-03-24T11:49:32-05:00March 24th, 2023|

The Emporia-Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission continued work to “fine-tune” the city of Emporia’s new zoning regulations during its monthly meeting Tuesday night. According to Chairman Kenton Thomas, the board spent much of the meeting reviewing and refining questions related to terminology and wording. The board has been refining the regulations for the past several years ever since the creation of the City and County joint comprehensive plan. Last fall the Emporia City Commission put a halt to the process to allow time for an outside attorney to conduct a secondary review of the plans to ensure they were in [...]

24 Friday, March 24

Overland Park exploring concrete requirement for new paved roads

2023-03-24T11:49:43-05:00March 24th, 2023|

Overland Park is considering whether to require developers to pave new residential and collector streets with concrete. The proposed change, which was reviewed at the Overland Park Public Work’s meeting Wednesday, would allow the city to gradually reduce its reliance on the controversial road resurfacing method known as chip seal. Concrete street pavement has been used for several years, both on the city’s thoroughfare projects and most recently in the neighborhood street reconstruction project, said Lorraine Basalo, public works interim director. “Our oldest concrete street is Nall about 131st south towards 143rd,” she said. “And to date, we have not had [...]

24 Friday, March 24

Leawood wants to make room for more affordable housing

2023-03-24T11:49:59-05:00March 24th, 2023|

Leawood wants to make way for smaller and more affordable homes. The Leawood City Council on Monday discussed plans to review and alter the city’s code for single-family lot sizes, with the intent that smaller lot sizes would ultimately lower home prices and diversify the city’s housing stock with more townhomes and twin villas. The city’s discussion follows Johnson County’s release of property valuations earlier this year, which showed the average home price in the county crept above half a million dollars. Source: Shawnee Mission Post

24 Friday, March 24

First Presbyterian Church of Lawrence vs. City of Lawrence (Interpretation of an Ordinance)

2023-03-24T10:02:16-05:00March 24th, 2023|

The Church argues that RSO zoning limits Fountain to building only one duplex on the 9.12-acre lot because of the way a duplex is defined in § 20-1734(5). The relevant language from the definition of duplex is as follows: "A single Structure that contains two (2) primary Dwelling Units on one (1) Lot." City Code § 20-1734(5). Though all parties contend the meaning of § 20-1734(5) is unambiguous, they do not agree on that "unambiguous" meaning. The Church points out that the section defines a duplex as a "single" structure with two primary dwelling units on one lot; it does not [...]

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