The Location › Ordinance 260705

Ordinance 260705, explained

Ordinance 260705 rezones about 68 acres south of Pershing Road, west of Gillham Road, north of E. 27th Street and east of Main Street to District UR, and approves a development plan for a ballpark district. Held on the docket at the 9/3/2026 Council meeting and re-referred on 9/10/2026 to the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee, which advanced it as a committee substitute on 10/6/2026. The Council passed it as substituted on 10/8/2026, 13 to 0. doc doc doc doc

What District UR zoning allows

Kansas City's UR (Urban Redevelopment) zoning district exists to promote development and redevelopment of underdeveloped or blighted parts of the city while allowing flexible design to carry out an approved redevelopment plan. doc

Land can be rezoned to District UR only if it has been designated a blighted area, a conservation area, or an economic development area, and the rezoning request must be accompanied by a preliminary development plan. doc

In District UR, the zoning code itself does not set fixed lists of allowed uses or building standards; those are instead established when the city council approves the preliminary development plan for the specific site. doc

Ordinance 260705 rezones about 68 acres generally located south of Pershing Road, west of Gillham Road, north of E. 27th Street and east of Main Street from Districts UR, B4-5 and M1-5 to District UR, and approves a development plan that also serves as a preliminary plat for a ballpark district. doc

The city's staff report on the rezoning states that under the plan, all uses allowed in the B4 zoning district would be permitted across the site, alongside a specific list of prohibited uses. doc

That staff report lists the prohibited uses as adult businesses, a day labor employment agency, a pawn shop, a short-term loan establishment, funeral and interment services, outdoor and used vehicle sales, vehicle repair and storage, and self-storage warehouses. doc

What the development plan covers

The staff report describes the site as currently developed with a mix of commercial, manufacturing and parking uses, including buildings used by Crown Center, the Westin hotel and Hallmark's corporate offices. doc

The Santa Fe Place condominiums, the San Francisco Tower condominiums, and the Union office building between Grand Boulevard and Warwick Trafficway are excluded from the proposed UR boundary. doc doc

The plan divides the site into project areas, with Area 1 — on the east side where Pershing Road turns into Gillham Road — identified for a new baseball stadium, while many existing buildings outside Area 1 are planned to remain and be renovated. doc

KCUR describes the project as a $3 billion mixed-use entertainment district that would expand building space at the site from about 9.1 million to about 12.6 million square feet, subject to change. ref

The staff report says underground parking beneath Crown Center is expected to continue, along with some existing structured parking. doc

A set of design guidelines submitted with the application covers building placement and orientation, massing and scale, and materials and transparency, and will be used to review the final plan for each project area. doc

The plan requests six deviations from the zoning code, including for spillover light at the property line, loading and unloading in the public right-of-way and on designated Boulevards, fencing standards along Boulevards, and vehicular access to parking structures from Boulevards. doc

City Planning and Development staff recommended "approval with conditions" for the rezoning and development plan, case CD-CPC-2026-00100. doc

The conditions report attached to the staff recommendation lists conditions from City Planning and Development, the Fire Department, Parks and Recreation, Public Works and Water Services, covering matters such as parking screening, bike-parking specifications, fire-access roads, an events traffic management plan, and utility and stormwater requirements. doc

KCUR reports the City Plan Commission's approval was conditioned on preserving current parking arrangements for San Francisco Tower residents and on completing a visual, noise and light study that would be made public. ref

The staff report notes a formal traffic study will be submitted to the city's Public Works Department at a later date to determine specific infrastructure improvements needed for access to the site. doc

City staff had received 8 letters opposed and 63 letters in support of the rezoning as of the staff report's cutoff, with opposing letters raising concerns about lighting and noise. doc ref

The ordinance and the staff report describe the rezoning area as about 68 acres. doc

How it moved through the council

The rezoning application, case CD-CPC-2026-00100, was filed on June 29, 2026, and the applicant hosted a required public engagement meeting on July 27, 2026. doc

The City Plan Commission voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning on August 5, 2026, according to KCUR. ref

Ordinance 260705 was introduced to the city council on August 6, 2026, sponsored by Councilmembers Andrea Bough and Kevin O'Neill and Mayor Quinton Lucas. doc

The council's legislative history shows the ordinance was first held in the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee on August 11, 2026. doc

The Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee unanimously endorsed ordinance 260705 on August 18, 2026, sending it toward the full council. doc ref

The ordinance was assigned to the council's Third Read Calendar on August 20, 2026, according to its legislative history. doc

KCTV5 reports the council was scheduled to vote on the rezoning around September 3, 2026, but delayed it again while the city finalized separate tax-increment-financing districts tied to the project. ref

The ordinance's legislative history shows it was "Held on Docket" on September 3, 2026. doc

At the council's September 10, 2026 meeting, the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee recommended "Do Pass, Debate" on ordinance 260705, and the council then re-referred it to that committee, due back September 22, 2026. doc

Mayor Quinton Lucas told KCTV5 the September delay was not a sign of trouble, saying the city wanted to finalize the specialized tax-increment-financing districts before moving forward with the rezoning. ref

The Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee's agenda for September 22, 2026 lists ordinance 260705 under "Held in Committee" and notes the item will be held one week. doc

The ordinance's legislative history records the committee's action on September 22, 2026 as "Hold on Agenda." doc

On October 6, 2026, the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee recommended that the council "Advance and Do Pass as a Committee Substitute, Debate." doc doc

The committee substitute adds an appropriation of $5,000 from the Development Services Fund for public communication, and recognizes the ordinance as having an accelerated effective date. doc doc

On October 8, 2026, the council passed ordinance 260705 as substituted, 13 to 0. The minutes record Lucas, O'Neill, Willett, French, Rogers, Patterson Hazley, Robinson, Rea, Bunch, Curls, Parks-Shaw, McManus and Duncan voting aye. doc

At the same meeting the council passed ordinance 260888, approving the Downtown Stadium Tax Increment Financing Plan, and ordinance 260889, authorizing revenue bonds by the Missouri Development Finance Board of up to $537,000,000 for the stadium, team offices and supporting infrastructure. Each passed 11 to 2, with Willett and Duncan voting no. doc

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