KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. Share your story idea with Megan.
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A Kansas City, Missouri, family-owned car dealership is working to comply with new city regulations while urging city leaders to maintain security patrols to protect the business from significant theft.
Mohamad Daifallah, who works at Quick Stop Motors on 85th and Holmes, said the family business faces challenges meeting some of the new requirements because its current setup is designed to prevent crime.
"We don't really have the luxury of moving the street. Our dealership is packed a little bit sometimes," Daifallah said.
The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council passed an ordinance requiring used car lots to meet six new standards, including maintaining cars at least 10 feet from streets in residential areas, having a permanent building over 200 square feet, conducting vehicle repairs inside, adding more approved landscaping to screen the business from public view, limiting vehicles to one per 200 square feet with marked spaces, and providing security lighting.
However, Daifallah explained parking cars tightly together is a deliberate strategy to deter thieves who have cost the business substantially over the years.
"What doesn't work sometimes is distance between vehicles because we've dealt with theft before, catalytic converters. My father, in his 24 years of working here, he's dealt with $100,000 of theft," Daifallah said.
The family implemented its own security measures to protect inventory, making compliance with spacing requirements particularly challenging.
"We try to make our dealership look nice," Daifallah said. "We made a little more space between our cars for our customers to get in, get out."
But Daifallah emphasized the business must remain financially viable before it can fully address the new regulations.
"We have to take care of us before we can get to these regulations, 'cause if we don't take care of us, we won't be able to succeed," he said.
Despite the challenges, the family is working toward compliance while acknowledging the additional burden.
"A lot of work came out of nowhere, kind of," Daifallah said.
The new regulations target common issues seen along major corridors, like Troost Avenue, where many lots are packed tightly with cars parked close to main roads, some clearly non-working.
City records show numerous 311 complaints across Kansas City involving lots with trash and cars parked for sale on sidewalks and streets.
When asked for data on the number of complaint statistics, the city did not provide specific numbers.
Gathering code enforcement complaints requires collaboration between the Neighborhoods Department and the City Planning Department. They are currently working on the request.
A city spokesperson said there are more than 364 used car lots in the city.
Moving forward, KCMO has changed the zoning requirements for new, proposed used car lots. Instead of being automatically allowed to operate, used car dealers must go through a formal application process, with a public hearing before city approval.
Existing used car lots may "continue current operations without change and can operate as-is, only needing to adhere to the ordinance if the business expands," the city said.
"In addition to seeing unkempt car lots with non-functioning vehicles and other blighting conditions on Kansas City streets for much of his life, the Mayor most recently confronted the issue during his ten-mile walk with other Kansas Citians along Troost Avenue on Friday, August 15. The need for regulation was evident.
"Observations along major streets like Troost, Prospect, Independence Avenue, and Blue Ridge showed numerous poorly maintained lots, with weeds and broken-down vehicles. Such blight contributes to public safety concerns such as crime and illegal dumping.
"No Kansas City neighborhood should have to live in blight for years.
"The ordinance shutters no businesses; it instead asks them to maintain regular standards consistent with those we ask of other residents and businesses in Kansas City each day. Enforcement will follow existing city processes.
"The city continues exploring additional enforcement tools for nuisance violations on these properties to ensure all Kansas Citians have the same neighborhood quality of life experienced by our suburban neighbors and in some of our finest communities."
Daifallah said his family wants what's best for the community and remains open to working with residents and city officials.
"We apologize, and we are open to people coming to us," Daifallah said.
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