KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers Kansas City, Missouri. She's been covering calls for crime solutions on Kansas City's east side for months. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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If you drive past the shuttered Sun Fresh Market on East 31st Street and Prospect Avenue, you'll notice a white, security barricade surrounding the closed store.
The barrier is there to make sure there aren't any burglaries while the store is vacant.
Since Sun Fresh closed, the Urban Summit has been engaging with the city and police department to establish long-term solutions for the community.
KSHB 41's Kansas City Reporter Alyssa Jackson listened last week at the group's regular monthly meeting. The Urban Summit, a grassroots organization in Kansas City, had KCMO's elected officials and city manager give updates on progress with new tenants for the store.
There is a targeted focus on finding a replacement operator. However, the bigger picture for the Urban Summit is encouraging the city to improve the environment surrounding the store.
KCMO Public Safety Director Lace Cline presented some of her ideas at the Board of Police Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.
"Something needed to be done to address these problematic properties," she said at the meeting.
Cline is part of the city's creative approach to tackling crime. She's proposing a gas station drug ban on unregulated products like kratom and 7-OH.
Another ordinance in the works is a retail alcohol ban.
The goal is to put restrictions on businesses selling certain alcohol in corridors like Prospect Avenue. Alcohol that can be consumed in a single serving, like shots and beers that are 40 ounces or less, won't be allowed to be sold.
Certain areas, according to Cline, attract groups that congregate outside of stores selling the products. The groups can create public safety issues.
In November, the city amended its nuisance ordinance.
If a property is identified as having a pattern of nuisance violations, the amended code forces property owners to figure out a solution for reducing illegal activity.
Examples of nuisance activity in the Prospect Corridor include prostitution, public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
Under Ordinance No. 250966:
- A single violent offense, combined with one other qualifying incident within six months. will trigger review by the Neighborhood Services Department.
- The number of incidents required to qualify as a chronic nuisance within 180 days has been reduced from seven to five.
- Property owners will have ten days to develop an abatement plan, or a plan to reduce illegal activity for violent offenses.
Cline said: "If we can give attention to a neglected neighborhood and help improve that, all Kansas Citians would benefit from that."
While the ordinances are for all of Kansas City, the Prospect corridor is a hot spot area that's top of mind for the office of public safety.
The Sun Fresh Market left the Linwood Shopping Center four months ago. The Urban Summit knows repeated crime hurt the store's viability.
"East of Troost has been neglected," said Bishop James Tindall, president of the Urban Summit. "What can we do to try to curtail or try to bring some civility, some peace in our community?"
That's a question the ordinances in the works aim to address.
Tindall believes the city needs to put a moratorium on liquor licenses.
He added that if KCMO invests in more resources for the inner city, like jobs, housing and economic development, a store like Sun Fresh can survive.
"A grocery store — I think several grocery stores," Tindall said. "People are going to move back into community, buy housing, open stores, do business in the African American community."
From several angles, advocates are searching for solutions.
"Let's all sit down at the table," Tindall said. "There's no reason why our people won't care. They do care. They just want some help."
KCMO wants the former Sun Fresh Market to remain a grocery store.
At last check, several parties were interested in acquiring the building.
Interested operators will submit formal proposals to the city.
Recommendations should reach the city council in January.
KSHB 41 reached out to the city manager's office for more information on the process. We are waiting for a response.
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