KSHB 41 News reporter Braden Bates covers parts of Jackson County, Missouri, including Lee's Summit. Send Braden a story idea by e-mail. He reached out to Lee's Summit Mayor Bill Baird about residents concerns and was able to get a one-on-one interview with Mayor Baird.
Lee's Summit is experiencing a surge in apartment construction that's prompting longtime residents to question whether the city is prioritizing the right type of housing for its growing population.
Michelle LaPlant, a 30-year resident of Lee's Summit, watched as "every little batch of green space is popping up apartment buildings."
Her concerns led her to email two city council members about what she considers "an excessive amount of apartment complexes."
While LaPlant didn't receive a response from council members, KSHB 41's Jackson County reporter Braden Bates took her questions directly to Mayor Bill Baird.
"I appreciate you doing interviews like this because it creates conversations," Baird said of his one-on-one interview with Bates.
When asked by Bates whether luxury apartments are the best option for Lee's Summit, Baird said there's a need for different types of housing.
"I think there needs to be a broader diversity of housing products in Lee's Summit," Baird replied. "The luxury has come with the commercial and it's been mixed-use developments that have been paired together."
The apartments coincide with several retail developments that also are being built around the city.
LaPlant shared with Bates she appreciated the mayor's response, but questioned whether the city's decisions align with the mayor's stated goals.
"It makes me happy that he says that and he thinks that," LaPlant told Bates Tuesday. "But then it doesn't make it seem like they're making the decision that led that way."
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She said the city council approves the apartment complexes, so they could easily send the developers back to the drawing board.
"He says the right things, but then the actions are saying otherwise," LaPlant told Bates.
His conversation with the mayor also addressed resident retention and included Baird outlining his vision for the city.
"There's different ways at looking at this," Baird told Bates. "We're making it the greatest place to live and the safest place to live, grow-up, raise a family, retire, grow old, you name it."
LaPlant countered that current development patterns don't support long-term residents.
"He's saying he wants to live here, grow old here, and stay here, but then they're not leading developments to encourage that. Without having the affordable housing developments, people are leaving Lee's Summit," LaPlant said.
She said the apartments being built are luxurious and come at a significant cost, alongside some of the new single family housing developments.
"I would just like to see more single family homes," she said. "Neighborhoods with $200,000 homes. Like they’re building neighborhoods in Lee’s Summit, but I think most of them are $4 (hundred thousand) to $500,000 homes."
She said this is pricing out the residents who currently live there.
Baird acknowledged to Bates the city's rapid growth outlook as a driving factor behind housing decisions.
"We were going to be 140,000 people by the year 2040, which is tremendous growth. And you can't build thousands of houses fast enough with regards to that, but we can try," Baird said.
Despite her concerns, LaPlant emphasized her love for the community.
"I do love Lee's Summit and I love living her and I love my community," she told Bates. "It just changed. You know change is good sometimes, but not always."
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