KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Lenexa City Council approved three measures Tuesday night to allow a proposed housing project to move forward.
Habitat KC wants to build about 50 homes in the area of 86th Terrace and Clare Road on land that has been used as a park space.
The project has drawn the opposition of neighbors who live in the area.
Tuesday night, dozens of people signed up to speak at a public hearing at the Lenexa City Council meeting ahead of the vote, but ultimately the City Council voted to move the project forward.
Residents say their opposition isn't about affordable housing, but about using parkland for development.
City Manager Beccy Yocham addressed residents' concerns in an interview in January, stating that the majority of the acreage of the parkland will remain untouched.
Tuesday night, the Council voted 7-2 to rezone the area for single-family housing.
The Council also voted 7-2 to approve the preliminary plan for the Clear Creek Subdivision, which includes about 16 acres near the northeast corner of 86th and Clare Road.
The Council also voted 7-2 to allow the Mayor to execute the sale of the property to Habitat for Humanity of Kansas City for $825,490.
A group of Lenexa residents is considering legal action to halt the development, claiming the city has violated its own zoning laws and shut residents out of the decision-making process.
While the planning commission unanimously approved the rezoning request that was also approved by City Council Tuesday night, residents have hired attorney Michelle Burns, who says she found deviations from typical city code.
If legal action moves forward, Burns would ask the court to declare all actions null and void, forcing the city to restart the process.
