Northeast News
April 30, 2014

When is a Historic District not really a Historic District? When it’s in Kansas City, of course.

This Historic Newshound is more than outraged by the actions last Friday of the city’s Landmarks Commission. The commission, a group of mayoral appointees – that should tell you something right off the bat – allegedly have the city’s best interest at heart when it comes to the preservation of the city’s historic buildings and neighborhoods.

Last week, the holier-than-though Landmarks Commission stood historic preservation on its backside when they deemed a chain link fence “Historic.” To add insult to injury, they approved the installation of a six-foot chain link fence permissible even though it fronts a public street, a violation of the city’s own zoning code.

The project in question is the old Don Bosco School at Independence and Garfield Avenues that Scuola Vita Nuova purchased and is converting to use as a charter elementary school. The school is within the Pendleton Heights Historic District, where any exterior alterations to any structure must be approved by the Landmarks Commission and be in line with the U.S. Department of Interior standards for restoration.

Last week’s vote stating that a chain link is in compliance with Department of Interior’s standards is a slap in the face to every preservationist in this cow-town and anyone who played by the rules and restored their historic structure properly, observing the D.O.I. guidelines.

Any Landmarks Commission member who voted for this abomination should resign immediately and be sent packing for the shank they just stuck in the back of every historic neighborhood in Kansas City. This newshound hopes, with great promise, that a sanctioned body appeals this ridiculous decision and sends a strong message that such moronic and idiotic decisions will not be tolerated. Our guess is someone with the construction company got to a commission member in the dark of the night and did some influence peddling.

Note to commission members who voted in approval on this – Gangwere, Hardin, Matthews and Heitman – resign now because this Newsdog is just startin’ to scratch the surface on this one.