By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
May 4, 2011

Ideas are piling in regarding the Truman Plaza Area Plan.

Still in the beginning stages, the plan will focus on five areas: infrastructure, transportation issues, land use, housing issues and crime.

The goal is to incorporate the community’s vision by gathering their input.

More than 40 area residents attended the first Truman Plaza public meeting April 21 at North-East Public Library.

“We had really positive feedback,” said Randy Dunn, city planner with the Kansas City Planning and Development Department. “I think a lot of people are just excited their area was getting an updated plan.”

Asked what concerns attendees voiced, Dunn said safety, crime and downzoning.

Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association President Adam Schieber said residents of Pendleton Heights and Scarritt want single family homes, not additional apartment buildings.

“We have neighborhoods just south of us that have a 25 percent home vacancy rate,” Schieber said. “There’s no point to bigger developments when we can’t even fill the single family homes we have.”

Joann Rahtjen, a board member of the Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association, said she worries the plan’s boundaries are too broad.

“The criticism of the plan I have is they did not look at the data and apply the data to the right neighborhoods,” she said. “When they showed the economic data, it showed low levels of education, low income. But, that took into consideration everything south of Independence Boulevard, so it really skewed some of the data that doesn’t apply to us in Scarritt, Pendleton, Lykins and Indian Mound.

“On a whole, it was a good meeting, but there was a huge goal and objective differential in our whole area.”

Rahtjen also questioned the number of plans the city keeps pumping out.

“We keep trying to reinvent the wheel and keep gathering this data that we all know about. Let’s start doing something about it rather than talking about it,” she said.

High tech input

In addition to hosting public meetings, the city is offering “online town hall forums” at http://plankcmo.com/truman-plaza-neighborhoods. Residents can use the message board format to post ideas and comment on other’s posts. Topics range from adding bicycle paths to zoning to vacant homes, among others.

One resident suggested coordinating efforts with the Kansas City Missouri School District on its vacant school buildings. The former schools should be repurposed as soon as possible; otherwise, it will create blight in a neighborhood, the resident said. Nine people responded to his post.

The public is encouraged to continue to submit ideas and suggestions.

The next public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. May 17. Location to be announced.