Northeast News
June 18, 2012

Residents of Chouteau Courts, Independence Plaza, Paseo West, and Pendleton Heights neighborhoods, located in historic Northeast Kansas City, Mo., will soon have an opportunity to develop a comprehensive plan for the community’s future.  As part of a partnership with the Housing Authority of Kansas City, Greater Kansas City LISC will host a Quality of Life Planning Session for residents and stakeholders of these neighborhoods on Sat., June 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Don Bosco Community Center at 531 Garfield.

Residents and neighborhood stakeholders are encouraged to attend and participate in this public meeting.  This is the final meeting in a months-long process coordinated by Greater Kansas City LISC; during the spring and early summer, LISC hosted a planning session in each individual neighborhood.

“Greater Kansas City LISC is honored to play a role in assisting residents as they plan for the future,” said Micah Kubic, LISC Program Officer. “We have worked in the Northeast community through NeighborhoodsNOW for many years and we have strong relationships with stakeholders. In addition, our successful track record in assisting other neighborhoods with their Quality of Life Plans makes LISC a logical choice for facilitation.”

The Quality of Life Planning Session will be a forum for residents and neighborhood stakeholders to discuss their priorities and goals, collectively determine the areas of concern, and reach a consensus on the best strategies to use in addressing those concerns.  The goal of the session is to produce a Quality of Life Plan that can be used to move the neighborhood forward and focus on issues that matter most to residents.  The Quality of Life Plan will be action-oriented, laying out concrete steps that can make the neighborhoods included in the planning area even better places to live, work and play.

This session is part of the Paseo Gateway Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, an effort by the Housing Authority of Kansas City to redevelop the Chouteau Courts public housing complex and simultaneously improve the quality of life in three surrounding neighborhoods (Independence Plaza, Paseo West, and Pendleton Heights).  The Housing Authority received a Planning Grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods initiative to launch this process.  The project places a special emphasis on addressing issues related to crime and safety, economic development, education, health and housing.