If you own property in Kansas City and propose to use it in a manner that would be prohibited by the current zoning of that land, you or your authorized representative can apply to have the zoning changed. The City Council, upon the recommendation of the City Plan Commission (CPC), is authorized to change the zoning of any property within the city as long as the action is justified by public necessity, convenience, or the general welfare.

Procedure

1. Request a Pre-Application Conference

Request a pre-application conference with a City Planning and Development Department staff planner. Please visit this page to request an appointment: Request Meeting with Planner

Bring with you:

• The address of the property in question.
• The property’s legal description, available from the County Recorder’s Office or the City Assessor’s Office.
• A sketch of the area or a plat map.
• Your tentative plans for using or developing the land.

The purpose of the pre-application conference is to review with the planning staff your proposed rezoning and development for the site, as well as to learn how the city’s existing and proposed plans and policies may affect the site in question.

At the conference, you will be advised of other information you must submit at a public hearing before the City Plan Commission. For example, Development Plans, Urban Redevelopment Districts, Signage Plans, and Master Plan Developments will require submission of detailed drawings of the proposed project. During this conference you also will be given detailed instructions of the application process.

2. Submit Application, Plans (if required), and Filing Fees

Submit the completed application forms to the City Planning and Development Department, along with eight copies of your preliminary plans (if required) and other information suggested during the conference. You also will be required to pay a filing fee governed by the type of rezoning you request. The filing fee is listed in Section 88-620 of the Zoning and Development Code.

3. Await Planner Review, Attend Public Hearing

A City Planning and Development staff planner will review your materials to make sure all necessary items have been furnished. The planner will then schedule your case on the next available agenda before the City Plan Commission.

Six weeks will pass between submission of your application and the date of the City Plan Commission public hearing. The delay is due to a required period for legal advertisements; time to prepare and mail notices of the hearing to adjacent property owners and do other administrative work; and because of the limited number of cases the City Plan Commission can hear at one time.

You and all owners of property within 300 feet of the affected site will be notified of the time, date and place of the hearing. The City Plan Commission has established a policy requiring you to hold a meeting with affected residents to review your project prior to the public hearing.

You or your representative must be present at the City Plan Commission public hearing to present and explain your request. You should bring with you any maps, graphs or other materials that would help you explain your proposal. Adjacent property owners and other interested persons also will be allowed to speak at this hearing.

Following the hearing, the Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council either to approve your request; approve it subject to certain conditions; or to deny it. You will be advised by disposition letter of the Commission’s decision.

4. Attend Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee Hearing 

If the City Plan Commission recommends approval of your rezoning request, the City Planning and Development staff will prepare an ordinance and forward it to the City Council.

Within about two weeks, the ordinance will be given a first reading before the City Council and will be referred to the Council’s Neighborhood Planning and Development (NPD) Committee. About one or two weeks will pass before the committee holds a public hearing on the ordinance. You or your representative must attend, and should bring any material that would help explain your request.

5. Await Committee Approval/Denial and Subsequent City Council Hearing if Approved 

After hearing all sides, the Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee will make one of the following recommendations to the full City Council:

• “Do pass”
• “Do not pass”
• “Without recommendation”
• “Hold in committee”

If the committee recommends that the ordinance be passed, the measure will be given a second and third reading on consecutive weeks and the council will vote on it at the third reading. If the City Council approves your rezoning request, or approves it with conditions, the ordinance to rezone your property becomes effective 10 days later.

If at any time during the process of seeking a rezoning your request is denied by either the City Plan Commission, the City Council or the Council’s Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee, you have three options:

• You can revise your application and resubmit it at any time to the City Planning and Development Department.
• You can resubmit the same plans for the same property to the City Planning and Development Department one year later.
• You can ask a City Council member to reintroduce the denied application

6. Submit Final Plan (if request includes Master Plan Development or Urban Redevelopment Plan)

If your request included a Master Plan Development (MPD) or an Urban Redevelopment Plan (UR), you will then need to submit a final plan for administrative review, a step that must be taken before a building permit can be issued.

To do this, you are required to submit a completed application form, filing fee and eight copies of your plans to the City Planning and Development Department staff. This plan must be in substantial compliance with the intent of the approved preliminary plan.

An MPD plan will be scheduled in approximately three weeks for the Development Review Committee (DRC). The DRC will review the plan and will either approve, approve with conditions, deny, or continue the project for additional information. You or your representative must be present at the DRC meeting.

A UR plan will be reviewed by the planner within approximately three weeks. During the three week interval various city departments will review and comment on the plans.

The City Planning and Development staff will then send copies of the approved, plans to Development Services, 5th floor, City Hall, for use in issuing a construction permit. You must have such a permit if your project involves any new structures or any work that physically changes structures already on the property.