If you have or intend to file an application for special use permit, rezoning, preliminary plat, or development plan public engagement in the form of a neighborhood meeting is required.

Please Note: Per Ordinance 220398, meetings may be held virtually or in-person or in a hybrid format. If the meeting is held in person, it must be held in an ADA accessible location within 3 miles of the subject site. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed as requiring one or the other; however, when a registered neighborhood or civic organization is present and expresses preference for a particular format within the time frame allotted them in 88-505-12-C-1 the applicant is strongly encouraged to comply with the request.

The Process

1. Determine if the property lies within a registered neighborhood or civic organization.
   • Use our parcel viewer tool to do this by typing in the property address or panning and zooming to the property and selecting it. Then select "Neighborhood and Homes Associations" from the table in the left margin.
   • If the resulting window lists none OR two or more associations you may host the neighborhood meeting yourself (see Step 2 below).
   • If the resulting window lists only one association you must collaborate with that association to arrange the required neighborhood meeting.
     • You can select the neighborhood listed in the window which will open a separate window with contact information for the association. To initiate collaboration, complete the Notice of Application form and mail it via non-signature certified mail and email (if available) to all contacts for the association. A completed copy of this notice should also be emailed to publicengagement@kcmo.org and the Project Planner. The two parties should collaborate regarding the preferred meeting host (association or applicant), date, time and meeting location as well as any special needs of the neighborhood (such as an interpreter, etc.).  Following collaboration but no later than 10 calendar days following the postmark date of the notice of application, the association shall respond to the applicant and to publicengagement@kcmo.org with confirmation of the meeting date, time and location.
2. Arrange and Host the Neighborhood Meeting
   • Using the Public Meeting Notice form, the applicant shall send notice of the neighborhood meeting to all owners of property within 300 feet of the subject property (property proposed for development) at least 10 calendar days prior to the Public Engagement Meeting. The Public Engagement meeting must be held at least 7 calendar days prior to the first scheduled public hearing. A copy of this notice shall be uploaded as an attachment by the applicant to the case in CompassKC by the same date or staff will continue the case from the scheduled city plan commission hearing date.
   • The required public engagement meeting must meet the following criteria:
     • Be held at least seven calendar days prior to the first scheduled public hearing;
     • Be open to the public and, if held in-person, hosted in an accessible building as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act;
     • If held in person, not be located in the applicant's office or any place of business affiliated with the applicants;
     • If held in person, not be located in a residential unit;
     • Be held at a time outside of normal business hours (normal business hours are defined as 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday) unless otherwise agreed to by the applicant and registered neighborhood and/or civic organizations; and
     • If held in-person, be located within three miles of the subject property unless there is no public building with accessible space located within three miles of the subject property, and agreed to by the registered neighborhood and/or civic organizations
   • After the meeting, and by the deadlines set by the City Plan Commission schedule, the applicant shall upload a completed copy of the “Sign in Sheet and Meeting Summary” as an attachment to the plan case in CompassKC.

A copy of the completed Sign in Sheet and Meeting Summary will be provided by staff to the City Plan Commission to serve as evidence that the public engagement ordinance has been satisfied.

Any citizen and association may provide additional testimony at the hearing or in writing by the same deadline (six calendar days prior to the hearing date) by emailing such testimony, addressed to the City Plan Commission, to publicengagement@kcmo.org. Staff will provide this testimony to the Commission.

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Required Correspondence Forms

The following forms should be used as you work through the new required public engagement process. Please read and complete ALL of the following steps:

• Notice of Application: Please use this template for your letter notifying adjacent property owners of your pending project application with the city. This letter must be sent to all contacts associated to any registered neighborhood or civic organization whose boundaries include the subject property.
• You must send written confirmation of the selected meeting host to publicengagement@kcmo.org and the Project Planner as soon as possible after your host is determined.
• Public Meeting Notice: Use this form to send invites to your neighborhood public meeting.
• Sign in Sheet and Meeting Summary: Use this sign in template at your neighborhood public meeting. Use the final page to complete and send a post-meeting summary to the city via email to publicengagement@kcmo.org and the Project Planner.