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Lenexa Approves Habitat Rezoning on Park Land as Residents Sue to Stop Project

A court challenge now seeks injunctions that could void the approvals.

Overview

  • The City Council voted 7-2 to rezone roughly 17 acres at Clear Creek, approve a preliminary plan, and authorize a sale to Habitat for Humanity of Kansas City for $825,490.
  • Habitat plans about 50 affordable single-family homes at roughly 2.75 units per acre near 86th Terrace and Clare Road.
  • A verified petition filed in Johnson County Civil Court hours before the vote alleges deficient notices to nearby property owners and other procedural violations.
  • The lawsuit seeks temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctions to invalidate the Planning Commission’s unanimous recommendation and require the city to restart the process.
  • City officials say most of the broader 57-acre area will remain parks, wetlands and trails, and a traffic study found local streets can absorb the added vehicle trips; residents argue their objection is to developing parkland, not to affordable housing.