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Kansas City Council Committees Stall On Downtown Drive-Thru, Traffic Cams

Drive-thru moratorium stuck on 2-2 vote

Opponents of a downtown drive-through restaurant and supporters of red-light cameras made no headway in Wednesday's KCMO city council committee meetings, but but neither are ready to throw in the towel.

Supporters and opponents of a proposed moratorium on all drive-thru restaurant construction in the downtown loop argued for more than two hours at a public hearing held by the Planning and Zoning committee.

What started it all was planned construction of a Jimmy John's at 9th and Broadway. The attorney for the sandwich shop chain was former city councilman and mayoral candidate, Mike Burke, who said the city was going back on its word. Burke said Jimmy John's owners have spent more than $600,000 in relying on being told they could "do anything they want with this property."

Some downtown residents and business owners complained that they weren't aware of what was being built until Jimmy John's had bought the location and torn down the vacant building that was on it.

The moratorium idea stalled on a 2-2 vote, but it remains on the docket and sponsor Jim Glover wants to bring it up again when all five committee members are present.

City attorneys need more time to study traffic-cam ruling

The Public Safety Committee also sidelined a major item, postponing discussion of another attempt to save the city's red-light traffic cameras from a recent court ruling. Councilman John Sharp said he hoped city attorneys would have something to consider next week, but he "couldn't guarantee it."

A Missouri appeals court recently ruled that the city's traffic-cam ordinance did not comply with Missouri law and hinted photographs would have to clearly  identify the driver or issuing a ticket based on them would violate the state constitution.

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