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The city's Right to Counsel program provides free legal representation to tenants who end up in eviction court. Program leaders say it's working.
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced earlier this year that it would foreclose on Parade Park, a townhouse complex that once was a symbol of pride for Black Kansas City families. Under the plan, Kansas City would buy the properties from HUD and then transfer them to a private developer to rehabilitate.
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An ordinance proposed by Mayor Quinton Lucas would make it illegal for landlords to refuse to rent to tenants because they're on the Housing Choice Voucher Program, known as Section 8. If passed, the law would be among the nation's strongest bans on source-of-income discrimination.
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The citywide tenants union KC Tenants helped craft the proposed legislation, which would make it illegal for landlords to refuse to rent to someone based on their source of income.
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A dozen projects have received $11 million in Housing Trust fund support, all of them dedicated to creating and preserving affordable housing.
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Kansas City Council member Crispin Rea is the chair of a committee looking for community input on how to move forward with a new city jail. Engagement sessions will be held in the coming weeks so that residents can share their thoughts.
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The city council approved $1.3 million to increase capacity and staffing at 10 local shelters.
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In September 2022, the Kansas City Council approved a tax break program for homeowners on the Westside who saw their home values skyrocket. So far, 53% of all homeowners have signed up for the program, which cuts property taxes to a percentage of their income and, for some, freezes it at that level for 25 years.
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Officials are deciding between either replacing the old Jarboe Pool or building a new outdoor water facility at the Tony Aguirre Community Center.
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As Kansas City explores constructing a new municipal jail, prison experts say the city has an opportunity to take a different approach to crime. Kansas City has long used its municipal jail for those who violate city codes, but the vast majority of inmates are nonviolent offenders.
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The new Pennway Point entertainment district, which makes use of space that sat empty for years as industrial storage, is already making some neighbors in the Westside neighborhood uneasy. Developers are building the project without using tax money, but say they plan to seek incentives for the years ahead.
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Kansas City last updated its economic development strategy in 2014, during a very different time for the metro. Some council members say the city should revise the plan to better include affordable housing, sustainable efforts and transit.