A community garden with several raised beds.

Bring Vacant Lots to LIFE: Help us identify barriers to activating vacant lots.

We know there are real challenges to using vacant land—this is your chance to help us tackle them.

Kansas City is home to thousands of vacant and underused lots - many sitting empty for years. These lots represent missed opportunities for housing, jobs, green space, and neighborhood pride. We want to change that - but we need your help.

This survey is one of the first steps in understanding the real barriers people face when trying to bring these spaces to life. Whether it's turning a lot into affordable housing, a community garden, or a public gathering space, your input will help us identify what's getting in the way and how we can fix it.

What we're doing

We're launching a Vacant Land Activation Initiative to make it easier for residents, developers, and community groups to transform vacant land. This work is happening in phases:

Listen - Gather input through surveys and community conversations.
Understand - Identify the challenges and opportunities from what we hear.
Act - Recommend and implement administrative changes to reduce barriers and support more activation.

Why now?

On May 15, 2025, the City Council passed Resolution 250396, sponsored by Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley, to formally launch this initiative. The resolution outlines the focus areas, phases of work, and our commitment to community engagement - especially in neighborhoods most impacted by vacancy.

We hope you'll take a few minutes to share your experience and ideas. Together, we can bring vacant lots back to life.

How You Can Participate:

✅ Review the draft strategic plan below and submit a comment with your feedback!

To ask specific questions about this survey or Resolution 250396, please contact Andy Savastino at andy.savastino@kcmo.org.

Phases

Phases overview

Phase 1: Identifying Barriers to Using Vacant Land

Identifying Barriers to Using Vacant Land

Phase 2: Sharing Survey Results

Sharing Survey Results

Phase 3: Choosing Strategies

Choosing Strategies

Phase 4: Sharing Short-Term Deliverables

Sharing Short-Term Deliverables

Phase 5: Comment on the Draft Strategic Plan For Vacant Lots

Comment on the Draft Strategic Plan For Vacant Lots

February 18, 2026 6:00 AM - February 28, 2026 6:00 AM

Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the Vacant Land Activation Initiative. We want to hear from you! Please share specific feedback on the draft plan. Add a page number to be clear, or post general comments.

VLAI Strategic Plan DRAFT 2.18.26.pdf

(1.5 MB)

5 issues

Todd Forbes II4 months ago What Is Working WellThis plan is unusually actionable for a strategic document. It lays out a clear operating model across the vacancy lifecycle (identify, prevent, stabilize, and improve government processes) and correctly treats vacancy as an ongoing service delivery challenge that requires staffing, reliable data, and consistent cross department execution. I also support the whole blocks approach and the market based implementation framing because it aligns intervention intensity with feasibility and helps concentrate impact at the neighborhood level. Finally, the emphasis on improving the vacant property inventory and public facing tools is the right direction for transparency, predictability, and reducing friction for residents, neighborhood groups, and developers.Items That Need to Be Added or Adjusted to Strengthen Implementation• Add a defined 12 to 18 month implementation schedule with accountable owners Specify near term deliverables, timelines, and who is responsible for producing each item (ordinance drafts, dashboards, RFP templates, disposition criteria, side lot program rules, and process playbooks).• Establish a small KPI scorecard and publish it on a fixed cadence Track a limited set of measures that reflect throughput and cycle time such as registration rates, inspections completed, abatements closed, title clearance timelines, parcels conveyed, side lot transfers, and average time from acquisition to disposition.• Create a legacy program and title clearance playbook Add a simple reference matrix that identifies legacy or discontinued programs and common encumbrances, clarifies which are still valid, and sets a standard clearance pathway. This directly addresses one of the biggest bottlenecks to activation.• Formalize side lot and good steward conveyance as a default pathway for non buildable parcels Not every lot will support redevelopment. Establish a fast track program for adjacent owners and responsible stewards with clear eligibility, maintenance standards, and anti speculation protections so these parcels move quickly into responsible hands.• Make CHDO participation operational rather than incidental where affordable outcomes are prioritized If affordable housing delivery is a goal in targeted areas, disposition processes should explicitly include scoring or preference criteria that recognize HUD certified CHDOs based on demonstrated delivery capacity and compliance readiness.• Tighten legal guardrails for any expansion of registration or fee requirements Any changes should include objective vacancy triggers, clear exemptions, hardship options, a defined enforcement escalation ladder, and clarity on how fee proceeds support compliance and stabilization.• Avoid tying compliance to consent to enter concepts If the goal is safety response and faster intervention, rely on existing lawful entry processes and keep any consent options clearly voluntary to reduce legal risk and improve registration compliance.• Clarify ownership and standards for vacant structure marking and enforcement sequencing Identify one accountable department and define consistent triggers, placement standards, inspection cadence, and removal criteria to ensure uniform citywide application.• Add a standing governance cadence to prevent drift Establish a recurring cross department review focused on KPI movement, bottlenecks, and escalation of problem properties so coordination is institutionalized rather than case by case.RecapOverall, this is a strong and credible plan that reflects substantial effort and coordination. To make it fully implementation ready, the key additions are clearer sequencing, measurable outcomes, a standardized approach to legacy title issues, a formal side lot and good steward pathway, and explicit partner prioritization where affordable outcomes are desired, paired with careful legal precision around any new registration or fee requirements. With these refinements, the plan is well positioned to deliver effective, equitable, and durable results that communities can see and measure over time. Thank you to staff and partners for advancing a thoughtful, practical approach to a complex and long standing challenge.

Zachary Oshinbanjo4 months ago The plan does a lot of things right. One gap I see is that HUD-certified CHDOs are mentioned as potential recipients but not as deliberate partners in the disposition process. These organizations already operate under federal compliance frameworks and are built specifically for this type of work in disinvested markets. That’s uniquely different from general nonprofit eligibility.Disposition RFPs in the 3rd and 5th Districts should include explicit CHDO preference criteria. The infrastructure is already there.

James Baker4 months ago Urban infill development can be very tight. As noted in the draft plan, not all vacant lots will or can be developed into buildings or structures. I'd recommend identify good steward neighbors to tack on these parcels. This could give small-scale multifamily more room to breath in terms of parking, amenities, green space. Doing this proactively on the owners part can seem like extra work. A strategy to offload these to neighbors would be helpful.

James Baker4 months ago

Kate Barsotti 4 months ago

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Vacant Land Activation Initiative Open House
Event date: September 25th, 2025 at 9:00 PM to September 26th, 2025 at 12:00 AM.
Gregg/Klice Community Center
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Bring Vacant Lots to LIFE: Help us identify barriers to activating vacant lots.

Phases

Comment on the Draft Strategic Plan For Vacant Lots

5 issues

Strong Strategic Plan; Targeted Ordinance Refinements Needed for Implementation

Leverage existing CHDOs

Identify good steward adjacent property owners

Title Issues

Great strides

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Upcoming and ongoing events

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Vacant Land Activation Initiative Open House

Bring Vacant Lots to LIFE: Help us identify barriers to activating vacant lots.

Phases

Comment on the Draft Strategic Plan For Vacant Lots

5 issues

Strong Strategic Plan; Targeted Ordinance Refinements Needed for Implementation

Leverage existing CHDOs

Identify good steward adjacent property owners

Title Issues

Great strides

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Upcoming and ongoing events

Past events

Vacant Land Activation Initiative Open House