KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Another delay in a nearly 15-month arduous journey has left ArborVoer co-owners and neighbors opposed to the urban farming and compost business frustrated and disappointed.
The City Council agenda showed they would consider Ordinance 240599, which would remove 130 feet of gravel right-of-way on East 55th Terrace leading to Arborvois Farm.
Both city staff and the Neighborhood Planning and Development Commission recommended the measure pass.
If the right of way is revoked, Arbavoie will lose access to his farm.
Further detours expected as work on 69 Express continues
Mayor Quinton Lucas opened the meeting by saying the issue would be discussed for a week after filling the City Council chambers.
“The item will be put on hold for a week and we will not be discussing the item today,” Lucas said.
“If they don’t understand what they should be doing and what they’re going to do, I hope they take more time to think about it,” said Debra Neighbors, who supports street furloughs and has been a vocal critic of Arbavoir.
She and others who live near the farm have previously raised issues about composting, storage bins, traffic and the products Arbabole sells at the farm. Those issues were brought before the Board of Zoning Adjustment in January.
“We are here today [for the street vacation issue] Because the BZA failed to take action on four violations,” Neighbors said.
In January, the BZA gave Urbavore six months to create a master plan to address those issues. Since then, Urbavore co-owner Dan Hellyer said they’ve spent more than $65,000 to create a plan that addresses the concerns of neighbors and the BZA.
“This is a very expensive solution and it’s not easy for us, it’s not easy for anybody, but it’s the right choice,” Hellyer said.
Get the latest news from Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri
The plan is scheduled to go before the city planning commission on Aug. 7, but only after the road halt issue has been considered unless the commission reconvenes to consider the master plan first.
“If that was the intention, they should have done it today,” Hellyer said. “It’s not clear why they postponed it for only a week, because as you said, that doesn’t solve our problem.”
