A KCK family’s testimony about how they have maintained a vacant lot behind their home for seven years led the developer who applied to build there to voluntarily withdraw her bid Monday night, exposing a gap in Unified Government Land Bank policy.
Mariah Caldwell told the Neighborhood and Community Development Standing Committee that her husband, Jamar Caldwell, who has lived in the 2600 block of North 22nd Street for over 30 years, has prevented illegal dumping, managed wildlife, and reduced safety risks on the parcel directly behind their home since 2018.
“He has inquired about the parcel behind his house multiple times since 2020,” Mariah Caldwell said, “and he was given conflicting information several times when he was actually able to get a response from the land bank.”
Jamar Caldwell described his work clearing weeds and trash, and using the lot for community events. He said he repeatedly tried to contact land bank staff in person and by phone without response. “Anytime I had business to take care of uptown, I would stop in there and try to contact the guy that’s supposed to be over land development at the time. No one ever got back with me,” he said.
The Caldwells are also officers of the Organization for Community Preservation. Mariah Caldwell’s sister-in-law Candie Leonard-Caldwell serves as president and Camille Caldwell as vice president. Camille Caldwell said the lot has hosted OCP events including an Easter egg hunt and an annual fireworks display for community members and elders.
Yard extension policy limits transfer options
Fran Sutton of FMJ Properties, who is currently developing 27 homes in the immediate neighborhood, had applied for the lot at the 2600 block of North 21st Place to build a single-family home for a buyer. Although the Caldwell home abuts the lot from the rear, Deputy Chief Counsel Wendy Green said current land bank policy requires a yard extension to share both a side boundary and the same street name as the applicant’s residence.
Section 6.2 of the policy reads that the property to be acquired must share a common boundary at either side of the applicant’s property and share the same street name. The Caldwell home faces a different street, disqualifying the lot for a yard extension under the existing rule.
Sutton ultimately offered to find another lot rather than displace the family’s stewardship.
Sutton said, “I hear neighbors and community members saying, whether they do it correctly or not, that they use this lot to create community in this area. I do not want to take that away from him.”
Chair Andrew Davis (District 8) suggested the Caldwells could apply for the lot under the garden category or as a new construction option agreement rather than as a yard extension.
Struggler’s Hill objections overruled twice
Two multi-family projects in the Struggler’s Hill area were approved 4 to 1, with Commissioner Melissa Bynum (At-Large District 1) the lone dissent on each. Urban Haven received approval for two duplex parcels, and Beauty for Ashes was approved for seven parcels along Oakland Avenue, North 10th Street, and Everett.
Struggler’s Hill-Roots Neighborhood Association president Rochelle Donald submitted written opposition to both projects, citing rising property taxes, increasing prices, ongoing tariffs, and broader economic uncertainty. Donald said the group favors smaller, incremental projects and single-family homes.
“We are not in a hurry to do a bunch of multifamily developments at one time,” Donald said. She added that residents are concerned about the capacity of newer development companies to deliver and pointed to nearby vacant apartments as evidence of stalled projects.
Davis defended the approvals, citing the Northeast Area Master Plan, which calls for increased residential density in the area, including duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes.
“The Northeast desperately needs them all,” Davis said. “There are times where as elected officials, we have to make really tough decisions.”
The current zoning for the parcels allows duplexes by right. A 2023 housing market analysis found Wyandotte County is short at minimum four thousand housing units. Pacheco said increasing residential density is one of the few tools the UG has to spread the property tax base.
Pure Development cleared for 24 lots over environmental concerns
The committee voted 5 to 0 to approve a Pure Development application for 24 lots near Quindaro Boulevard and Stewart Avenue, where the company plans to build a 23-unit micro-community modeled after a project in Bellevue, Neb. Each unit will be a vertical duplex with two two-bedroom, two-bath apartments stacked on each other, with parking, a playground, a grill area, and a small dog park.
Oak Grove Neighborhood Association president Darnell Bush opposed the application, citing concerns about ground contamination in the Oak Grove area. He asked that any development be paused until the soil is tested by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and that contaminants be remediated before construction.
Davis pulled up a UG brownfield and environmental assessment map showing the parcels in the application were not flagged as brownfield sites, even though a separate property under assessment to the west was outlined in red. He said the staff data indicated the Pure Development parcels had been reviewed and were not flagged for contamination.
Both Oak Grove and a neighboring association called Caring Neighbors fall outside the application boundary, according to Michael Sutton, redevelopment coordinator in the economic development department. That meant no formal neighborhood notification was triggered. Bynum asked Pure Development partner Michael Heitsman to commit to meeting with both associations regardless. Commissioner Jermaine Howard (District 1) noted that Caring Neighbors’ president had told him she supports the project.
Other land bank actions
The committee approved 5 to 0 a slate of 14 property transfers including community gardens, yard extensions, and the transfer of a former fire station at the 2400 block of South 51st Street back to the UG for sale.
NRC director outlines department priorities
Greg Talkin, director of the Neighborhood Resource Center, presented an annual update on the four divisions of the NRC: administrative, building inspection, property maintenance compliance, and Local Neighborhoods. He said the department is largely self-supporting through fees and revenue.
Talkin said demolition funding has dropped from over $1 million annually to about $230 thousand as tax sales paused in recent years, while demolition needs are rising. The department expects to be out of demolition funds within 30 to 60 days, with 28 properties still on the dangerous properties list at the end of 2025. Two recent fire cases required emergency demolition.
The NRC’s Local Neighborhoods division has contracts with seven Neighborhood and Business Revitalization Organizations, which act as on-the-ground partners for outreach and programming in specific areas. An eighth seat that covers the Northeast, where most land bank lots are concentrated, is currently vacant. Talkin said they will start to advertise for bids to fill the vacancy in the coming weeks.
K-State Extension presents annual update
Wyandotte County Extension director Denise Dias reported that the office helped residents get almost $500 thousand back through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program in 2024, and that a second tax help site at Avenue of Life is expected to increase that amount for the current year.
Master Gardeners support five community gardens, including a new Cooper-Foreman Heritage Garden at KCKCC featuring plants dating back as far as the 17th century.
Dias said federal and county funding has been flat or declining and state funding looks questionable, and asked the committee to consider any opportunities for additional investment. The office is exploring forming a combined district with Leavenworth County to gain economies of scale.
The committee adjourned just a few minutes before midnight.