The Lee's Summit City Council advanced changes to the city's Unified Development Ordinance and approved related code amendments on Tuesday that will restrict large-scale public fireworks and parades while temporarily easing some rules for mobile food vendors and temporary signs during the June 1–July 31 window surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

City staff said the limited changes are intended to focus city resources during the expected influx of visitors. "We did go to CEDC back in August and then also Planning Commission," Amy Nassif, deputy director of development services, told the council, outlining the proposals. "We're being proactive to prepare for the World Cup and ensure we put our priorities and staffing resources in the appropriate places."

Under the ordinance language Nassif presented, the city would impose a moratorium on special-event permits for large public fireworks displays from June 1 to July 31, except for longstanding, "legacy" displays at Raintree and Lakewood subdivisions. The proposed UDO amendments also would block approval of commercial entertainment or athletic events that expect more than 1,000 attendees during that period unless the event is FIFA-sponsored or city-sponsored, Nassif said.

Staff also proposed temporary relaxations to mobile food-vendor rules in the Central Business District by removing hour-of-operation restrictions for food trucks (food trucks would be limited to private property unless associated with city or FIFA events) and by prohibiting food carts on sidewalks and public parking areas during the same period. On temporary signs, staff recommended waiving the usual permit requirement and removing the four-sign-per-property cap for June 1–July 31 so code enforcement can prioritize removing signs placed in the right of way and other safety hazards.

Councilmember Shields, who sponsored the ordinance for second reading, asked whether events cosponsored by private groups and the city would be exempt; Nassif replied that events cosponsored by the city would be covered by the exemptions. "If we're partnering with them, sponsor or cosponsoring, then that would be covered," she said. In response to a question about the distinction between food trucks and food carts, Nassif clarified the draft: "It was just the food carts that would not be allowed in public parking areas or on sidewalks," she said.

Council moved bill 25-188 (amending chapter 33 of Lee's Summit's ordinances) to second reading on a roll-call vote that the clerk recorded as 8–0 to advance. A companion ordinance, bill 25-189, amended city code to bar play-street (block-party) permits and some parade permits during the same June 1–July 31 window; that ordinance was discussed as a resource-allocation measure and was adopted by the council later in the meeting on an 8–0 vote. Tracy Albers, director of development services, described play streets as "a nice way of saying block parties" and noted the carve-out for city-sponsored and legacy events.

The council's actions are procedural steps: the UDO changes advanced to second reading for final consideration, while the play-streets/parade ordinance was adopted with exceptions for legacy and city-sponsored events. Staff said the temporary changes apply only to the limited World Cup window and that normal rules would resume afterward.

City staff will implement the temporary changes if the ordinances complete the remaining legislative steps. The council did not set a separate effective date beyond the June 1–July 31 window described in the ordinance text.