Lee's Summit council members outline housing priorities, cite ADUs and smaller lots to increase supply

Council member Cinda Raider said at an April 3 District 3 town hall that Lee's Summit is pursuing zoning and regulatory changes to expand housing choices and increase affordability. "We have revised some of our zoning ordinances to allow smaller lot sizes," Raider said, adding that the city adopted standards for accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to allow homeowners to add small units for relatives or renters.

Why it matters: Council members said the moves aim to increase for-sale housing supply and create options for seniors and first-time buyers. Raider described the local market pressures she said are driving costs: "We have low inventory...prices of land is high. Material costs are high. Labor is high," she said.

What the city has done and plans to do: The council described several actions already taken or under way: adopting ADU regulations that let homeowners build smaller secondary units on existing lots; reducing lot-width requirements (staff said the code now allows 35-foot lot widths to encourage smaller single-family starter homes); and encouraging alternative housing types such as duplexes, townhomes and panelized construction. Interim development director Amy Nasiv said permitting for single-family homes doubled over the past year even as multifamily projects are being built, and that updated code tools were intended to give developers more options for smaller homes.

Numbers and context: Raiders gave general price points from the discussion: she said the overall average single-family price was about $372,000 and that new-construction prices can range "probably $459 to 600, somewhere in there." She and staff framed the housing gap primarily as an affordability and supply problem rather than a single regulatory cause.

Public process and limits: Council members emphasized outreach and education to residents and that many measures are market-driven. "We don't sit around...trying to figure out, let's get more apartments in the summit," Mayor Pro Tem Betha Lopez said, describing the city as responding to market demand and data rather than imposing a fixed target. Raider added the council has not adopted a formal policy percentage for single-family versus multifamily housing; staff reported the city’s housing stock is roughly 70% single-family and 30% multifamily.

Officials urged residents with neighborhood-specific questions to speak with development staff or use town-hall cards for follow-up. "If you have specific questions...Amy and our development team is in the back," Lopez said.