Small-business owner tells council Lee's Summit permitting process is hard to navigate; asks for clearer guidance

Joanna Anderson, co-owner of Summit Play Village, addressed the council during public comment to say the city’s permitting system is difficult for small-business owners who are managing parts of their own build-outs.

Anderson said the process “assumes that I have a general contractor and architect managing everything from start to finish, which is simply not the case for many small businesses.” She told council the city website lacks clear, consolidated guidance and that she struggled to find the information she needed even after repeated outreach to development services staff; she thanked staff member Joe Frogue for assistance but said the support should not depend on who a business owner knows.

She described operational effects: “At 1 point, I made 17 phone calls to just the fire department before walking in just to get a basic answer about code and what I needed as far as fire alarms were concerned.” Anderson said permitting sequencing prevented work from progressing — for example, a vendor issue on an HVAC trade held up other trades’ work — and that the delays had cost the business nearly three months of lost openings and income.

Anderson urged the council to improve transparency and usability by publishing a high‑level checklist, providing sequencing guidance that reflects readiness instead of assuming a prime contractor, and convening a working group or feedback session to design improvements. She said the changes would help local, owner-operated businesses that do not have large development teams.

Council did not act on the request during the meeting; the remarks were recorded as public comment for staff consideration.