Council approves Dreams neighborhood sidewalk funding without property-owner consent after split debate

The governing body voted March 18 to approve funding recommendations from the Dreams Neighborhood Improvement Initiative citizen advisory council and to waive the program’s usual prior property-owner consent requirement for sidewalk projects in this cycle.

Staff summarized the citizen-advisory council’s recommendation (option 1) to fund sidewalks in Highcrest, Historic Holiday Park and North Topeka West, with property-owner consent where required, and to fund a mill-and-overlay project on East Topeka North Street and Valley Park Shunga Drive. A third alternative proposed by Historic Holiday Park NIA sought to override the property-owner approval requirement entirely so the city could proceed with sidewalks in those areas even without owners’ signatures. After public testimony and lengthy council discussion about continuity of sidewalk segments, landlord outreach, and fairness across neighborhoods, Councilmember Miller moved to approve option 1 without the property-owner consent requirement; Deputy Mayor seconded the motion.

Council supporters said continuity matters for safety and that signature requirements sometimes block projects where landlords are hard to reach or uncooperative; opponents argued the signature requirement is part of the application rules and should be enforced going forward. The motion passed on a roll-call vote recorded as nine yes votes.

Staff said the neighborhoods whose projects were approved can pursue the work this year and that other NIAs can reapply for later cycles; staff and councilmembers also suggested improving outreach and earlier solicitation of signatures in future application rounds to reduce last-minute hurdles.