The Lee’s Summit Economic Development Committee voted to advance to council an ordinance amending Chapter 4, Article 1, Section 4-13 of the city code on issuance of liquor licenses near schools and churches.

Major Walters, Police Department, told the committee the change is “language cleanup for subsection B so that it mirrors subsection A, adding dispense or giveaway.” The chair moved and the committee approved the measure on a roll call vote to send it to full council for consideration.

The proposal prompted public comment from resident Cinda Raider, who urged a broader change. Raider said she had requested a 1,000-foot buffer between liquor establishments and schools and churches after an appeal involving a store near Lee’s Summit North. “I would like for the school to be no closer than 1,000 feet,” Raider said, and noted she had learned “Missouri has state statutes that dictate that it has to be within 100 to 300 feet.”

Committee members and staff clarified the scope of the item before them: the ordinance amendment before the committee adds the phrase “dispense or giveaway” to subsection B and does not change the existing distance rules. Assistant City Manager Ryan Elam said that under the current code an establishment within 300 feet may require council approval, while locations outside 300 feet may be automatically approved; Major Walters confirmed the amendment does not change that practice. Elam and other staff noted questions raised by Raider — such as whether existing licensees would be grandfathered if the city changed the buffer — would need to be addressed in implementation if council later pursues a different distance requirement.

The committee voted to advance the ordinance. Council members voting aye on the roll call were Council Member Funk, Chair Hodges, Vice Chair Carlisle and Council Member Prior. The motion passed and staff will forward the ordinance as drafted for council consideration.

Staff and committee members said any broader change in distance or grandfathering provisions would require additional legal review and an explicit policy decision by council; the amendment approved by the committee was described by staff as a technical cleanup to align subsection B with subsection A.