Jackson County panel hears Restart briefing on housing-first approach; RFQ planned for county land

The Jackson County Housing and Homelessness Committee on Tuesday heard a presentation from Restart about homelessness trends in the Kansas City metropolitan area and next steps to develop affordable housing on county-owned land.

The committee chair said the county was accepted into the National Association of Counties Sprint program and that the Sprint helped identify county-owned parkland across from the stadiums between Raytown Road and Manchester as a potential development site; the chair said flood‑plain mapping and Phase I environmental testing on the property are complete and that the county plans to issue a request for qualifications to select development partners.

"Housing is the foundation to everything in our community," Restart guest speaker Miss Boyer told the committee. Boyer summarized regional homelessness figures used in federal reporting and the organization’s view of effective responses. "When you look at all the things under neighborhood and built environment, without those things, we don't get to the other things," she said.

Nut graf: Restart asked the committee to treat…