Lee's Summit committee reviews draft fair housing impediments report; public comment period set for March–April

The Community and Economic Development Committee reviewed a draft Analysis of Impediments to Fair housing Choice on Feb. 12, 2025, as part of the city’s five‑year consolidated‑plan process required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Consultant Jessica Fish of Mosaic Community Planning presented the draft; Amy Nasif, interim director of development, introduced the item.

The draft report, which the city will post for public comment from March through April 2025 at lsconplan.com, identifies several principal impediments to equal housing access in Lee's Summit: a limited supply of affordable housing for low‑ and moderate‑income households, gaps in housing and services to address homelessness, a limited supply of accessible units for people with disabilities, constrained household incomes and resources, and limited coordination and outreach for fair‑housing education and enforcement. Jessica Fish said, “We’ve been working with the city on these plans for more than a year,” and described community outreach that produced maps, survey data and stakeholder interviews.

Why it matters: HUD requires entitlement jurisdictions that receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to analyze obstacles to fair housing choice and to include fair‑housing priorities in the consolidated plan. Lee’s Summit receives an annual CDBG allocation (historically about $350,000) that it distributes to local agencies; the analysis informs how the city documents needs and proposed actions to HUD.

Key findings and evidence

- Community engagement and reach: Mosaic reported 243 survey responses and a mix of outreach including two public workshops (one virtual and one in person), stakeholder interviews and resident focus groups with Lee’s Summit Cares and Habitat for Humanity. Fish said the project website, lsconplan.com, served as the central hub for materials and the survey.

- Housing supply and type: The draft maps and data show single‑family detached homes predominate in Lee’s Summit, comprising about 73% of housing units. Small multifamily units (5–19 units) are about 7% of the housing stock and 2–4 unit buildings about 5%, which the report notes can limit options for increased affordability.

- Disparities in housing problems: The draft uses HUD’s four housing problem measures (cost burden above 30%, severe cost burden above 50%, overcrowding, and lack of complete kitchen or plumbing) and highlights disparities: 33.9% of Black households were reported to have at least one housing problem compared with 21.3% of all households in the city; 41.5% of nonfamily households experienced at least one housing problem. Fish noted the report contains full tables for all racial and ethnic groups and said the slide singled out the largest disparity for emphasis.

- Access to opportunity and geography: Mosaic’s mapping shows generally high school‑quality indices across much of the city and relatively lower rankings to the west. The consultant also mapped transportation access, job proximity, parks and locations of toxic facilities as part of the access‑to‑opportunity analysis.

- Homelessness and service gaps: The draft flags a limited supply of housing and services addressing homelessness. Amy Nasif and staff clarified that the finding reflects a mix of community input and stakeholder interviews and does not necessarily mean the city is proposing a shelter; rather, it identifies potential gaps in transitional and supportive services and in public awareness of existing resources such as Hope House and Hillcrest.

Next steps and timing

City staff said the draft AI will be available for public comment on the project website in March–April 2025; the consolidated plan and annual action plan will be finalized for City Council and HUD review in May 2025. Mosaic asked for committee feedback on recommended goals and activities, and staff said they will incorporate edits before the final draft. Nasif described the AI as a HUD reporting requirement that documents community engagement, housing needs and suggested actions; she emphasized the recommendations are not mandatory directives but potential actions to consider.

Committee discussion

Committee members asked how widely the survey was distributed; Fish said the team worked with the city to circulate the survey to more than 60 stakeholders, posted social media content and flyers, and included the survey in public notices. Several council members urged that future outreach emphasize getting more responses from Lee’s Summit residents and that any public materials break out survey responses by ZIP code and by all race/ethnicity categories to provide context for disparities.

The report notes existing local programs funded by CDBG, including Lee’s Summit Social Services, Hope House, Hillcrest, Coldwater and a home‑repair assistance program delivered with Truman Habitat and the housing authority. Nasif and staff said the city is updating its online resource pages and coordinating with Eastern Jackson County Department of Health and partners to create a single hub of community resources.

Ending

The committee did not take formal action on the draft AI at the Feb. 12 meeting; staff requested feedback and will return with the consolidated plan draft in March. The city will accept public comments on the draft plan during the March–April public comment period at lsconplan.com and by email to infomosaiccommunityplanning.com.