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Local pilot to use Kansas Abandoned Housing Act aims to rehab three blighted houses into affordable homes
Summary
Nonprofit partners told commissioners a pilot will use the Kansas Abandoned Housing Act to pursue three long‑vacant properties (426 Ottawa, 733 Pawnee, 922 Osage), with an expected ~1 year timeline from filing to completion if consent judgments or rehabs proceed; staff said the city's formal duty is limited to notice and minimal involvement.
Leavenworth staff introduced a pilot program to pursue blighted, long‑vacant houses using the Kansas Abandoned Housing Act, with nonprofit partners DePaul Leavenworth Attainable Housing and Sisters of Charity working with legal counsel that has run a similar Kansas City program.
Greg Lombardine, who described eight years of running an abandoned‑housing project in Kansas City, said his program currently has "66 cases pending to convert a 135 use in units of blighted housing" and that the approach focuses on small‑area community development. He outlined statutory thresholds as presented: the property must be at least two years tax‑delinquent, unoccupied by anyone with legal possession for 90 days, and the plaintiff must be a Kansas nonprofit with capacity to rehab the property.
Lombardine told the commission the city’s legal obligation in this process is minimal. "The city's responsibility, which is virtually nothing… we are required to give you notice, that the lawsuit is going forward, and then you step back and let it happen," he said. He described the typical process — notice to owners, opportunity to obtain a consent judgment to complete rehabs under court supervision, or default by owners — and estimated the timeline at roughly a year from filing to finished rehab (four to six months to get possession and then an additional four to six months for rehab, depending on the case).
The pilot would begin with three properties identified during a June tour: 426 Ottawa (the "Butterfly House"), 733 Pawnee (previously open but now boarded), and 922 Osage (the "cat house"). Lombardine said the 20‑day owner notice period had ended and they were ready to file suit.
Sister Amy Wilcott of DePaul Leavenworth Attainable Housing emphasized community roots and the potential neighborhood benefits, saying the program can "change the face, certainly, of North Leavenworth" and expressed willingness to lead rehabs if the pilot is approved. Commissioners asked about owner responses, liens and timing; Lombardine said owners occasionally sell or agree to rehab, but often default, and that liens are typically county/city assessments and taxes rather than recoverable debts.
Staff noted potential funding support via Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds but said the pilot does not obligate the city beyond notice. The commission did not vote on city financial commitments at the study session; staff said they would continue to coordinate with the partners and return with updates as the legal filings proceed.
Next procedural steps described in the presentation were filing under the Kansas Abandoned Housing Act, possible pursuit of consent judgments with court‑supervised rehab schedules, and moving ahead with rehabs through DePaul Leavenworth Attainable Housing if the pilot properties are obtained.
