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Neighbors criticize Greenwood school plan, board says state law limits local options
Summary
At a Greenwood Board of Aldermen meeting, several residents urged the city to protect property in Rolling Meadows from a proposed Greenwood Elementary School plan; board members said state statutes limit the city's ability to block the district and pledged oversight to prevent property encroachment.
Several residents told the City of Greenwood Board of Aldermen they felt sidelined as the Lee's Summit R-7 School District moved forward with plans for a new Greenwood Elementary School and related infrastructure in and around the Rolling Meadows subdivision. The public comment period opened with a resident saying the district had "bulldozed" the neighborhood plan and that "nobody really had much say in the plan," urging the city to protect private property from encroachment.
The second commenter, who identified herself as Theresa, said she supported the need for a new school but warned about traffic, lights and noise, and gave her address as 1411 Meadows Lane. "Do not come on my property and take a single blade of grass," Theresa said, urging the board to defend homeowners' rights.
Ralph Williams, who identified himself from the neighborhood, offered a different perspective, thanking school and city staff and saying the planning process "went through the process" and that the project would be "great for the kids for now and 50 years in the future."
Board members responded directly to the comments. The chair said city public works would oversee construction to make sure "no encroachment on land is happening and that everybody's property is respected." Other board members said they shared residents' frustration about communication but stressed legal limits. One member said state statutes and school-district powers had left the city with "our hands being tied," and said the board negotiated infrastructure concessions — including sidewalks and road improvements — as part of the process.
The remarks came immediately before the board advanced multiple land-use ordinances tied to the school project. The board announced passage of two rezoning ordinances affecting land east of Rolling Meadows and read ordinances related to the school development plan and an intergovernmental agreement with the school district; the transcript shows motions for readings and approval but not always a clear recorded final vote on the development plan or the cooperation agreement.
The meeting ended after those items were taken up; a board member moved to adjourn. The board did not announce further public hearings or specific next steps for neighborhood follow-up in the transcript.
