For Immediate Release – Kansas City, Missouri
As Kansas City debates the future of the Country Club Plaza, it is critical that the voices of the neighborhoods actually surrounding the Plaza are included in the process. The Plaza Westport Neighborhood Association (PWNA), the City-registered neighborhood organization representing residents from 47th Street north to Westport, is issuing the following response to the Plaza District Council’s (PDC) recent comments regarding the proposed rezoning that would eliminate long-standing height restrictions within the historic district.
PWNA is strongly supportive of thoughtful, high-quality development on the Plaza. However, the Association does not believe that dramatically increasing building heights or introducing large new high-rise structures aligns with the letter or spirit of sound urban planning—nor does it respect the nearly century-old character that defines the Plaza.
1. The Plaza District Council is not a neighborhood organization.
Despite recent statements suggesting otherwise, the PDC is a membership group that primarily represents business, developer, construction, and property-owner interests. While the PDC is free to advocate for its constituencies, it does not speak for the residents who live in and around the Plaza.
2. PWNA was not consulted by the PDC on this rezoning matter.
PWNA is the recognized, City-registered neighborhood association covering the Plaza and surrounding area. At no point did the PDC seek input, feedback, or dialogue with the Association, despite the direct and far-reaching implications for nearby neighborhoods. This absence of outreach is both notable and concerning.
3. The proposed elimination of the 45-foot height limit threatens the historical identity of the Plaza.
Height protections have maintained the Plaza’s distinctive scale and architectural harmony since its inception. Removing them wholesale—without project-specific details, shadow studies, or public impact analyses—would risk overwhelming the district with oversized buildings that diminish or obscure the iconic sightlines and towers that define the Plaza’s character.
PWNA supports reasonable, measured development, including the possibility of modest height adjustments tied to specific, fully disclosed proposals that allow for meaningful public review. However, blanket rezoning granting broad high-rise entitlements is inconsistent with responsible planning practices and risks fundamentally altering the Plaza’s identity.
Recent renderings produced by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) illustrate how uncontrolled vertical expansion could overshadow the human-scale design that has made the Plaza a local and national landmark for nearly a century.
PWNA remains committed to transparent, project-by-project evaluation of development proposals, ensuring that residents, business owners, and civic stakeholders can assess real plans—not hypothetical, broad rezoning entitlements—with clarity, context, and public accountability.
