Overland Park, Kansas is a rapidly growing suburb of the Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas metropolitan region. It has a major office corridor covering more than 8.1 million square feet of office space and 1.9 million square feet of commercial space. Several million more feet are planned. It has more than 30 shopping centers, including two regional shopping malls.
Overland Park plans to use $604,814 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in FY 1995. The programs that use these funds will serve the homeless, the ill- housed, and persons with special needs. Each program serves people whose income is less than 50 percent of the median income of the area.
Before Overland Park drafted its Consolidated Plan, citizens were invited to offer their input during a hearing on October 4, 1994. The city presented the final draft of the plan to the community in January 1995, 30 days before the submission to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Both hearings were advertised in the Sun newspaper.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
Overland Park is a community which prides itself on the quality of living. The education system is excellent, the crime rate is low, confidence in local government is high and employment opportunities are available. The city anticipates the years ahead will bring more of the same positive growth.
The population of Overland Park in 1990 was 111,790. The city is expected to reach 130,000 by 1997. Median age is 33.9 years old. That figure is not expected to change much because projected new housing will continue to attract younger families rather than older couples.
The city's racial composition continues to be predominately white (95 percent). Whites increased by 26,997 persons, or 34 percent, between 1980 and 1990. During the same time period, Overland Park's African-American population grew by 2,051 persons but still only represents 1.8 percent of the total. There are 3,091 persons in all other racial/ethnic groups.
Employment doubled during the 1980s and is estimated to be about 70,000. The city's unemployment rate has remained at approximately 3 percent or less during the past decade. Slightly more than 81 percent of those who are employed hold managerial, professional, technical sales, or support positions.
Educational level is high in Overland Park, in 1990, 94 percent of adults had high school diplomas, and 45 percent had college degrees. Accordingly, a large portion of the city's population earns substantial incomes. Median family income in Overland Park was $53,412, compared to $37,738 for the area. Per capita income in the city was the highest of the five largest cities in the metropolitan area.
Nevertheless, 22 percent of households had incomes less than 80 percent of area median family income (MFI), and are considered low income. All of the lower-income areas are north of 87th Street.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
Housing in Overland Park is relatively new and of high quality. Fifty-eight percent of the housing is less than 20 years old, but 15 percent is 30 or more years old. Out of the 28,962 owner-occupied housing units in Overland Park, the appraisal office in 1992 rated only 47 residential urban properties (less than 0.1 percent of properties) as poor, meaning they could need rehabilitation. Rental properties appear to provide a safe and decent environment in which to live. In 1992, the appraiser's office rated only two multi-family complexes as "poor" and none as "very poor" or "unsound."
Approximately 60 percent of the housing in Overland Park consists of single-family or owner-occupied homes. The vacancy rate for single-family housing is 2 percent. Demand for housing tends to fall in the upper price ranges (near $131,000). The average construction cost of new homes is slightly above $120,000 for an average-size home of 2,500 square feet, excluding basements and garages. This trend is expected to continue for the next 5 years.
Approximately 40 percent or 19,944 of the housing in Overland Park consists of multi- family units. These developments serve both very low- and upper-income families. The city has 5,697 units zoned for multi-family development. All will be privately financed and developed.
The 1990 census reported that 9 percent of all households were very low-income (0 to 50 percent of area median), 13 percent were other low-income (51 to 80 percent of MFI), and 7 percent were of moderate-income (81 to 95 percent of MFI). Among the renters, 16 percent were very low-income (0 to 50 percent of the MFI). Of these renters, the elderly and 1- and 2-member households appear to have the greatest needs. The same is true of the other low-income group.
Very low-income households make up only 6 percent of all homeowners. For most homeowners within this income category, owning a home is a financial burden. Elderly homeowners with incomes between 31 and 50 percent of the MFI appear to have significantly fewer problems with housing than any other lower-income group.
The median value of housing in Overland Park in 1990 was $95,000. The average cost of a home was $73,000 in the lowest one-fourth of the market and $131,000 in the highest one-fourth. The demand for new housing falls in the upper price ranges. According to financial and real estate professionals in Overland Park, money is available for lower-income homebuyers, but the primary concern for persons in this market is economic. Many have difficulty meeting the eligibility requirement of 2 years of employment, or lack the stable employment history required by many programs targeted at this group.
Rents range from $450 to $1,000 per month. The city's Section 8 clients, who are low- income households, did not have trouble finding rental properties that met the allowable rent levels and Housing Quality Standards.
Overland Park has few homeless people. This was substantiated in a study of homelessness by the city's Police Executive Research Forum. Of the few encounters the police have had with homeless people, the report indicates the most frequent cause of homelessness in the city is domestic violence.
Overland Park does not have a homeless shelter within the city's jurisdiction. The city uses services available within the broader community, such as the Johnson County Housing Authority's homeless program when necessary. The city does have 3 transitional homes for homeless within its jurisdiction. Both were developed by nonprofit organizations. Two of the shelters receive their referrals from the battered women's shelter in Merriam, Kansas. The third shelter serves young women 18 years or older who no longer qualify to live in their adolescent group home because of their age.
The city does not expect a change in the causes for people becoming homeless nor in the numbers of people who become homeless. Domestic violence will probably remain the primary cause of temporary homelessness in Overland Park.
Because the private sector has actively developed housing to meet market demands, Overland Park does not own any public housing and has no plans to develop any. Current housing includes 3 Section 8 complexes for very low-income families, and a 176-unit complex for low- to moderate-income families.
The only known barriers to developing affordable housing are market driven. The cost of land is expensive and the demand for housing in Overland Park leans toward higher-priced developments.
City planning and zoning policies do not impede the development of affordable housing. The zoning districts include single-family housing, duplexes, and apartments. Projects that are developed are market driven. Tax incentives are increasing developer interest in building moderate-income housing, including rental housing units.
The jurisdiction will affirmatively further fair housing, prepare an analysis of impediments, and maintain the record pertaining to implementing this certification.
Overland Park has 30,359 homes that were built before 1979. These homes have the highest potential of containing lead-based paint and lead hazards. The city does not have data on how many of these homes are occupied by very low- and low-income households. The statistics the county has do not indicate a problem. The county Public Health Department's Well-Child Clinic has tested 110 children, ages 6 months to 6 years old, and less than 1 percent have had elevated blood-lead levels.
The city will continue its efforts to educate homeowners and renters of the hazards of lead- based paint. It will continue to follow data collected by the county regarding those children tested for elevated blood-lead levels. This information should give Overland Park an indication of whether there is a problem.
Primarily, the city needs street improvement projects and neighborhood improvements such as curbs, gutters, lights, sidewalks, and storm water drainage improvements. It will also focus on continued code enforcement activities. The city plans to entertain other, as yet unidentified community development projects over the next 5 years.
The Johnson County Housing Authority will administer the Section 8 Program in the city to meet the needs of very low-income renters. The assumption is that the program will meet a minimum threshold of 95 percent lease-up per month. The city will also apply for additional certificates or vouchers to further meet the needs of very low-income households.
The city will continue to fund a minor home repair program for low-income homeowners.
The primary activities to be funded are street improvement projects for neighborhood improvement. The projects will convert ditch-type streets to curb-and-gutter streets. The city also intends to support code enforcement activities, and will help low-income households correct property code violations.
The city recognizes that it must continue its current programs and explore other opportunities to help raise people out of poverty. The best way is to provide employment opportunities. In addition, the city plans to continue programs including the following:
The city has identified as specifically as possible the resources to be made available over the next 5 years. The majority of these funds are dependent uponFederal funding, such as CDBG and HOME. The city has entered into a consortium with Johnson County, Kansas, in the use and administration of its HOME funds.
The lead agency for the plan's implementation is the Overland Park Planning and Research Department, Neighborhood Services Division. Other departments will be enlisted to help as necessary. For instance, the Public Works Department is responsible for the CDBG street improvement projects and the Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for designing and overseeing construction of the city park facilities. The city contracts with Johnson County to administer the Section 8, HOME, Home Repair, and Utility and Emergency Assistance programs.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within two of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; as well as, provides a table with information about the project(s).
Community Development Block Grants will be used for nine projects including:
Her address is:
63000 West 87th Street
Overland Park, Kansas 66212
Fax: 913-381-4617
