Housing access is a basic determinant of a person’s quality of life. To be a thriving city, Kansas City must meet residents’ housing needs by facilitating a housing market that has a wide range of home prices and home types, for both renters and owners.
As a city with areas ranging from dense urban cores to low-density single-family neighborhoods, Kansas City must approach housing policy from many angles. The city must address rental costs, property values, housing locations, residents’ access to jobs and transportation, types of housing (single-family, multi-family, etc.), and how housing impacts surrounding communities. By carefully considering these factors in housing policy decisions, the city can ensure quality housing is available to people of all income levels, races, and ages in Kansas City.
Housing affordability is not limited to the cost of a house, property, or rent. Overall affordability for a resident is also determined by access to transportation, work, healthy food, and other daily necessities (see Access to Jobs, Complete Communities, Displacement Mitigation, Mobility, and Public Transit Objectives for more). Also, rising rents and property values often push lower-income residents farther from the transit, fresh food, and job centers they need, which compounds disparities in housing access.
The city must make housing more attainable by maximizing housing options for households across all income levels. Creating housing to meet the needs of residents within a specific income range is part of that aim. The most common housing types available are single-family detached homes and high-density apartments, which means there is a “missing middle” – housing types that fall in between these two types and which would lend themselves to more affordable, connected, community-driven environments. These missing-middle housing options include duplexes/multiplexes, bungalow or cottage-style courtyard housing, townhouses, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
Providing a range of housing types at a range of prices allows all Kansas Citians to find the housing that best fits their needs. For example, townhouses, ADUs, and other missing-middle housing types can cater to the aging population by allowing residents to stay in their homes longer, with neighbors nearby to help them with daily needs. The density and development pattern of missing middle housing suits a more walkable or transit-oriented community, too.
Housing density refers to the number of housing units in a defined area. In general, single-family housing is the least dense, and high-rise apartments are the densest. Density should be encouraged, especially in areas with good transit connections and access to jobs and healthy food. More diversity of housing types can drive a wider range of densities in the city and allow neighborhoods to customize their housing stock for certain needs based on location, price, and connectivity.
For addressing issues specifically related to houseless Kansas Citians, the Playbook supports recommendations in the Zero KC Plan.
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS |
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Successful implementation of this Objective will result in more residents with stable housing; an increase in older residents who can stay in their homes as they age; more varied housing options in all neighborhoods; and added density that helps create vibrant, functional communities. Together, these outcomes will produce a city in which homeowners, renters, and first-time home buyers can comfortably live, work, and age in their communities. |
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- Increased housing stability for people of all lifestyles and demographics, with special care to the aging population
- Increased number of affordable housing units
- Increased housing options in all parts of the city so residents have more choice about where to live
- Increased density of housing where density is most appropriate
- Increased diversity of housing stock
- Fewer unhoused city residents
- More safe and energy efficient housing
Kansas City’s affordable housing needs are greatest for lower-income residents. In recent years, Kansas City’s policy has shifted to use incentives to support affordable housing. Overall, housing stock has grown significantly, but some parts of the city have actually lost a net number of housing units due to demolition. The diversity and style of housing choices has a big impact on the cost of living and diversity of any given neighborhood.
For more context, click HERE.
MEASURES OF SUCCESS |
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- Low-income cost-burdened renter households (decrease)
- Number of bedrooms per unit entropy score (increase)
- Residential building size entropy score (increase)
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|
Increase access to affordable housing units |
There are many tools the city can use to cultivate housing affordability, such as limited-equity cooperatives, community land trusts, rental assistance programs, direct investment through subsidies and low-interest lending, and tenant right-to-purchase legislation. These strategies aim to increase the attainability of affordable housing through creation and preservation of rent-restricted units and keeping cost of existing available units under control. The city can also help ensure long-term affordability of housing by including energy efficiency measures in new and existing home construction to lower and/or stabilize utility costs. Often, the most successful affordable housing plans are those developed with multiple stakeholders and regional collaboration. Public-private partnerships between local governments, lending institutions, and the business community can generate lending programs to ease access to affordable housing. These partnerships can offer purchase loans and refinancing of existing mortgages paired with forgivable loan subsidies to make housing more affordable. |
Increase variety of housing types |
The city must help increase the availability of a range of housing types and prices, particularly missing-middle housing types (i.e., duplexes/multiplexes, townhouses, etc.). More diversity in housing benefits individual neighborhoods and the broader community in numerous ways. For starters, a diverse housing stock is more likely to have a range of prices than will a neighborhood of just one housing style, thereby better serving people of different income levels and household structures. A variety of housing types also creates vibrant communities, with housing that meets the disparate needs of people at all stages of life, from young professionals and families with children to the elderly. Increased housing diversity can come from changes in land use regulations, adaptive reuse of existing structures, and construction of a range of multifamily housing types that harmonize with the context and scale of surrounding development. |
Strategically promote housing density |
Promoting density in suitable areas will increase residents’ access to affordable housing. Strategically using tools such as adaptive reuse of the existing buildings, infill development, and economic incentives will create a more stable, sustainable, and connected housing stock in Kansas City. Increased housing density pushes down the overall cost of housing for residents. It also can boost the economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (see Environmental Health and Resiliency Objective for more). More housing units in an area will increase support to local businesses and potentially make a neighborhood more attractive to larger retailers like grocery stores, thereby increasing residents’ access to healthy food. Density also should be centered around existing transit corridors, so more people have a variety of mobility options to meet their daily needs and reach employment centers. |
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COMMUNITY SUPPORTED ACTIONS (CSAs) |
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Increase access to affordable housing units |
HA-1 | Explore partnerships between local government, lenders, and the business community to offer unique financial products including refinancing of existing loans and forgivable loan subsidies to low-income households.
|
HA-2 | Partner with utility providers to adopt inclusive financing to reduce financial barriers of credit score and upfront cost to participation in home renovations to increase energy efficiency for renters and homeowners to reduce monthly utility bills. |
HA-3 | Preserve existing affordable housing. Strategies include incentivizing rehabilitation of existing housing into affordable housing through workforce housing tax credits and providing low-interest loans for repairs to decrease abandonment and blight. |
HA-4 | Creation of a rehabilitation loan fund to allow for the acquisition/rehabilitation of vacant or abandoned single-family structures to be repurposed into improved residences by citizens wanting to become a homeowner. The proposed fund would be jointly funded by the City and a group of local financial institutions and administered by a loan originator or servicer. |
HA-5 | Continue and expand the use of Low-Income Housing Tax credits for the preservation and construction of new affordable housing units. Preserve existing affordable rental housing units citywide |
HA-6 | Work in a renewed partnership with the Housing Authority, city, and stakeholders to actively create and integrate affordable housing into all areas of the city. |
HA-7 | Create a range of homeownership assistance programs which empower residents to be new homeowners, including homeowner education programs, down payment assistance, expansion of the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program, and exploring other innovative ways of funding alternate housing solutions. |
HA-8 | Coordinate and layer tax incentives with other resources including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, home rehabilitation programs, tax credits, and Opportunity Zones, to collectively support the improvement of housing stock in targeted areas (see also Community Development and Revitalization objective for guidance on how to identify target areas). |
HA-9 | Coordinate and support local utility cost resources to lower utility bills for households in economic development areas, TIF areas, and other areas experiencing distress or disinvestment. Local resources include weatherization assistance through the home repair program, energy rebates through local utilities, and local non-profits with homeowner assistance. |
HA-10 | Support Housing First and Rapid Rehousing initiatives funded by the City of Kansas City. |
|
|
Increase variety of housing types |
HA-11 | Continue to explore opportunities to allow dense housing types, particularly missing middle housing styles, in all areas of the city.- Use area planning to identify appropriate areas for additional density.
- Explore amendments to development code that increase opportunities for additional density.
- Create pre-approved higher density housing types with an expedited review period, and identify target areas for their implementation (e.g., transit corridors and employment centers).
|
HA-12 | Review land use regulations for opportunities to remove barriers, or add strategies, to increase and diversify housing stock. Examples include (but are not limited to) increasing zoning designations in which multifamily housing are permitted by right, decreasing minimum lot sizes, encouraging compact housing types, or more broadly permitting alternative housing types. |
HA-13 | Study and identify alternative housing demand from a variety of consumer types to develop strategies aimed at facilitating these units' provision. |
|
|
Strategically promote housing density |
HA-14 | Utilize the area plan update processes to identify and explore opportunities for increased housing density throughout the city, particularly in transit corridors and near employment and activity centers. |
HA-15 | Explore partnerships and funding mechanisms to encourage adaptive reuse of existing developed and under-developed property (i.e., brownfield redevelopment, infill). |
HA-16 | Assess all Land Bank- and Homesteading Authority- owned real estate (publicly owned) and develop a plan for re-purposing and redevelopment that is consistent with the goals of this plan and area plans. |
HA-17 | Continue to monitor accessory dwelling unit (ADU) creation and the effectiveness of the ADU provisions in the development code. |
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- Affordable Community
- Desirable Place
- Equitable and Fiscally Sustainable
- History and Heritage
- KC Uniqueness
- Livable Neighborhoods and Diverse Housing
- Sustainable Growth and Resilient City
|
|
Addressing Disinvestment Citywide Accessibility Community Collaboration Community Engagement Complete Communities Housing Affordability Inclusive Design Providing Services Welcoming Spaces
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Related Plans and Policies |
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Housing access is a basic determinant of a person’s quality of life. To be a thriving city, Kansas City must meet residents’ housing needs by facilitating a housing market that has a wide range of home prices and home types, for both renters and owners.
As a city with areas ranging from dense urban cores to low-density single-family neighborhoods, Kansas City must approach housing policy from many angles. The city must address rental costs, property values, housing locations, residents’ access to jobs and transportation, types of housing (single-family, multi-family, etc.), and how housing impacts surrounding communities. By carefully considering these factors in housing policy decisions, the city can ensure quality housing is available to people of all income levels, races, and ages in Kansas City.
Housing affordability is not limited to the cost of a house, property, or rent. Overall affordability for a resident is also determined by access to transportation, work, healthy food, and other daily necessities (see Access to Jobs, Complete Communities, Displacement Mitigation, Mobility, and Public Transit Objectives for more). Also, rising rents and property values often push lower-income residents farther from the transit, fresh food, and job centers they need, which compounds disparities in housing access.
The city must make housing more attainable by maximizing housing options for households across all income levels. Creating housing to meet the needs of residents within a specific income range is part of that aim. The most common housing types available are single-family detached homes and high-density apartments, which means there is a “missing middle” – housing types that fall in between these two types and which would lend themselves to more affordable, connected, community-driven environments. These missing-middle housing options include duplexes/multiplexes, bungalow or cottage-style courtyard housing, townhouses, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
Providing a range of housing types at a range of prices allows all Kansas Citians to find the housing that best fits their needs. For example, townhouses, ADUs, and other missing-middle housing types can cater to the aging population by allowing residents to stay in their homes longer, with neighbors nearby to help them with daily needs. The density and development pattern of missing middle housing suits a more walkable or transit-oriented community, too.
Housing density refers to the number of housing units in a defined area. In general, single-family housing is the least dense, and high-rise apartments are the densest. Density should be encouraged, especially in areas with good transit connections and access to jobs and healthy food. More diversity of housing types can drive a wider range of densities in the city and allow neighborhoods to customize their housing stock for certain needs based on location, price, and connectivity.
For addressing issues specifically related to houseless Kansas Citians, the Playbook supports recommendations in the Zero KC Plan.
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS |
|
Successful implementation of this Objective will result in more residents with stable housing; an increase in older residents who can stay in their homes as they age; more varied housing options in all neighborhoods; and added density that helps create vibrant, functional communities. Together, these outcomes will produce a city in which homeowners, renters, and first-time home buyers can comfortably live, work, and age in their communities. |
|
- Increased housing stability for people of all lifestyles and demographics, with special care to the aging population
- Increased number of affordable housing units
- Increased housing options in all parts of the city so residents have more choice about where to live
- Increased density of housing where density is most appropriate
- Increased diversity of housing stock
- Fewer unhoused city residents
- More safe and energy efficient housing
Kansas City’s affordable housing needs are greatest for lower-income residents. In recent years, Kansas City’s policy has shifted to use incentives to support affordable housing. Overall, housing stock has grown significantly, but some parts of the city have actually lost a net number of housing units due to demolition. The diversity and style of housing choices has a big impact on the cost of living and diversity of any given neighborhood.
For more context, click HERE.
MEASURES OF SUCCESS |
|
- Low-income cost-burdened renter households (decrease)
- Number of bedrooms per unit entropy score (increase)
- Residential building size entropy score (increase)
|
|
Increase access to affordable housing units |
There are many tools the city can use to cultivate housing affordability, such as limited-equity cooperatives, community land trusts, rental assistance programs, direct investment through subsidies and low-interest lending, and tenant right-to-purchase legislation. These strategies aim to increase the attainability of affordable housing through creation and preservation of rent-restricted units and keeping cost of existing available units under control. The city can also help ensure long-term affordability of housing by including energy efficiency measures in new and existing home construction to lower and/or stabilize utility costs. Often, the most successful affordable housing plans are those developed with multiple stakeholders and regional collaboration. Public-private partnerships between local governments, lending institutions, and the business community can generate lending programs to ease access to affordable housing. These partnerships can offer purchase loans and refinancing of existing mortgages paired with forgivable loan subsidies to make housing more affordable. |
Increase variety of housing types |
The city must help increase the availability of a range of housing types and prices, particularly missing-middle housing types (i.e., duplexes/multiplexes, townhouses, etc.). More diversity in housing benefits individual neighborhoods and the broader community in numerous ways. For starters, a diverse housing stock is more likely to have a range of prices than will a neighborhood of just one housing style, thereby better serving people of different income levels and household structures. A variety of housing types also creates vibrant communities, with housing that meets the disparate needs of people at all stages of life, from young professionals and families with children to the elderly. Increased housing diversity can come from changes in land use regulations, adaptive reuse of existing structures, and construction of a range of multifamily housing types that harmonize with the context and scale of surrounding development. |
Strategically promote housing density |
Promoting density in suitable areas will increase residents’ access to affordable housing. Strategically using tools such as adaptive reuse of the existing buildings, infill development, and economic incentives will create a more stable, sustainable, and connected housing stock in Kansas City. Increased housing density pushes down the overall cost of housing for residents. It also can boost the economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (see Environmental Health and Resiliency Objective for more). More housing units in an area will increase support to local businesses and potentially make a neighborhood more attractive to larger retailers like grocery stores, thereby increasing residents’ access to healthy food. Density also should be centered around existing transit corridors, so more people have a variety of mobility options to meet their daily needs and reach employment centers. |
|
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED ACTIONS (CSAs) |
|
|
Increase access to affordable housing units |
HA-1 | Explore partnerships between local government, lenders, and the business community to offer unique financial products including refinancing of existing loans and forgivable loan subsidies to low-income households.
|
HA-2 | Partner with utility providers to adopt inclusive financing to reduce financial barriers of credit score and upfront cost to participation in home renovations to increase energy efficiency for renters and homeowners to reduce monthly utility bills. |
HA-3 | Preserve existing affordable housing. Strategies include incentivizing rehabilitation of existing housing into affordable housing through workforce housing tax credits and providing low-interest loans for repairs to decrease abandonment and blight. |
HA-4 | Creation of a rehabilitation loan fund to allow for the acquisition/rehabilitation of vacant or abandoned single-family structures to be repurposed into improved residences by citizens wanting to become a homeowner. The proposed fund would be jointly funded by the City and a group of local financial institutions and administered by a loan originator or servicer. |
HA-5 | Continue and expand the use of Low-Income Housing Tax credits for the preservation and construction of new affordable housing units. Preserve existing affordable rental housing units citywide |
HA-6 | Work in a renewed partnership with the Housing Authority, city, and stakeholders to actively create and integrate affordable housing into all areas of the city. |
HA-7 | Create a range of homeownership assistance programs which empower residents to be new homeowners, including homeowner education programs, down payment assistance, expansion of the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program, and exploring other innovative ways of funding alternate housing solutions. |
HA-8 | Coordinate and layer tax incentives with other resources including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, home rehabilitation programs, tax credits, and Opportunity Zones, to collectively support the improvement of housing stock in targeted areas (see also Community Development and Revitalization objective for guidance on how to identify target areas). |
HA-9 | Coordinate and support local utility cost resources to lower utility bills for households in economic development areas, TIF areas, and other areas experiencing distress or disinvestment. Local resources include weatherization assistance through the home repair program, energy rebates through local utilities, and local non-profits with homeowner assistance. |
HA-10 | Support Housing First and Rapid Rehousing initiatives funded by the City of Kansas City. |
|
|
Increase variety of housing types |
HA-11 | Continue to explore opportunities to allow dense housing types, particularly missing middle housing styles, in all areas of the city.- Use area planning to identify appropriate areas for additional density.
- Explore amendments to development code that increase opportunities for additional density.
- Create pre-approved higher density housing types with an expedited review period, and identify target areas for their implementation (e.g., transit corridors and employment centers).
|
HA-12 | Review land use regulations for opportunities to remove barriers, or add strategies, to increase and diversify housing stock. Examples include (but are not limited to) increasing zoning designations in which multifamily housing are permitted by right, decreasing minimum lot sizes, encouraging compact housing types, or more broadly permitting alternative housing types. |
HA-13 | Study and identify alternative housing demand from a variety of consumer types to develop strategies aimed at facilitating these units' provision. |
|
|
Strategically promote housing density |
HA-14 | Utilize the area plan update processes to identify and explore opportunities for increased housing density throughout the city, particularly in transit corridors and near employment and activity centers. |
HA-15 | Explore partnerships and funding mechanisms to encourage adaptive reuse of existing developed and under-developed property (i.e., brownfield redevelopment, infill). |
HA-16 | Assess all Land Bank- and Homesteading Authority- owned real estate (publicly owned) and develop a plan for re-purposing and redevelopment that is consistent with the goals of this plan and area plans. |
HA-17 | Continue to monitor accessory dwelling unit (ADU) creation and the effectiveness of the ADU provisions in the development code. |
|
|
|
|
- Affordable Community
- Desirable Place
- Equitable and Fiscally Sustainable
- History and Heritage
- KC Uniqueness
- Livable Neighborhoods and Diverse Housing
- Sustainable Growth and Resilient City
|
|
Addressing Disinvestment Citywide Accessibility Community Collaboration Community Engagement Complete Communities Housing Affordability Inclusive Design Providing Services Welcoming Spaces
|
Related Plans and Policies |
|
|
|
|
