Help Save Our Plaza

Since August a small volunteer team has been working tirelessly to stop the proposed Highwoods office tower in the core of the Country Club Plaza. We need legal support and have printing and other expenses.

Please consider making a contribution to Save Our Plaza. 100% of donations go directly to stop REZONING of the site and AMENDING the Plaza Plan.
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Friends & Counting

Help us Save Our Plaza by becoming a "Friend." It is easy. Just join Save-the-Plaza-2010.

 

"The urban areas of this country that possess a strong spirit of unity are rare and endangered."

Hedman & Jaszewski

Remember and consider context, preservation, purpose, and building form when reviewing plans for new buildings.

The Greenest Building Is...One That Is Already Built

Carl Elefonte, AIA, LEED AP
Petition Drive Succeeds | Print |  E-mail

City officials say the Friends of the Plaza turned in more than enough valid signatures to force a referendum this fall on controversial Country Club Plaza office development proposed by Highwoods Properties.

The Save Our Plaza group turned in petitions last week with 11,055 valid signatures, said Kansas City Clerk Vickie Thompson-Carr. The group needed 7,144 valid signatures to put the issue on the November ballot.

Dan Cofran, spokesman for Save Our Plaza, said his organization is asking the mayor and Kansas City Council to repeal the rezoning voluntarily to avoid a citywide vote. “We are very pleased that the petitions were certified and we’ll ask the City Council to go ahead and repeal this rezoning outright as opposed to submitting to the voters in November,” Cofran said.

Read Star article.
 
Rehearing on Overlay Scheduled for June 21th

At the May 16th City Plan Commission hearing, the Commission did not pass Highwoods's version of the overlay, which is a condition that must be met before the re-zoning will take effect. It will be heard again on June 21th, to allow for more a thoughtful consideration of the issues, and to give time for the various parties to come together.

Highwoods's proposal was riddled with exceptions, allowed for a significant amount of more office development, and allowed them to bypass the BZA and go straight to the City Council for a variance on any height restrictions.

Friends of the Plaza plans to meet with Highwoods to come up with an alternative that will truly protect the Plaza.
 
The Vue Sues to Stop Nearby Highwoods Project

This is not the first time Highwoods has proposed a master plan amendment to allow an inappropriate building and gotten it approved by the city council against the advice of the Planning Board. See these articles on high-rise in Orlando.

Orlando High-Rise

This next link is in the top 10 most read Florida cases in Judicial View web site.

Highwoods v. Condo-Developer