There’s a dance that is danced over and over in metro Kansas City and it wastes thousands of dollars and hours of time. It’s the dance that happens when a developer wants to initiate a project in or near a neighborhood. On rare occasions it resembles a waltz; more often than not, it looks like a dance-hall brawl.

Neighborhoods and developers need each other, but the development process makes nobody happy. Consensus is seeking philanthropic and corporate funding for a study that will reduce friction and make the process productive.

The study would include research on best practices as well as work sessions with developers, neighborhoods, city staff and elected officials to identify problems and find solutions. Consensus would produce a report with recommendations for new policies and procedures, along with a hands-on toolkit that neighborhoods and developers can use to improve their working relationships. While the study would focus on the 4th District in Kansas City, Missouri, its findings would be applicable around the metro.

Fourteen community leaders have written letters of support for the project. The leaders include neighborhood presidents, developers, major institutions, business organizations, and elected officials. “We’ve been pleased with the strong response we’ve received from people with all sorts of interests in the development process,” said Charles Renner, president of Consensus. “They agree that this study is needed and that Consensus is the right group to do it.”

The project is especially urgent because of the number of foreclosures dotting local neighborhoods. While development has slowed during the recession, when it picks up again the foreclosed properties will be ripe for development; improving the process now will help assure it’s the right kind of development.

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