Housing and Neighborhoods

Hypocrisy and Misuse of Water Shed Tax Money

Michelle Staley — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:00:36 GMT

I live on the corner of 90^th Place and Pflumm; this has been my home for 21 years and that of my husband’s family for many years prior to that.

Our house is in a bog, a swamp, a watershed retention pool and for 6 years I have dealt with every possible person in the city of Lenexa to get resolution to this problem. Then along came this extra tax to fix the very issues that I am experiencing yet my problem continues to get worse and now we are being asked to vote on an additional tax monies for the Rain to Recreation watershed issue. Excuse me while I laugh aloud.

The problem is that the cul-de-sac behind me has no storm drainage system other than through my backyard, I also take on the storm water and pesticides from the houses on my side of the block up the hill from me. Oh, and let’s not forget the run off from the Catholic Church School parking lot which is filled with oil and the toxins that go along with asphalt parking lots. All of this makes its way into my backyard even with the mildest of rain.

At one time it ran nicely into the storm drain in my backyard but due to years of erosion the swale is gone and I end up with a wet, stinky, mosquito ridden backyard for several days if not weeks, depending upon the rainfall amount.

We have brought in dirt to build-up the garden and various areas only to watch $400+ wash down the storm drain. I have lost hundreds of dollars in plants due to drowning and also washing down the drain.

I have a compromised immune system and the toxic runoff prevents me from working in my garden and at times it is so bad I cannot even go out into my backyard without breaking out in blisters where ever the water or damp grass touches me.

I do not shop in Lenexa as I refuse to pay a tax that should benefit me but does not. I take my business to surrounding cities and help pay for their “extra” taxes and programs.

All I am asking the city to do is put a storm drain on the cul-de-sac; this would alleviate some of the runoff that ends up in my yard. Their response, “When your house floods we will move your house but otherwise we will do nothing.” This comes from Mike Bezhold.

Task Force

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:41:00 GMT

The Task Force is working to extend the Vision 2020 plan for 10 more years. Our focus areas are sustainable neighborhoods, life cycle housing, maintenance and revitalization of neighborhoods, and green practices. To see our work to-date, see our minutes. You are invited to come to a meeting. The Task Force meets on Monday nights at 7:00 pm, every other week. Our next meeting is scheduled for March 24th. Our meetings are in the Lenexa Community Center.

Renovation Decisions?

HankSterling — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:58:48 GMT

I think it’s generally accepted that as homeowners we should expect some fairly radical changes in the way we approach the repairs, renovations, and modernization of our homes, especially those in our more mature neighborhoods. I would have to believe that the City’s planners are in a unique position to assist with those decisions and become more proactive in educating us on the most viable materials and systems avaialable.

H.S.

Very Interesting Article

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:02:06 GMT

Kansas Town Rebuilding as the Greenest in America

02/01/08

By Rachel Navaro

On May 4, 2007, a two-mile-wide tornado ripped through Greensburg, Kansas, demolishing 90 percent of the small town’s structures. Within a week, nearby resident Daniel Wallach founded Greensburg GreenTown (GBGT). Its mission is to provide the residents of Greensburg with the resources, information, and support they need to rebuild as “the greenest town in America.”

Photo: courtesy BNIM Architects

This rendering of a future Main Street for Greensburg, Kansas, depicts how BNIM Architects and others are planning a highly walkable community.

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Based on what you have seen and read about this project, how would you grade it? Use the stars below to indicate your assessment, five stars being the highest rating. In order to develop a recovery plan for the area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) held over 50 stakeholder meetings and organized several town meetings. After 12 weeks of “community conversations,” it became apparent that sustainability had surfaced as the area’s number-one priority. In turn, it shaped FEMA’s Long-Term Community Recovery Plan for Greensburg and Kiowa County. Steve Castaner, deputy federal coordinating officer of FEMA, explained, “The reason that green is in [Greensburg’s] plan is because the community said, ‘it’s important to us.’”

Because Greensburg residents made sure that FEMA emphasized energy issues in the plan, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has established a field office in the town. One program it offers residents is a series of Building America seminars on affordable, energy-efficient construction techniques, taught by the staff of Building Science Corporation of Medford, Massachesetts.
“Unfortunately, when you’re trying to rebuild a new town, nothing happens as fast as you want it to,” remarked Stephen Hardy, a community planner at BNIM, the Kansas City, Missouri-based architecture firm contracted to develop the town’s master plan, which will address not only design goals and principles for rebuilding but also zoning refinements, housing and energy-efficiency policies, and a strategy for building a highly walkable community. “There’s a constant tension between rebuilding as fast as possible and making the right decisions. But because Greensburg was already on a slow, steady decline prior to the tornado,” explained Hardy, “residents know that if they were to simply jump in and rebuild exactly as before, there’s no reason that trend would change. They recognize that and want to do something different.”

Greensburg-based companies are using the disaster as an opportunity to advance their businesses by embracing environmental responsibility. The town’s John Deere tractor dealership, for example, is planning to build a model green facility for dealerships nationwide. The company’s retail brand experience manager, Dave Jeffers, said that whatever comes out of this experience will inform the John Deere facilities building manual, which “all John Deere builders use as their bible.”

Wallach hopes that businesses and other organizations will participate in GBGT’s Model Homes Project by investing in the development of one or more of 12 model green homes, all of which will serve as demonstration sites for a variety of environmentally responsible design and construction techniques.

Ogden Publications’ Mother Earth News and Natural Home were the first to sign on to the Model Homes Project and are seeking donations of green building products (that have received third-party certification as such) for their project. Their model home, to be constructed this winter, will serve as the educational and visitor center and will feature energy-efficient designs from the Building Technology Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, structural insulated panel construction, a combined solar- and wind-power system, a no-mow lawn, and extensive use of recycled wood. The Model Homes Project will eventually operate as lodging for tourists who want to experience living in green buildings.