The City of Lee’s Summit will be conducting an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) in the next eighteen months, a federal mandate for the Entitlement Communities of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs. Community participation will be sought by the City to better understand the issues related to housing, housing choice and overall quality of life of its citizens in order to draft future goals and policies to address identified impediments to fair housing choice.
Fair housing choice is a fundamental right of all Americans and every citizen should have equal right to choose where to live. The Analysis of Impediment to Fair Housing Choice will examine local and regional housing patterns and opportunities, looking for concentrations of poverty or segregation based on demographics.
The process includes a comprehensive analysis of the status of housing choice opportunities and specific impediments that limit fair housing choice for a person or household of a protected class. A final product of this process will be the establishment of goals and objectives for meaningful actions to combat the issues.
The City plans to provide several opportunities for public involvement throughout the process beginning in May 2018. Surveys will be provided in various forms to the general public and targeted audiences on fair housing choice related questions. Various public meetings or other public events will be scheduled to further engage the public for education and community solutions. The final phase of public engagement will include review of the final document for comment and a public hearing.
To maximize the level of public participation so that a wide range of representation is achieved, the City will reach out to various agencies, organizations, civic and advocacy group leaders for assistance. The City will put out public announcements through various media outlets for all the above mentioned public events as they are scheduled and a designated web page for this project will be placed on the City’s website (cityofLS.net/Development).
For more information the public can contact the City at (816) 969-1600 or email Heping.Zhan@cityofls.net.
