Following a public hearing this week, the Mission city council approved the de-annexation of .7 acres the northeast corner of Johnson Drive and Roe Avenue. City Administrator Laura Smith said discussion of annexation and de-annexation between Mission and Roeland Park has been ongoing since 2018. Roeland Park leaders will still need to formally consider the annexation proposal.
Roeland Park sold the lot to Sunflower Medical Group in July 2019, and SMG intends to build a medical office building on the space. City limits of Mission and Roeland intersect in that particular corner, and the two cities have been discussing the benefits of annexation and de-annexation, Smith said.
James Hampton, a city attorney for Roeland Park, spoke in favor of the de-annexation and asked that Mission approve the ordinance to exclude the .7 acres from the city corporate limits. Hampton said de-annexation would prove helpful to developers, as they would not have to go to two planning commissions and two city councils to get approvals on the medical office project. The ordinance passed unanimously.
Later in the meeting, Mission city council approved the terms of the de-annexation. The terms of the agreement are currently discussed are follows: Roeland Park will pay Mission a total in the range of $62,856 to $69,840 over 18 years. Additionally, the two cities will split the cost of the traffic light at the intersection of Johnson Drive and Roe Avenue.
Roeland Park councilmembers called a special council meeting on Wednesday evening to consider an ordinance to annex the land. The annexation for Roeland Park would become official on Oct. 22, City Administrator Keith Moody said.
Editor’s note: This report has been updated to clarify that the agreement has not been finally approved.
