City of Kansas City, MO

11/13/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/14/2025 09:33

Kansas City Approves Mayor Lucas’s Rules to Address Chronic Nuisance Businesses, Parking Lots, and Public Spaces

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council today passed new rules today to prevent violent crimes at chronic nuisance businesses, parking lots, and troubled spaces.
Ordinance No. 250966 updates the Chronic Nuisance Code to enhance the City's swift response to properties where serious criminal activity occurs.
The ordinance has been in development since August 2025, and applied solely to parking lots in entertainment districts, but has since been expanded to all problem properties citywide.
Mayor Lucas highlighted concerns about problem properties on August 22, 2025, noting that "in our entertainment districts, unsecured parking lots unattached to businesses are a breeding ground for crime, including shootings, drug sales, car sideshows, and other nuisance activities." Two days later, a shooting occurred in a surface parking lot downtown near 13th and Grand killing two, injuring three, and underscoring the need for stronger tools to address chronic nuisance properties.
"Our new rules strengthen our ability to prevent crime in our City by addressing problem properties where crime is most likely to occur," said Mayor Lucas. "Kansas City's new regulations will enhance public safety and strengthen our neighborhoods, a priority for the City. Our commitment to safer streets and stronger oversight of problem properties knows no limit and is a core part of a strategy working with KCPD on enforcement and our City agencies to prevent crime before it starts."
Key provisions of the new rules include:
  • Enhanced Response to Violent Offenses: A single violent offense combined with one other qualifying incident within six months will trigger review by the Neighborhood Services Department.
  • Lower Threshold for Standard Cases: The number of incidents required to qualify as a chronic nuisance within 180 days has been reduced from seven to five.
  • Expedited Timeline for Violent Cases: Property owners will have 10 days to develop an abatement plan for violent offenses, compared to 30 days for non-violent offenses.
  • Expanded Reporting Mechanisms: The Neighborhood Services Department will now rely on reports from the Kansas City Police Department, licensed private security services providers, and the City's Multidisciplinary Public Safety Task Force.
The Chronic Nuisance Ordinance provides the City with an administrative remedy to address recurring illegal activities on properties by requiring owners to take reasonable steps to abate the issues.
If owners fail to comply, a hearing before the Chronic Nuisance Board determines appropriate remedies to protect public safety.
City of Kansas City, MO published this content on November 13, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 14, 2025 at 15:33 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]