THE FINAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF  ALDERMEN ON THE 5348 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION WILL BE HELD

TUESDAY, JUNE 20TH AT 7:00 P.M.
RAYTOWN CITY HALL
10000 EAST 59TH STREET, RAYTOWN MO 64133

THIS MEETING IS AN OPEN FORUM.
THE PUBLIC IS URGED TO ATTEND AND SPEAK AT THE MEETING.

Canary in a Birdcage

Carbon monoxide can build to deadly levels, and it has no smell. 

That is why miners used to take a Canary in a Birdcage when they entered coal mines. 

Why use a bird instead of, say, a mouse? 

It has to do with the birds’ breathing anatomy: canaries get a dose of air when they inhale and when they exhale, thus a double dose of toxic gases. 

Thankfully, in 1986, more humane electronic warning devices replaced the use of canaries to alert them to carbon monoxide in the air they breathe.

BY GREG WALTERS

Raytown’s Canary 
in a Birdcage Moment
A friend of from Independence and I were discussing what was going on in our respective communities. The big news item in Raytown is a proposed Discount Smokes and Liquor / gasoline station proposed to be built the former Blue Ridge Nursery property located at 5348 Blue Ridge Boulevard.

Both of us are deeply committed to our respective Cities and often share notes and thoughts about what is happening in our respective towns.

My friend told me it sounds like Raytown is headed towards a "Canary in the Birdcage" moment. He explained it is one of those times when city leaders make a decision as to which path the city should take.

“If the path they choose kills the canary, it does not bode well for the community.”

I understood. The Discount Smokes (etc.) proposal is definitely not good news for Raytown.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted down the proposal by a vote of 6 to 3 with a recommendation to the Board of Aldermen to NOT approve the application.

The Board of Aldermen held their first of two public hearings on the issue this past Tuesday night. The interest in the project appears to be growing. We did a count of those in attendance at the meeting. The total came to a total of 223 in attendance, just shy of the official capacity of the room at 257.

That number is the highest to attend a Board of Aldermen meeting since the issue was brought forward. It was very clear the majority of those in attendance were opposed to allowing the Discount Smokes and Alcohol Gas Station to be approved.

Just as interesting was the number of those in attendance who were opposed to the project who did not live in the immediate area. As one participant told us at the meeting, “I am concerned that if the city gets away with this proposal on Blue Ridge Boulevard that my neighborhood will be next. “I hope our Aldermen vote to turn it down,”

One speaker, a woman named Marilyn Layton, spoke at the final meeting before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Her comments were brief, but what she said was powerful. 

The following has been paraphrased from Ms. Layton’s remarks
at the Planning and Zoning Public Hearing with her permission.

“When I come home from the office at the end of the day, the winding tree-lined drive along Blue Ridge Boulevard is relaxing. I love my home and the neighborhood in which I live.

I lived much of my life in the Urban Core of Kansas City. It is a nightmare to see what is coming to Raytown.

Liquor Stores on every street corner really suck.

I moved to Raytown 23 years ago to get away from so-called convenience stores that are really just fronts for stores selling tobacco, liquor, drug paraphernalia and junk food.

If Raytown is not careful, that is exactly what will happen here.

If you allow this type of zoning in our neighborhoods the Urban Core will come to us.

I do not want to live in the Urban Core again.

Please vote for our neighborhoods and our people. Please vote this application down. It is not needed or wanted in Raytown. We already have enough of these types of establishments in our Raytown.”*

*SOURCE: Records from Raytown City Hall set the number of liquor licenses issued in Raytown at 57.