Neighborhood Focus Program
In recognition of the importance of neighborhoods in the City of Shawnee, the Shawnee City Council prioritized neighborhood planning and established the Neighborhood Focus Program.
In 1997, the City of Shawnee City Council adopted a Neighborhood Focus Policy Statement to set forth the City’s policy on neighborhood stabilization. Through the development of the Neighborhood Focus Policy Statement, the Neighborhood Focus Program was formed not only to address the neighborhoods, streets, drainage, rental properties and code enforcement issues facing established neighborhoods in the City, but also to encourage and increase partnerships and communication within Shawnee.
Up to this point, the City of Shawnee has been working with two neighborhoods that have been participating in the Neighborhood Focus Program. City of Shawnee Neighborhood Focus Areas are chosen based on the age of the area, related factors and participatory interest from the neighborhood stakeholders.
The Douglas Highlands area was the initial area that partnered with the City in the development of the Neighborhood Focus Program and how it relates to their neighborhood. From an introductory neighborhood meeting held back in January of 1999, a planning committee was formed and has been off running ever since. The Planning Committee’s initial task was to develop a neighborhood plan for the area with technical support provided by the City staff. The basis for the neighborhood plan came from the results of an initial written neighborhood survey/needs assessment. The Planning Committee began by identifying all the issues within the initial survey. Once a list of issues was determined and grouped, goals were formulated to address those identified issues. After consensus on the goals was achieved, projects and strategies were developed to meet the agreed upon goals. A three-year Neighborhood Plan designed to act as a guidebook for the area was the result of the Planning Committee’s hard work. Throughout the planning process, periodic committee updates and meeting times were published in their localized neighborhood newsletter. Also, the Planning Committee presented their draft plan at a neighborhood wide meeting seeking input and acceptance of the Plan.
During the development of the Douglas Highlands Area Neighborhood Plan, the Planning Committee set out to work on some initial projects. The Planning Committee organized a beautification project in which they added annual flowers and hearty plants to a right-of-way island in the middle of one of their neighborhood streets. With the help of the Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Cougar’s Committed to Community Program a residential yard clean-up/maintenance was organized. The Planning Committee started a Neighborhood Directory comprised of participating neighbor’s addresses and phone numbers including services provided. The Committee discussed options with Shawnee’s Parks and Recreation Director regarding playground equipment and amenities for the Spring of 2000 scheduled redevelopment of Douglas Highlands Park. Finally, the committee brought back the age old traditional of holding an annual block party. With the completion of the Neighborhood Plan and their commitment to the neighborhood, there are several other successes on the horizon for the area and the entire City of Shawnee.
This was the first year the City of Shawnee’s Neighborhood Planner was involved in the organization of the Kansas City metropolitan area’s annual neighborhood development conference entitled, "Heartland Area Neighborhood Development Symposium (H.A.N.D.S.)" held at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. We are pleased to announce that two members of the Douglas Highlands area Planning Committee were nominated and received Neighborhood Achievement Awards at the conference. The awards were presented by Kansas City’s own living legend Buck O’Neil. Congratulations to Don Timmcke and Joy Dugan!
The Shawnee Old Town area is in the beginning stages of the development of a Neighborhood Plan. A volunteer Planning Committee has been formed and has begun to meet on a regular basis to address neighborhood issues. Both the Planning Committee and the City of Shawnee are expecting positive results from this planning process and beyond.
The City of Shawnee would like to welcome any volunteer groups or individuals who would like to donate their time assisting in neighborhood based projects. If interested, please contact the City of Shawnee’s Neighborhood Planner at 913/631-2500 x-211.