Amid intense local opposition to a landfill proposed for the southern tip of Kansas City, Missouri lawmakers will decide whether to step in and give nearby communities the power to block the project. Less than a year after the proposal ground the state Senate to a halt as senators battled over the issue, the dispute is back in Jefferson City.
Two bills, filed by Republicans state Sen. Mike Cierpiot of Lee’s Summit and state Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, would require that cities within one mile of a landfill built in a nearby city be allowed to sign off on a project before it is approved. The current buffer is half a mile, giving surrounding cities little sway over the project proposed in Kansas City bordering Raymore.
Residents in Raymore, Belton, Grandview and Lee’s Summit have for months condemned the proposed landfill, arguing the project would hurt the health of their neighbors and property values. The hypothetical site would be near the high-end Creekmoor golf course community, bordering 147th Street to the north, Horridge Road to the east, 155th Street to the south and Peterson Road to the west.
On Tuesday, the Missouri Senate Local Government and Elections Committee waded into the dispute, holding a hearing over the bills filed by Cierpiot and Brattin. The hearing is the first step toward another potentially volatile fight on the Senate floor after the issue resulted in hours-long filibusters last year. State Rep. Mike Haffner, a Pleasant Hill Republican, has filed similar legislation in the House.