KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Residents at a condominium tower near the proposed Crown Center Ballpark District have filed suit, seeking to halt any construction that would disturb their recorded property rights.
The San Francisco Association, which represents residents of the San Francisco Tower Condominiums located at 2510 Grand Boulevard, filed a lawsuit Monday seeking a declaratory judgment and immediate injunctive relief following the City’s approval of ballpark district plans for the Kansas City Royals in the Crown Center area.
The city council approved the lease, development, funding and community benefits agreements for the $3 billion, 68-acre project last week.
The San Francisco Tower Condominiums took issue with the development agreements between the City of Kansas City, the Royals and the Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation, which omit the condos from its recorded easements in the area. The suit said the plans for the area include no protections, utility relocation plans or compensation for the residents.
The San Francisco Association, which represents residents of the San Francisco Tower Condominiums located at 2510 Grand Boulevard, filed a lawsuit Monday seeking a declaratory judgment and immediate injunctive relief following the City’s approval of ballpark district plans for the Kansas City Royals in the Crown Center area.(KCTV5)
Ken McClain, the attorney representing the San Francisco Association, said the recorded rights at stake are not just paperwork.
“They are property rights,” McClain said. “If someone invades or obstructs your easement, they have taken away a property right, no differently than if they’ve condemned your lot.”
McClain said the association isn’t trying to block the ballpark project outright.
“We’re not trying to stop the stadium project,” he said. “What the homeowners are trying to do is find a way to compatibly live with the project in a way that will allow them to maintain the value of their home and the use and enjoyment of it.”
McClain said Crown Center and the Royals have only offered vague assurances so far.
“All there have been are statements that say they will address these in the future,” McClain said. “We don’t know what they mean by that, and we cannot allow them the flexibility to say we’ll take care of you later.”
The lawsuit also alleges the proposed new Royals stadium would be built roughly 100 feet from the Tower’s entrance and claims construction could destroy vital utility connections.
Among the easements at issue: one property holds the rooftop chillers that provide air conditioning to the tower, according to the association. Residents say they’ve been told their utilities won’t be disrupted during construction, but they want specifics on how that will be accomplished.
San Francisco Tower is located northwest of the proposed Kansas City Royals new ballpark.(KCTV5)
It also takes issue with an alleged lack of communication between the defendants and the Towers association, with the lawsuit saying, “specifically, the preliminary plan filed in support of the rezoning states that ‘utility easement releases’ will be ‘shown on UR final plans,’ referring to releases that only (The San Francisco Association) can execute. But (the Towers) has not executed the release of any of its easements, and Defendants have made no attempt to acquire any such releases.”
When Kansas City’s Planning Commission approved the rezoning application on Aug. 5, it attached conditions specifically addressing parking preservation and a light and noise study for the tower’s residents, according to the lawsuit — an acknowledgment, the suit argues, that the tower is directly and specially affected by the project.
This drawing in the rezoning application shows the area to be rezoned. The parcels in orange represent new construction. San Francisco Tower, the box KCTV5 has shaded in red, is exempt from rezoning, but the easement properties are not. An ordinance authorizing the rezoning needed for the development is expected before the council on Sept. 3.(Populous & Olsson)
A second condo building, Santa Fe Place, is also excluded from the rezoning boundary and holds similar recorded easements, according to McClain, but its residents have not joined the lawsuit. In public meetings, some have welcomed the stadium development. McClain said Santa Fe Place’s situation differs in part because, unlike San Francisco Tower, it has no pedestrian walkway connecting it directly to Crown Center. Furthermore, it is a shorter building and the high-rise San Francisco Tower sits between the stadium and Santa Fe Place, providing a visual buffer.
The San Francisco Tower is a 33-story residential condominium tower with approximately 135 units. It was built in 1976.
The lawsuit says a recorded covenant between CCRC and any of its successors — including the Royals — requires them to maintain an adjacent parking garage guaranteeing roughly 400 parking spots for residents to lease parking.
The San Francisco Garden — one of the easements for San Francisco Tower residents — is included as an example of easements residents want protected in the lawsuit.(KCTV5)
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas issued a statement Monday in response to the lawsuit.
I appreciated my recent visit with residents of the San Francisco Tower and look forward to further discussions. While the lawsuit does not threaten delivery of the baseball project and merely looks to clarify the property rights of neighbors adjacent to the future stadium, it is imperative that all parties reach amicable understandings, ensuring Crown Center and residents in the area continue to enjoy a great neighborhood and outstanding future development.
I will support all parties in reaching an amicable resolution, whether through the Court’s declaration of rights outside the stadium footprint, as sought here, or through alternative dispute resolution.
KCTV5 reached out to the City of Kansas City, the Kansas City Royals and Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation for comment. The city and the Royals both declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. Crown Center did not respond.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to stop the City, the Royals and the CCRC from starting demolition, excavation or construction that disturbs any of the easement areas, the parking garage, or the San Francisco Garden.
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