Comprehensive Plan

Comprehensive Plan Update 

Comprehensive Plan cover with images of Lenexa

The City of Lenexa and a consultant team from Houseal-Lavigne have prepared a major update to our Comprehensive Plan that is now under consideration by Lenexa’s appointed and elected officials. A Comprehensive Plan is a blueprint for the future that directs growth and development for the next 20 years. The creation of a Comprehensive Plan can lead to potential strategies that will help effectively guide City leaders as they make substantive and thoughtful decisions for the community. 

A comprehensive plan is both aspirational, reflecting the vision of the community, and technical in nature, laying out the framework for how development is planned to occur. 

Download the draft Comprehensive Plan(PDF, 31MB)

Next steps 

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  • A public hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Plan is planned for the June 3 Planning Commission meeting. The Planning Commission will then formally vote to recommend adoption of the plan or request additional changes. 
  • After the Planning Commission votes, the City Council will consider adopting the new Comprehensive Plan. This item is tentatively planned for the Council's June 18 meeting. Like the Planning Commission, they can request additional changes to be made before adopting the Plan. 

Related documents 

The following reports were prepared through the Comprehensive Plan process. 

Current Comprehensive Plan

Lenexa’s existing Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2016.  Find the current plan and related recommendations below. Note that future land uses and policies reflected in the current plan may change upon approval of a new Comprehensive Plan, which is expected in June 2024. 

Common questions

Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the Comprehensive Plan and how it impacts our community.

What is a Comprehensive Plan?

A typical Comprehensive Plan outlines the existing conditions of the city, describes future goals and objectives for development, and includes an action plan on how to achieve these goals and objectives. The plan also tests growth scenarios and establishes future land uses. The Comprehensive Plan addresses: 

  • Community Vision, Goals and Objectives 
  • Land Use and Development 
  • Housing and Neighborhoods 
  • Economic Development 
  • Transportation and Mobility 
  • Community Facilities and Infrastructure 
  • Natural Areas, Parks and Open Space 
  • Implementation Strategies 

The authority to create a comprehensive plan is found in Kansas Statute Annotated 12-747. A comprehensive plan is required when a city desires to create subdivision regulations. Lenexa has utilized the highest level of land use regulations for a long time: a comprehensive plan, zoning standards and subdivision regulations.

How do the pieces of the Comprehensive Plan relate together?

Each of the topics addressed by the Comprehensive Plan are interconnected and critical to a well-rounded, livable community. By addressing them together, the Comprehensive Plan will ensure Lenexa grows as a thriving community that offers high quality of life for its citizens. The Plan is built off past planning efforts, existing policies that remain relevant, and, at its core, community input from a wide-ranging outreach process. It creates a cohesive vision that is representative of Lenexa’s residents, business community and community stakeholders; and outlines the critical steps for making that vision come true.

What does a Comprehensive Plan not do?

The Comprehensive Plan is geared toward spatial issues and future public and private development. It’s not a regulatory document or a silver bullet for all public policy. It informs decisions about zoning and development by establishing community goals and key recommendations to guide future growth and potential code amendments. 

Some issues can be dealt with directly in the Comprehensive Plan, like housing needs or commercial development. For other issues like crime or education, the Comprehensive Plan can play an indirect role by addressing environmental contributors to the issues and raising awareness of community priorities that need to be dealt with outside of the planning process.

Who uses the Comprehensive Plan, and what is it used for?

City staff, the Planning Commission and the City Council use the Plan to analyze development proposals and plan for public investments to ensure Lenexa’s growth and redevelopment complements the community’s vision.  

Citizens use the Plan to learn about the community’s short-term and long-term priorities, potential future projects and expectations of how development should occur. 

Developers and the business community use the Plan to prepare for projects and ensure alignment with the community’s goals such as desirable land uses and built form.

Who was involved in creating the Comprehensive Plan?

The City of Lenexa committed to involving residents, businesses and workers in the process to craft a community vision for Lenexa’s future. All Lenexans were invited to give feedback through two open houses and a community questionnaire. Workshops were held with the local business community, students, Park Board, Technical Advisory Committee and elected officials. A Steering Committee also helped guide the process. Ultimately, the final plan must be recommended by the Planning Commission and adopted by the City Council.  

A consultant team from Houseal-Lavigne began working with the City in summer 2021 to lead the Comprehensive Plan update.

We already have other plans, like Vision 2040. What will happen to those?

Existing plans are an important part of the Comprehensive Plan process. They help inform the Comprehensive Plan, and oftentimes their goals and vision are further refined through the Comprehensive Plan process. Lenexa’s Comprehensive Plan update builds off previous efforts like the Complete Streets Study, New Look at Old Town Study and Quivira Road Corridor Study. It was also developed alongside a new Parks Master Plan. 

Visioning processes are a great way to involve residents in creating big-picture goals and ideas for the City’s future. In 2018-2019, more than 3,500 people helped shape five main topic areas into Vision 2040.  

A comprehensive plan outlines the critical steps for making a community vision come true. Lenexa’s new Comprehensive Plan helps hone those ideas into a cohesive guide that puts Vision 2040 into action.

In addition to previous plans and existing conditions, what other areas does the plan consider?

Changing local, regional and national trends will have an impact on how Lenexa grows and redevelops. These were taken into consideration when addressing topics like land use, economic development, transportation and natural resources. 

Some areas considered when building the Plan include:

  • The need for attainable and diverse housing.
  • National demands for new senior housing for the aging baby boomer generation. 
  • The role of autonomous vehicles in future infrastructure. 
  • How COVID-19 has impacted how we live and work. 
  • Continuing shifts in retail and product distribution with e-commerce.
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