Kansas City, MO’s City Manager Brian Platt has been one of the most important hires for Kansas City’s trajectory in years. The young city professional has shown that he is deeply sympathetic to the causes of organized labor and devoted to tackling anything that stands in the way of a better city.
A long standing problem in the downtown area is, because of the presence of the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would cause issues over the heights of proposed buildings in the neighborhoods adjacent to it, including the West Bottoms, River Market, Union Hill, Downtown Loop, Crossroads, and the newly-developed Berkley Riverfront. Buildings in these neighborhoods would have to gain approval from the FAA in order to be built.
Since arriving, City Manager Brian Platt has consistently pushed back on findings from the FAA that building plans within neighborhoods, like the River Market, would cause airspace hazards. This is despite some proposed buildings being shorter than existing buildings. These findings acted as barriers to building even moderately tall buildings in the northern portion of downtown Kansas City. Mid-to-high rise buildings are necessary to build as homes to future Kansas City residents.
As a reminder, the densification of downtown Kansas City is good for union members in the region for multiple reasons: 1) increased density in the downtown corridor is better for the city’s books and costs, 2) more building projects means more demand on skilled building and construction trades workers, giving a lift to union wages in the region, and 3) the more we build housing downtown the more downward pressure we put on the cost of housing and the less housing we have to build in rural areas, eating into Missouri and Kansas’ precious farm land.
The Federal Aviation Administration appears to have relented on the point and is now informing pilots of aircraft to reach higher altitudes before turning east, theoretically eliminating cause for concerns around airspace hazards. The FAA’s Airport/Facility Directory has been updated and now advises pilots that, “due to obstructions, prior to any turns to the East, aircraft must be at or above traffic pattern altitude.” This traffic pattern altitude is reportedly 1,000 feet above the runway for light aircraft.
“We’ve finally found a pathway forward for more new high density development downtown that will bring more jobs, housing, retail, and other amenities. We are so thankful for our partners at the FAA to help us find creative solutions to both help our city grow and also to improve safety for aircraft at our downtown airport,” said City Manager Brian Platt.
Tristin Amezcua-Hogan is the Editor of The Labor Beacon and a member of LIUNA Local 264. Tristin also serves as the Director of Communications for the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO and the Chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
Tristin grew up as the son of a UA Local 669 member in Tecumseh, KS and the great-nephew of George C. Amis, longtime leader of the United Rubberworkers (now USW Local 307) in Kansas. Growing up in rural Kansas as the child of teen parents, Tristin quickly came to appreciate the life-changing benefit of a union job.
Tristin and his partner, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, are residents of the Westside, Kansas City, MO's historic Mexican neighborhood. They are proud members of Kansas City's New Reform Temple.
