A special thank you to Eric Youngberg, Brookside historian and resident, for sharing his knowledge and expertise on overlay districts!
Maintaining the charm and appeal of a historic neighborhood can be difficult. City growth, architectural trends, and the changing tastes of homeowners can combine to corrode an older neighborhood’s original character.
To preserve the unique characteristics of specific neighborhoods or, areas within a neighborhood, residents can establish an overlay district to add zoning rules for that specific geography. These special land-use regulations can be designed to preserve a historic district, promote a specific type of development, protect natural resources, or uphold the character and culture of a community.
Traditional zoning broadly dictates how land can be used, while an overlay district can be customized to fit the needs of a specific geographic area. An overlay district designation can provide an extra layer of oversight to ensure that any development aligns with the intended character and goals of the district. Overlay districts can regulate building design, signage, landscaping, and even the materials that are allowed to be used in construction – all to maintain a cohesive look and feel in the district. While they may seem restrictive, overlay districts are designed to help balance preservation with modernization.
Kansas City has six overlay districts, each tailored to address the specific needs and characteristics of the area it governs. For example, Kansas City adopted an overlay district for Troost Avenue from 22nd Street on the north to Meyer Boulevard on the south. Among the regulations in the overlay, the district prohibited the addition of any new payday lenders, liquor stores, and car lots to help boost the other commercial businesses along Troost – an example of the flexibility overlay districts can provide versus traditional zoning laws.
Wornall Homestead
The only overlay district in the Brookside area is the Wornall Homestead Overlay District. Wornall Homestead, a subdivision of the Country Club District, is located north of Brookside, bounded by 57th Street, Wornall Road, 63rd Street, and the Trolley Trail.
Wornall Homestead is one of Kansas City’s most stunning and well-preserved historic neighborhoods. The Wornall Homestead area is named after John Wornall, an early settler who moved to the Midwest from Kentucky in 1843 (10 years prior to the incorporation of Kansas City) and purchased the majority of the land that now makes up the Wornall Homestead neighborhood.
Wornall began farming the land himself, later renting it to other farmers and, later yet, plots were sold off and the neighborhood began to form. A drive through Wornall Homestead showcases a wide variety of historic architectural styles that give the neighborhood its distinct character and richness.
To protect the 150+-year-old character of Wornall Homestead, residents came together in the late 2010s and, over the course of two years and many meetings, articulated and documented their concerns regarding the neighborhood and its development. Document in hand, the neighborhood organizers meticulously knocked on doors throughout the area, presenting their proposal to residents, collecting signatures, and eventually gathering an impressive approval rate of 83%. Their proposed overlay district was presented to the city and was approved in 2017.
A beautiful home designed by Clarence Shepard in Wornall Homestead.
Wornall Homestead Overlay Regulations
The regulations included in Wornall Homestead’s Overlay District were selected to protect the integrity of the neighborhood and help maintain the strong sense of community and culture that had been fostered in the area over the past 100+ years. The Overlay District went into effect in August 2017 reflecting the true intent of the area’s homeowners.
Importantly, the Wornall Homestead’s Overlay District does not dictate architectural style – as many different varieties of homes can be found throughout the neighborhood. Often, overlay districts focus on architectural design to maintain a cohesive look, but the Wornall Homestead Overlay District focuses on bulk. The overlay dictates the size, height, and placement of homes and other structures on the lot, allowing the neighborhood to maintain a cohesive look and feel without requiring conformity to a single architectural style.
Brookside historian and resident Eric Youngberg played a major role in the creation and adoption of Wornall Homestead’s Overlay District. “Planning is an art, and neighborhoods are art,” Youngberg says. “Overlay districts allow neighborhoods to create rules and regulations as nuanced as they need to be, even on a street-by-street basis.”
An Alice Jackson home in Wornall Homestead.
Many of the regulations in Wornall Homestead’s overlay were sparked by what residents witnessed in other nearby neighborhoods – specifically tear-downs. In many of the tear-down situations buyers would purchase two adjacent lots and demolish both homes to build one oversized—and frequently out-of-character—house on the now double-sized lot.
The Wornall Homestead Overlay includes height and setback rules that prevent houses from being built or expanded to the edges of property lines. Detached garages must be set back from the street, and attached garages cannot have doors on the front. Other restrictions include bans on chain-link fences and short-term rentals, such as AirBnBs.
“Overlay districts are critical tools for maintaining the community feel and culture of a neighborhood. They give residents a way to communicate their desires and what is important to them,” Youngberg adds. “It is codified with the city and reinforces what the neighborhood wants.”
Recently, the organizers of the Wornall Homestead Overlay District have begun working with the UMKC Center for Neighborhoods. The Center’s mission is to help other communities wanting to preserve the nature of their neighborhoods – West Plaza and Volker being two of those – by providing advice and guidance on creating overlay districts to benefit their neighborhoods.
Click here to view the full Wornall Homestead Overlay District.
Overlay districts play a crucial role in shaping Kansas City’s future. It is essential that residents continue to balance both sensitive preservation and thoughtful development. Wornall Homestead is an excellent example of how community-driven planning can be used to protect a neighborhood’s history and character while still allowing for modern growth and improvement. Overlay districts give residents an opportunity to engage in local zoning changes, share their opinions, help control how their surroundings evolve, and feel an even more personal sense of ownership.
