KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mayor Quinton Lucas unveiled a new ordinance that would give Kansas City new enforcement powers to shut down businesses operating without required licenses and permits, declaring such operations a nuisance under city code.

 

Under the proposed ordinance, businesses operating without required licenses, permits, or government approvals would be classified as a nuisance under city code, unlocking a broader range of the City’s enforcement tools to close them down. Without required safety inspections, occupancy limits, and security measures, illegal business operations put patrons and nearby residents at risk.

 

“Kansas City has seen too many tragedies connected to unlawful businesses operating in the shadows of our regulatory system,” said Mayor Lucas. “These operations don’t follow the rules that protect people: no safety inspections, no occupancy limits, no accountability. The ordinance gives us a clearer path to shut them down and keep our neighborhoods safe.”

 

One of the biggest challenges city officials face is that many of these illegal operations are hard to pin down. They frequently change names, locations, and ownership to stay one step ahead of enforcement. By the time the City is able to take action against a specific business or address, the operation has already moved on. The ordinance would allow the City to go after both the business and the building it operates out of, making it harder to simply pick up and relocate.

 

Under the ordinance, a business or property could be declared a nuisance if it: 

The ordinance is written broadly enough to cover temporary and pop-up operations, not just permanent storefronts, so short-term events and recurring gatherings wouldn’t slip through the cracks.

 

Unlicensed businesses in Kansas City have been connected to mass shootings, other violent incidents, and illegal gambling.

 

The ordinance will go before the Kansas City Council for consideration.