We, the undersigned residents and supporters of Lenexa, strongly oppose the rezoning and sale of public park land adjacent to the Clear Creek Wetland Trail and future Centennial Park.

This land is not unused—it is deeply valued by our community. Every day, families walk together, neighbors run and bike, children explore, people fish, and dogs play. Both the paved and unpaved trails are heavily used. This space is where our community connects, recharges, and finds peace away from daily life.

Yet this irreplaceable public space is now at risk.

In addition to its recreational value, this land serves a critical ecological function. The Clear Creek Wetland area contains documented milkweed stands and a high presence of monarch butterflies, a species that has experienced population declines of over 80% in recent decades and is now listed as threatened. Monarchs migrate up to 3,000 miles across North America, and their survival depends entirely on the availability of intact milkweed habitat along these routes. Kansas plays a vital role in this migration, and the loss of remaining habitat has been identified by scientists and conservation organizations as one of the primary drivers of monarch decline.

Wetlands like Clear Creek are especially important for monarchs and other pollinators. They provide breeding grounds, shelter, and native vegetation while also delivering essential ecosystem services such as stormwater management, flood mitigation, water filtration, and wildlife support. Once destroyed, these ecosystems cannot be easily replaced.

Despite this, the City of Lenexa is considering rezoning and selling this land to Habitat for Humanity—land that was originally purchased using Park, Rain to Recreation, and Stormwater funds, all of which were intended to protect environmental resources and public green space. Selling this land threatens not only sensitive wildlife habitat, but also the public trust.

City officials have stated that the decision to sell this land was made years ago, between 2015 and 2018. However, this decision was never clearly or transparently communicated to the public. No “For Sale” sign was ever placed on the property, and the request for proposals was sent only to select developers rather than being made public. To residents, taxpayers, and voters, this land has always been presented—and experienced—as parkland.

For nearly a decade, the City’s own Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan (2012–2024) clearly depicted this entire area as parkland. That document remained publicly available and uncorrected for years, reinforcing the understanding that this land was intended to remain part of the City’s park system. At no point during that period was the public notified that the land shown as parkland in the City’s official planning documents was being considered for sale.

As recently as March 2025, the City continued to publicly promote this area as protected park space. Official publications, glossy projections, and promotional materials—including the cover of Lenexa TownTalk—featured this land as serene, preserved green space. These images were used to help pass the 3/8-cent sales tax initiative, despite the City now asserting the land was never intended to remain parkland.

This is misleading and undermines public confidence.

Financially, the handling of this land is equally troubling. In 2015, the City quietly declared the land “surplus.” A 2018 appraisal valued it at just $38,280 per acre—an amount so low that even the City Manager expressed surprise. The land was never openly marketed, and the public, surrounding residents, and developers were never informed or given an opportunity to bid.

By 2025, after Lenexa property values increased by approximately 80%, the City agreed to sell 17 acres for only $49,000 per acre—nearly $20,000 per acre below a reasonable current market value. This represents hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost public value.

But this issue is about more than money.

Parks and wetlands protect wildlife, manage stormwater, reduce stress, improve mental health, and strengthen communities. Lenexa residents have repeatedly voiced the need for more trails, natural preserves, pollinator habitat, and family-friendly green spaces. This land already fulfills those needs and serves as an important refuge for wildlife—especially monarch butterflies—and should be preserved for future generations.

We respectfully demand answers:

1. Why was the public not clearly informed when this land was declared surplus?
2. Why did the City allow official planning documents to depict this land as parkland for nearly a decade without correction?
3. Why was the sale never openly communicated or competitively offered?
4. Why is land purchased with dedicated public funds being sold at a discounted rate?
5. Why is the City willing to sell land that the surrounding community has always experienced as their park—and that provides critical monarch habitat?

This is not a “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) issue.
This is a “Not In My Park” (NIMP) issue.

Public park land—and vital wildlife habitat—should remain public.

We urge the City of Lenexa to halt the rezoning and sale of this land and to preserve it in its entirety as public park and natural space—now and for future generations.

By signing this petition, we stand together to protect our park, our environment, our wildlife, and our public trust.

12/28 - Description edited as new information regarding appraisal values has become available and to begin addressing common questions

1/9 - Description edited with new information regarding the City using pictures of this exact tract of land for front page cover usage to prompt the 3/8th sales tax renewal election in March 2025. 

1/21 - Description updated with new information about the City's choice to keep the whole land listed as city park in the Lenexa Comprehensive Park Plan from 2012-2024. This was also updated to include the risk that this development poses to Monarch Butterflies who have a native habitat in the Clear Creek Wetlands.