Marijuana dispensary with drive-thru service proposed in Midtown Kansas City

Chris Higgins, The Kansas City Star on Jan 1, 2025

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An abandoned car wash in Midtown Kansas City could make way for a marijuana dispensary parking lot.

Good Day Farm, a marijuana dispensary with several locations across Missouri, has proposed converting an auto shop at 637 W. 39th St. into a new dispensary, just east of Southwest Trafficway. Next door is a fenced-up, vacant car wash that would be demolished and replaced by a parking lot for the new dispensary and could include drive-thru service.

The old car wash property, which has been sitting empty for years, was previously eyed in the late 2010s for a new apartment building — which was never built, and the plans expired.

For technical reasons related to property zoning, the only development currently allowed on the site would be those apartments, so officials would need to approve changing the property’s plans or classification to allow for the dispensary parking lot.

City staff have recommended rezoning the property back to a generic status, which would allow for the parking lot. The City Plan Commission voted to recommend the change in November. The neighborhood committee is expected to consider the proposal Jan. 7.

The parking lot plan has drawn a mixed reaction from nearby neighborhood groups.

Stacey Kenyon, president of the Coleman Highlands Neighborhood Association, told the plan commission that city planning documents call for mixed-use development that would benefit the pedestrian environment, and that the high-turnover proposal would not be pedestrian-friendly at a busy intersection.

But Valentine Neighborhood Association board member Jim Martin told the plan commission in November that the group supports the proposal as the abandoned car wash has caused safety concerns for the neighborhood over the years, including homeless encampments and fires, and that Good Day has been responsive to issues and would be a good neighbor.

The parking lot aside, the dispensary itself is allowed by right and moving forward with city review. A lot for the Good Day store would free up space for traffic flow at the dispensary and ease congestion issues, according to the company.

“... the public does not benefit from the site as it currently is used. The risks of a vacant dilapidated structure far outweigh any benefits to public safety and welfare by denying the rezone,” a letter to the city from the company says. “In fact, the neighborhood business district will be better served by demolishing the vacant building on the site as the common risks and issues with vacant buildings would cease”

The curb to the parking lot would be off 39th Street.

Regan Etheridge, project manager for Good Day Farm, told officials in December that the drive-thru would serve orders scheduled online in advance, and the company would not expect traffic stacking into the street. A drive-thru with an intercom speaker and menu board would not be allowed.