Independence city staff plan to roll out nine proposed changes meant to make it easier to open, run and grow a business in the city, with a presentation set for the City Council study session at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9. None of the recommendations has been approved, and any changes to city code or policy would still need to clear the Council before taking effect.
City Manager Troy Anderson said the proposals, titled Proposed Business Development Actions, came together after months of conversations with business owners and community members, according to KCTV5. He described the effort as staff's response to recurring complaints rather than a reaction to any single business, saying the presentation is not tied to a specific business and that staff has completed its work and is ready to present findings. Anderson also stressed that policy decisions belong to the City Council.
Business owners who spoke with the city described unanswered phone calls, inconsistent information and trouble finding permits, codes and ordinances. Their feedback centered on customer service, communication, access to information and having a voice in city government, and many said opening and operating a business in Independence can be unnecessarily difficult, per the same report.
Licensing Review Would Shrink From Six Steps to Three Questions
One of the headline proposals would narrow the business license review from six reviews down to three questions covering zoning, building occupancy and required documents. Anderson said he challenged staff to shorten processing time, possibly to the point of issuing a license over the counter when an applicant has all required documents and shows compliance with city codes.
Other ordinance recommendations include modernizing the business license ordinance itself, eliminating employee liquor permit requirements, dropping duplicate contractor licensing for holders of a city contractor license, and recognizing regional food-truck inspections instead of requiring separate city sign-off. The city is also looking at aligning health department permit expirations with business license dates and coordinating health and fire inspections, along with creating a single point of contact, a step-by-step checklist and an improved city website for applicants.
Small-Business Incentives and a Hypothetical Loan Fund
On the economic development side, staff are proposing a small-business incentive category for locally owned businesses that fall below the investment or job-creation thresholds required by existing incentive tools. The city also wants to evaluate a revolving loan fund or other financial assistance, and to count smaller projects — façade work, code-compliance upgrades, accessibility improvements — toward incentive eligibility.
Anderson offered a hypothetical example of how a loan fund might work: a $100,000 pool with individual requests ranging from $3,000 to $5,000, or $10,000 to $15,000. The city has said it wants lower incentive thresholds generally, since existing tools require significant capital investment and job creation that many small and midsize businesses simply cannot meet.
Infill Housing Changes Follow a Week Later
Separately, Anderson said staff will begin presenting infill housing amendments at the Nov. 16 City Council meeting, with the full infill amendment scheduled for Council consideration across November and December. Those proposals include advancing a residential infill update to the Unified Development Ordinance, offering expedited plan review for qualifying infill housing projects, and expanding the city's building permit fee waiver program to cover eligible duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes.
Depending on how the Council responds Monday, Anderson said staff plans to return with economic development policy and city code amendments and begin changing internal procedures over the following three to six months. The agenda packet places some items on a three-month track and others on a three-to-six-month track, with any ordinance amendments returning to the Council through the standard review and approval process.
Arcade Owner's Fee Fight Helped Spark the Review
The push traces in part to a dispute involving Rapid Fire Arcade, whose owner, Gary Wray, has said the city's per-game licensing fees are unfair and have made it difficult to keep the business open, though he has said the arcade is not in immediate danger of closing and still has time left on its lease. Wray told KCTV5 the arcade pays more than $1,000 a year in amusement device fees on top of roughly $100 annually for its gross-receipts-based business license, even though its roughly 70 machines are free-play and do not individually collect money. The arcade charges $10 for a one-day pass that allows unlimited play.
Wray started a petition in October asking the city to change the per-game licensing code, and it had hundreds of signatures when Independence first confirmed it was reviewing the fees. By the time of Monday's presentation, the petition had passed a thousand signatures. Wray has thanked Councilwoman Heather Wiley and city staff for taking up the amusement device ordinance and said he is seeking licensing that is fair and comparable to what other businesses pay, and has said the arcade would either relocate or close if the fees remain unchanged once its lease expires. Monday's agenda packet does not list amusement device fees among the items up for discussion, and Anderson did not say whether those fees would ultimately change.
Under the city's existing code, a license is required for each amusement machine or device operated, in addition to the standard occupation license, with the fee set according to the city's Schedule of Fees, per Independence City Code, Chapter 5. That same chapter requires anyone engaging in business within the city to obtain an occupation license before starting or continuing operations. Separately, Independence City Code, Chapter 2 requires employees who sell or serve alcoholic beverages to hold a permit — a requirement the proposed ordinance changes would eliminate.
Other Owners Describe a Mixed Experience
Not every business owner has had the same frustrations. Jake Olah, who owns Olahrama 28 Family Fun Skate Center and sits on a volunteer small-business committee created by Mayor Kevin King, said he has heard other business owners report issues with the city's processes. Olah said he and his family took over the 50-year-old rink four years ago and described the paperwork transfer at city hall as seamless.
Anderson said the city is reviewing whether decades-old codes and ordinances still make sense and whether current charges actually match the cost of processing applications and permits. He encouraged residents and business owners to attend Monday's meeting and to contact elected officials and city staff directly. The city has said information about next steps and opportunities for public input will be shared after the Council discussion.
