Case File No. 6713-26 · Ward 4
An empty IHOP. A business ready to invest. A 7–1 recommendation to approve. And a 5–3 vote that killed it, with Alderman Theresa Garza among the no votes, in her own ward. Every claim below links to the city's own documents.
0 yrs
the lot sat vacant, in Ward 4
0–1
P&Z recommendation to approve
0–3
the vote that killed it
0
businesses gained
The decision-makers
It took six votes to bring a business back to the 350 corridor. These are the people who made sure it never got them.
Chair, Planning & Zoning Commission
Started itChaired the initial hearing and voted for the 5–2 denial, then cast the sole nay when his own commission reversed 7–1.
“Certain uses are more productive than others… a tire shop may not be the highest and best use.”
Alderman, Ward 4, the project's own ward
Worked the floorQuestioned the legitimacy of the reconsideration process from the floor, told colleagues the ward 'does not want it,' then voted no, against staff, the owners, and a 7–1 recommendation, in her own ward.
“Economic development is about shaping Raytown's future, not just filling empty buildings.”
Alderman, Board of Aldermen
Cast the third noOne of the three no votes, Morales, Walters, Garza, that left the motion at five when six were needed. With his vote, the permit died and the lot stayed empty.
Alderman, Ward 1
Ran the letter campaignCirculated a letter to Raytown's tire and repair shops urging them to pack the July 7 meeting and oppose the Dobbs permit, even proposing a cap on new business licenses to shut out competitors. When the deciding vote came, she didn't show.
“Our city is already saturated with these types of businesses.”
The smoking gun
Before the Dobbs permit reached a final vote, Alderman Theresa Tush circulated this letter to Raytown's tire and repair shops, urging the established competition to turn out against it, and floating a government cap on business licenses to shut new shops out. Picking winners and losers isn't economic policy, it's protectionism in writing.
Transcript
“I want to make sure you're aware that another company is looking to open a new tire and repair shop here in Raytown.”
“Many of us are concerned that our city is already saturated with these types of businesses. When too many similar shops open, it puts unnecessary pressure on long-standing local businesses like yours…”
“If Raytown were to set a cap on the number of tire/repair business licenses, one that's lower than the number we already have; it would help protect established shops…”
“…I encourage you to attend the July 7th Board of Aldermen meeting and make your voice heard.”
Signed: Theresa Tush, Alderman Ward 1, copy photographed and on file
Read that again: an elected alderman asking the government to cap how many businesses can compete, an incumbent-protection racket, in her own words. And when the final roll was called, Tush was absent. The letter packed the room; she didn't even cast a vote.
“Just filling empty buildings.”
Garza, dismissing the reinvestment project she helped kill in her own ward
Roll call · Bill No. 6713-26, second reading
Ordinances need six votes to pass. It got five. The motion failed, and Ward 4's own alderman helped kill it.
Ayes, for the project
Mims, Emerson, Hayden, Aziere, Krizek
Nays, against the project
Morales, Walters, Garza
Absent
Tush, Thomas
Transcribed from the city's own broadcast of the meeting.
So I know that the Planning and Zoning Commission initially voted it down. Then we returned it to the Planning and Zoning and now they've returned it back to us. So does the city have an actual ordinance that kind of helps guide the process for reconsideration, or is that just by administrative discretion?
“Alderman Garza.”, “No.”
Transcribed from the city's broadcast of the June 16, 2026 first reading.
We have received several calls from our constituents, because this is in our ward, and they do not want it.
We do economic development like the unpopular kid at a middle school dance, we take whatever comes along.
City staff recommended approval with conditions. The applicant called it “a significant reinvestment.” Her own Ward 4 page called it “just filling empty buildings.”
Said vs. did · The interview
June 9, 2025, sitting for a WhatsUpKansasCity interview, Alderman Garza described her own brand. Fourteen months later, a small business asked to reinvest in her own ward, with staff and a 7–1 Planning & Zoning vote behind it. Watch what she said, then remember what she did.
“I ran kind of on being strategic and intentional on the development that we have coming into Raytown.”
Garza, WhatsUpKansasCity interview · June 9, 2025
“How are we helping those small businesses? And are we setting them up to succeed in our community?”
Garza, same interview · June 9, 2025
Then came Bill No. 6713-26: a family business reinvesting in a lot vacant for five years, staff-recommended, P&Z-approved 7–1, in her ward. She voted no, and it died one vote short. Strategic. Intentional. Setting them up to succeed.
The record behind the denial · Case No. PZ-2026-07
The first denial wasn't the board's idea. It started here: Steve Meyers, elected Planning & Zoning chairman in July 2025, presiding over the Dobbs case from introduction to the vote that stopped it.
May 21, 2026 · initial hearing
5–2
to recommend denial
Meyers chaired the hearing and voted to deny. His reasoning, as recorded in the minutes:
Chairman Meyers commented that while it would be beneficial to have active use of the land, certain uses are more productive than others, expressing concern that a tire shop on the subject site may not be the highest and best use for the subject site.
P&Z Commission minutes, May 21, 2026
July 23, 2026 · reconsideration
7–1
to reverse and recommend approval
The Commission flipped. Eight commissioners voted; seven said yes. The minutes name the holdout by name:
P&Z Commission minutes, July 23, 2026
Then it was over. Three weeks after the commission reversed itself, the Board of Aldermen killed the project anyway, 5–3, with Garza among the no votes.
Sources: P&Z packets of May 21 and July 23, 2026, and the Aug. 11, 2026 Board of Aldermen packet, all linked below.
“We do economic development like the unpopular kid at a middle school dance — we take whatever comes along.”
Garza, on why Raytown should turn businesses away, city broadcast, June 16, 2026
Direct quotes are transcribed verbatim; items marked “reported speech” are quoted from the city's official minutes.
If denied, the property is likely to remain vacant and underutilized, continuing a pattern of disinvestment over the past five years.
Obviously, they get a new revenue stream… It will enhance everybody's real estate values. It's a win-win deal as far as I'm concerned. I don't know really how to address anything negative because I don't see that it'll hurt anybody.
She expressed discontent with being unable to sell the property in the past, which she partially attributed to City action, and urged the Commission to recommend approval.
She expressed discontent about the claim made by the applicants that the property would continue to remain vacant should the conditional use permit be denied.
He opposed the permit based on the concentration of similar businesses in proximity to the subject property.
Economic development is about shaping Raytown's future, not just filling empty buildings.
~2021
The IHOP at 10000 E. 350 Highway closes. The lot, prime frontage on Raytown's main commercial corridor, goes dark.
2021–2026
Five years of vacancy. The owners try to sell; the building ages; the corridor loses another anchor.
2026
Dobbs Tire & Auto proposes a modern 8-bay shop on the lot, a significant reinvestment in a long-dead property.
May 21, 2026
The Planning & Zoning Commission votes 5–2 to recommend denial. Commissioners question whether a tire shop is the 'highest and best use' for the site and doubt the claim that denial means permanent vacancy.
Jun 16, 2026
City staff recommend approval, warning that denial means the lot 'is likely to remain vacant and underutilized, continuing a pattern of disinvestment over the past five years.'
Jul 23, 2026
On reconsideration, the Planning & Zoning Commission votes 7–1 to recommend approval. The property owners publicly urge the city to approve it.
Aug 11, 2026
The Board of Aldermen takes the final vote. The motion to adopt fails 5–3. Garza votes no. The lot stays empty.
Five years vacant. 7–1 for it. 5–3 against it. Her vote.
Every quote above is transcribed from the city's own broadcast and minutes. If your neighbors are voting in Ward 4, they should read the record first.
Keep reading
File II · The Pattern
Sixteen Years, One Pattern →
Every documented stop from 2010 to today, the spine of the whole record.
The evidence locker
The Vault →
Every document behind every claim, the letters, the docket, the packets, the broadcast.
Annotated, page by page
The Termination Letter →
Her own boss put it in writing: the $199,000 salary, the hidden job hunt, the verdict on her character.
Still unanswered
Open Questions →
The questions Ward 4 voters keep asking, tracked until she answers them.
Spread the record
Share Toolkit →
Ready-to-post lines, the PDF of the letter, and print materials for your neighborhood.
Print it
One-Page Flyer →
The whole record on a single page, built for doorsteps.