Council releases Avantino letter of credit after staff language change

Leawood’s governing body unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing the release of a letter of credit securing special-benefit-district assessments for the Avantino development after staff revised the release language.

City staff explained the agenda version had required more than 50% of the properties to have certificates of occupancy for release; staff clarified the developer did not meet that threshold but did meet an alternative metric — at least 35% of the square footage of the most recent final development plan with certificates of occupancy — and recommended updating the resolution to reflect the accurate metric. City staff said the language change corrects the record and allows staff to support releasing the letter of credit.

Developer Travis Shrum was in the audience and identified as Avantino’s developer. The resolution was moved and seconded and adopted by voice vote; council later confirmed the motion and recorded the unanimous adoption.

Next steps: Staff will process the release of the letter of credit under the revised terms recorded in the resolution and continue to monitor related special-benefit-district obligations.