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Kansas City, Missouri, seeks to establish a policy for the use of “Kansas City”
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Kansas City, Missouri, seeks to establish a policy for the use of “Kansas City”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Mo., city council committee is set to consider an ordinance Tuesday that would establish a policy for use of the name “Kansas City” by entities other than the city of Kansas City, Mo. .

The Special Legal Review Committee should review the orderwhich was introduced last month by Mayor Quinton Lucas.

The ordinance hopes to provide “clear guidance” on the use of the name “Kansas City” by other municipalities, organizations and businesses to “prevent dilution of the city’s brand,” among other goals.

Earlier this year, Lee’s Summit officials — citing increased operations at Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport — explored changing its name to better reflect its larger role in the region’s aviation sector.

Officials initially recommended the name “Greater Kansas City Regional Airport.”

This name caught the attention of Lucas, who said it could confuse travelers, noting that the inclusion of the name “Kansas City” in the airport was previously only applied to airports in Kansas City, Missouri .

Perhaps related, the same board committee should also consider a name change to Downtown Airport, from Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport to Kansas City Downtown Airport — Wheeler Field.

Following the initial Lee’s Summit presentation, Lucas said it would work with Lee’s Summit, the Federal Aviation Administration and the courts to “ensure that we avoid future confusion about Kansas City and to prevent some of the conflicts and confusion seen in other communities.”

In a memo At the Lee’s Summit City Council last month, Lee’s Summit Public Works and Operations Director Michael Anderson said city officials met with the Kansas City, Missouri, Department of Aviation in October to discuss alternatives to the “Greater Kansas City Regional Airport.”

In early November, Lee’s Summit Board of Aeronautical Commissioners chose three new final names:

  • Kansas City — Lee Summit Regional
  • Southeast Kansas City Regional
  • KC — Lee’s Summit Regional

On November 12, the Lee’s Summit City Council voted to officially rename the airport to Kansas City – Lee’s Summit Regional and to name the airport’s fixed base operator Summit Aero.
The name change requires review and final approval from the FAA.

Indeed, the language of the proposed ordinance in Kansas City, Missouri, appears to have played at least a partial role in shaping discussions between the two cities.

Under the proposed ordinance, the City of Kansas City, Mo., would “disfavor” the use of “Kansas City” without an appropriate qualifier and “more favorably consider” the use of “Kansas City” with a “proper qualifier.” which identifies the particular jurisdiction”. or geographic part” of the region, such as Kansas City – Lee’s Summit Regional.

The proposed ordinance also recognizes the use of “Kansas City, Kansas” by the Unified Government of Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County.

The discussion could also be helpful for the city to undertake a much broader review of its intellectual property rights, with city staff tasked with overseeing the review and requesting “appropriate trademark registrations and considering other measures protection where applicable.