History

Overland Park, Kansas,was officially incorporated on May 20, 1960. At the time, it had approximately 28,085 residents and 13 square miles of land. The City now has about 170,000 residents and the geographical area is about 62 square miles.

In the early 1960s, City leaders adopted a comprehensive plan to manage the City's growth in land use, parks, schools, zoning and housing. They also considered commercial development, retail districts and expressways. That early planning and vision is what has established Overland Park as one of the best places in the country to live, work and conduct business.

City leadership continues to keep attuned to concerns of the community. In 2000, 2003 and 2006 residents were randomly selected to answer a series of questions about the quality of life in Overland Park. The last survey was completed in April 2006. Resident's level of satisfaction with the City's overall quality of life went from 90% in 2000, 93% in 2003 and 94% in 2006..

Overland Park is known for its progressive city leadership and vision. Thanks to a highly professional team of elected officials, community leaders and City staff, Overland Park continues to build upon its reputation for quality building standards and long-range planning. The City follows a long-range master development plan prepared by the City's planning and research department, which updates the plan each year through public input.

A five-year capital improvement plan is reevaluated annually to determine priorities for improvements to streets, highways, storm water management, parks, public buildings and other public spaces. Sales tax revenue, general obligation bonds, special assessment districts and funds from other governmental agencies fund many of these projects.

The City's strong financial management has not gone unrecognized. Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's have given Overland Park AAA bond ratings, making the City one of only 12 cities nationwide to receive AAA ratings from all three sources.