photo by: Sylas May/Journal-World

Developer Tony Krsnich, right, addresses the Lawrence City Commission about his 9 Del Lofts II project on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. At left is Affordable Housing Administrator Lea Roselyn.

Days after a narrow City Commission vote on whether to claw back his affordable housing project’s funding, developer Tony Krsnich is asking for an apology and for the chair of the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board to resign.

That’s according to a formal complaint sent by Krsnich’s attorneys on Thursday to the city attorney. The complaint, which the Journal-World obtained a copy of, alleges that the AHAB chair, Christina Gentry, made “damaging and false statements to the City Commission and the public” in “an apparent attempt to deny Mr. Krsnich the relief he sought from the Commission.”

Now, Krsnich is asking the city for, “at a minimum,” a written retraction of Gentry’s statements to the commission; an apology “on the record”; and a written acknowledgement from city staff that all of Krsnich’s applications for affordable housing incentives have been “free of errors or omissions.” He’s also alleging that Gentry violated city ethics rules and is requesting her resignation.

As the Journal-World reported, AHAB had recommended that the city try to recoup $46,000 in affordable housing trust funding from Krsnich’s 9 Del Lofts II project. The City Commission voted 3-2 not to do that on Tuesday after hearing from both Krsnich and Gentry.

photo by: Screenshot/City of Lawrence YouTube

Affordable Housing Advisory Board Chair Christina Gentry addresses the Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

Before the vote, Gentry was asked to explain AHAB’s reasoning for the recommendation. She told the commission it had to do with the number of affordable housing units that Krsnich intended to build.

At one point in 9 Del Lofts II’s development, Krsnich had proposed building 29 of them. But Krsnich changed the plans in his 2026 application for funding from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which AHAB makes recommendations on. That year, Krsnich sought $80,000 from the trust fund for a fee waiver – a step intended to help the development obtain state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. In this application process, Krsnich proposed 26 affordable units, not 29.

Gentry told the commission that during 9 Del Lofts’ application process, “there was just irresponsible, silent changes that were uninformed, and it seemed as though there was a dishonest application process.”

Krsnich’s complaint cites this statement and two others in which Gentry alleges “a lack of transparency” about the changes in the number of units and that “there was a procedural integrity that was lost in this process.”

“Correspondence with the AHAB demonstrates that Ms. Gentry’s comments are provably false,” the complaint reads. “… There are emails and other communications establishing that Mr. Krsnich responded in every request and provided all required information. Allegations to the contrary by Ms. Gentry are simply false.”

The complaint goes on to say that since the meeting, Krsnich has received communications from stakeholders in the 9 Del Lofts II project and “a call directly from the staff” of the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, which is responsible for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. It also says that Gentry’s comments could be damaging to Krsnich’s business, because he frequently uses federal, state and local incentive programs for historic preservation and affordable housing projects.

“Ms. Gentry’s defamatory statements of fact have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to Mr. Krsnich’s reputation, business relationships and ongoing development projects,” the complaint reads.

The Journal-World reached out to both Gentry and Mayor Brad Finkeldei for comment on Krsnich’s complaint, but neither had responded as of 4 p.m. Friday.