Single-family housing districts in Prairie Village have been temporarily removed from the conversation on the city’s housing recommendations. Moving forward, the city’s discussion is now narrowed down to focus on commercial, multifamily and mixed-use districts.
The upshot: This takes any consideration of multifamily housing within single-family housing districts — one of the most controversial aspects of a special task force’s recommendations — out of the equation for now, unless attainable housing cannot be addressed otherwise, per a planning commission work session on Tuesday.
- Even the potential for future multifamily developments in residential districts currently zoned for only single-family housing have been a sticking point for residents who oppose the recommendations for months now.
Background: Mayor Eric Mikkelson created an ad hoc housing committee last year to develop attainable housing strategies.
- The ad hoc housing committee sent three recommendations to the city council — which were unanimously approved — in June.
- A month later, residents who are now part of the Stop Rezoning PV group showed up to the July 18 city council meeting in droves to express their concerns.
- The city council amended the recommendations to suggest the planning commission exclude certain multifamily housing units from single family housing districts.
- A resident support group, Prairie Village For All, organized earlier this month to encourage the city to move forward with the recommendations.
What’s new: The planning commission directed city staff at a Tuesday work session to set aside any housing recommendation work as it pertains to single-family districts, including talk of accessory dwelling units, such as granny flats in backyards.
- In their discussion, planning commissioners shared concerns that the recommendations lack definitions for phrases like “attainable housing” and “missing middle.” Additionally, commissioners thought the recommendations took on too many changes at one time, and that the ad hoc housing committee had unclear intent for the recommendations.
- Commissioneres also shared support for diving into zoning changes for commercial, multifamily and mixed-use districts, as well as support for going into specifics on the recommendations during future public input sessions.
What they’re saying: Planning Commission Chairman Greg Wolf said he’s concerned the planning commission will be unable to solve any housing problems through zoning when the price of land in Prairie Village is “too valuable.”
- Chris Brewster, the city planner, said he understands the intent of the recommendations is to diversify the city’s housing stock with different types of housing as well as preserve the integrity of single-family neighborhoods in the city.
- City Administrator Wes Jordan said every city in the region is working on housing attainability, and the Mid-America Regional Council is asking what cities are doing to address the issue.
- Jordan said there is a low housing inventory and availability regionally and, at the same time, housing demand is increasing.
Key quote: “You start looking at these long range projections, it gets a little scary what it’s going to take to live in 2040 — if it keeps at this trajectory,” Jordan told the planning commission. “It’s trying to find a balance of what will work. Everybody is dealing with it, so we’re not alone in this conversation.”
What happens next
The planning commission will meet for another work session before the end of the year on a date yet to be determined.
- Following the work session, an initial public forum to lay out the city’s current zoning issues, will occur in January 2023.
- The planning commission will meet for more work sessions from January to April to “analyze the issues, consider public forum concerns, refine strategies and options, [and] give staff direction/make recommendations,” according to a presentation shared during the Oct. 25 meeting.
- A second public forum will take place in either April or May 2023 to present the planning commission recommendations. At that time, the city will take public feedback on those recommendations.
- The planning commission will meet for another work session to finalize recommendations in June 2023.
Any formal processes for zoning code updates will occur no earlier than July 2023. Additionally, the city council will receive periodic updates throughout the process or as necessary, according to the presentation.
