The Prairie Village City Council opted to leave the city’s controversial housing recommendations largely intact following a lengthy discussion over proposed amendments Monday night.
Two councilmembers proposed a motion that would have modified the most hotly contested recommendation, which encourages the city to explore “attainable housing” options across the city, including in single-family housing districts.
Ultimately, the city council, after hours of public comments from both supporters and opponents of the recommendations, kept their wording mostly untouched.
The end result is a slightly updated document
- After a series of votes Monday, the recommendations’ language remains intact, but the city council agreed to note its plans to take charge of any future discussions about attainable housing in most of the city’s single-family housing districts, referred to in city code as R-1A and R-1B districts.
- One particular recommendation has prompted the most debate: the first one, which calls for the city to allow so-called “quality, attainable housing” and “missing middle” housing option, like duplexes, triplexes, row housing and accessory dwelling units.
- Critics have latched on to that recommendation’s reference to “by right” projects — in which homeowners would be allowed to move forward with code compliant projects on their property without having to get input from neighbors — claiming that this could open up the city’s neighborhoods to unfettered development.
Residents on both sides spoke Monday
- The city council heard two hours of public comment on Monday.
- Some residents like Lauren Fischer, who share the views of Stop Rezoning PV, a group that has formed in opposition to the recommendations, said she’s proof that a young professional can afford a home in Prairie Village through hard work and sacrifices.
- “I picked Prairie Village because it is a quiet, safe, friendly place with good city services,” Fischer said. “I do not want ADUs [accessory dwelling units] next to me with rentals, street parking, extra garbage, overcrowded schools and pets all over. I don’t want duplexes and multiplexes, I want single family homes and that’s why I bought my house here.”
- Others like Dan Tilden, who supports the recommendations and views of the group Prairie Village For All, said he doesn’t doubt anyone who says they’d welcome neighbors of any background — but says the city is already changing, alluding to teardowns and rebuilds.
- “The change that we’re seeing in our neighborhoods is making it abundantly clear that Prairie Village can’t be exactly what it was 40 or even 20 years ago,” Tilden said. “The question isn’t if we will change, but how and for whom.”
Planning commission next takes up issue Tuesday
- The Prairie Village Planning Commission is expected to discuss the slightly reworked housing recommendations at its regular meeting Tuesday.
- That meeting starts at 7 p.m. and is open to the public.
- Though the city council now expects to retain control over discussions about attainable housing in most single-family housing districts, the planning commission will have purview to discuss the issue in other zoning districts in the city.
Go deeper: Watch the full city council meeting, including public comments, here. The discussion begins at 46:44.
