Editor’s note: This story will be updated with comments and more information as the Post continues to report Wednesday.
A Johnson County judge says two of three resident-led petitions in Prairie Village don’t meet the legal requirements to be put on this November’s ballot, but ruled that a third petition could go before voters.
Johnson County District Court Judge Rhonda Mason issued her ruling in District 4 court Wednesday morning, saying both a petition aimed at limiting development in single-family neighborhoods and a petition that would have remade the city’s form of government — removing six current councilmembers in the process — did not pass muster to be placed on the ballot.
However, Mason ruled that a third petition that aims to abandon the city’s current “mayor-council” form of government does comply with state statute and can be put before Prairie Village voters.
The decision came after Mason heard oral arguments for the three separate petitions over two days last week.
After the judge’s ruling Wednesday, attorneys for the city of Prairie Village confirmed that voters should expect to see the “abandon” petition on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
Soon after Wednesday’s ruling, PV United, the citizen-led group backing the petitions, vowed to appeal Mason’s ruling.
What the petitions say
The PV United group, also known as Stop Rezoning PV, began gathering signatures for the petitions this summer.
The “rezoning” petition called for limiting rezoning and, in particular, curtailing the use of accessory dwelling units — such as so-called “granny flats” — and other multi-family projects in single-family neighborhoods in Prairie Village.
The “abandon” petition aims to do away with the city’s current mayor-council form of government. The petition’s organizers have called the current form of government a “strong mayor” form and indicated an interest in paring back mayoral power.
The “adoption” petition sought to replace the mayor-council form of government with a mayor-council-manager form of government. That petition included language that would have cut the city council in half from 12 councilmembers down to six and would have effectively ended six councilmembers’ terms two years early.
Mason, again, ruled against putting both the “rezoning” and “adoption” petitions on the ballot.
The “abandon” petition “substantially complies” with statute
- Mason said the reason the “abandon” petition can be placed on the ballot is because it “substantially complies” with Kansas law.
- The judge said she plans to write a short ruling to publish in the court docket on Wednesday, but that an extensive explanation of her ruling will not be published until later this week.
- Meanwhile, Mason ruled that the “adoption” petition did not comply with state law because it failed to state term limits for all the offices mentioned in the petition’s language.
City attorneys say “abandon” petition should be on Nov. 7 ballot
- Attorney Joe Hatley of Spencer Fane LLP, representing the city, told the Post following Wednesday morning’s proceedings that he believes the “abandon” petition as written can go on the general election ballot without further action from the Prairie Village City Council.
- The “abandon” petition does not stipulate a new form of government to replace the current one, so Hatley said even if voters approve the “abandon” petition in November, nothing would change immediately about the city’s current form of government.
- David Waters, another attorney representing the city, said that state law requires for a new form of government to be adopted before an old one can be abandoned.
- This suggests that unless further action to adopt a new form of government is taken by either residents via a future petition process or by the city itself, voters’ approval of the “abandon” resolution would have no immediate effect.
PV United says it will appeal
PV United spokesperson Dan Schoepf issued the following statement via email early Wednesday afternoon:
“Our state has a citizen petition process so everyday people can make their voices heard when government refuses to listen. It is terribly disappointing to see the City Council throw up technical roadblocks in court to thwart these petitions and silence the thousands of citizens who have participated in the process at the grassroots level.
“We remain PV United and will appeal today’s decision in the hopes of giving the people of Prairie Village the vote they deserve on these important issues.
“Regardless of the outcome of the two remaining petitions, voters will at least have the chance to elect six City Council members in November who share their vision for preserving what makes Prairie Village unique.”
How we got here
Stop Rezoning Prairie Village, a group of residents opposed to the city’s housing recommendations, circulated all three petitions — the “rezoning,” “abandon” and “adoption” petitions — for signatures earlier this summer.
Prairie Village’s housing recommendations aimed to address the city’s lack of attainable, “missing middle” housing stock.
The group submitted the petitions and the signatures they had gathered to the Johnson County Election Office and to the city of Prairie Village on Aug. 1.
Ultimately, the county election office certified thousands of signatures for each petition but stopped short of ruling on the legality of the petitions themselves, leaving it up to the city to put the measures on the ballot or not.
That’s when Prairie Village — after a special city council meeting — filed its lawsuit on Aug. 17 seeking a declaratory judgment from a judge to keep the petitions off the ballot.
Judge Mason heard two days of testimony on the petitions last week, one day focused mainly on the two government-related petitions and a second day centered primarily around the rezoning petition.
County election officials have said items for the Nov. 7 ballot need to be finalized soon without giving an exact date for a deadline.
After last week’s hearings, Mason said she planned to rule quickly.
