Months after the Prairie Village City Council declared its housing priorities, three city councilmembers want to clarify that the city is no longer focusing on accessory dwelling units.
Ever since the city council approved hot-button housing recommendations in June 2022, Prairie Village has been in a debate with residents who adamantly oppose any substantive changes to single-family neighborhoods.
Back in April, the city council refocused the housing discussion to center on neighborhood design guidelines and short-term rental regulations as its only priorities in single-family neighborhoods.
Now, Councilmembers Dave Robinson, Greg Shelton and Terrence Gallagher are bringing forward an item at Monday’s city council meeting to consider removing accessory dwelling units, the city’s housing recommendations and lot size modifications from the city council’s prioritization list, as well.
Robinson said he sees the Oct. 2 agenda item as a way to reassure residents that accessory dwelling units — one of the central points of contention from residents opposed to the housing recommendations — in particular are put to bed.
“We just wanted to reassure people that that’s not something we’re going to discuss, we’re not going to have any further discussion on ADUs,” Robinson said. “I think some people on council are going to disagree with that, and I think it’s important to flush it out — who agrees and who doesn’t agree.”
The city council will also discuss potential changes to the neighborhood design guidelines — one of two priorities from that April discussion.
What you may have missed
- In April during a prioritization exercise, the city council agreed to revisit neighborhood design guidelines as a way to address the ongoing teardown-rebuild phenomenon.
- This came after the city council removed single-family districts from the planning commission’s discussion of the much-discussed housing recommendations.
- The city council has also prioritized researching regulations on short-term rentals in single-family districts.
What’s happening with the prioritization list?
The city council already had a low interest in accessory dwelling units, housing recommendations and lot size modifications back in April, signaling city staff to de-prioritize these issues.
Robinson told the Post that, for him, the lack of interest in accessory dwelling units during the April prioritization exercise meant the city council wasn’t going to discuss it anymore.
If approved, then this Oct. 2 agenda item would officially remove accessory dwelling units, housing recommendations and lot size modifications from the list.
Some residents, though, have voiced concerns about accessory dwelling units in public participation at city council meetings. Additionally, Robinson noted, thousands signed a “rezoning” petition that called for limiting accessory dwelling units in all of Prairie Village.
Clarification: This prioritization list is separate from the controversial housing recommendations, which the city council advanced in June 2022.
How do neighborhood design guidelines fit in?
Neighborhood design guidelines dictate requirements for size restrictions and lot coverage for new construction in Prairie Village.
The city council on Monday will discuss the guidelines as they pertain to R1-B districts, which are single-family neighborhoods that allow smaller lot sizes.
City documents indicate that staff is presenting two options for the city council to consider, either:
- “Simple size restrictions” to reduce building coverage from 30% to 25% and height from 29 feet to 27 feet, or
- “Refined massing standards” to reduce massing on the side of a building, but would leave building coverage at 30% and reduce the height to 27 feet
How can you get involved?
- The city council meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, at Prairie Village City Hall, 7700 Mission Road.
- City council meetings are also livestreamed directly onto the city’s website.
- Livestreaming can be found online here.
Go deeper: View the entire Oct. 2 city council agenda here.
Editor’s note: In the spirit of transparency, we will note that Prairie Village City Councilmember Greg Shelton is the husband of Post publisher Jay Senter’s sister whenever Shelton is a quoted in a story.
