Prairie Village is close to finalizing code updates for the few scattered districts in the city not zoned for traditional single-family homes.
After nearly two years of often-divisive debate borne out of disagreement over prospective code changes in residential areas, the city is close to considering revisions to codes in other areas zoned for multifamily, commercial and mixed uses.
In total, those non-single-family districts make up roughly 15% of zoned land in Prairie Village, which has historically been known as a suburban bedroom community.
City staff told the Prairie Village City Council at its meeting this past Monday that the proposed zoning code updates are changes to ordinance language, which is different from changes to the city’s actual zoning map.
A public hearing and city council approval will need to happen before any changes would take effect.
With these revisions, no changes are proposed for single-family districts, which has been the main point of contention for a group of residents who sprung up in opposition to the city’s housing recommendations that were first advanced in the summer of 2022.
(Read more about the housing recommendations and the subsequent hostility towards them in Prairie Village here).
These are the first specific code changes to make it this far
- Following resident input last summer, the planning commission workshopped updates to all districts other than single family zones starting in August 2023.
- The commission finished its workshop process at its March 5 meeting, and city staff previewed the potential recommendations to the city council.
- The city council on Monday heard what changes the planning commission will be recommending in multifamily, commercial, mixed use and planned zoning districts only.
- No action was taken by the city council on Monday as the planning commission has yet to officially forward recommendations to the city council.
What specific changes are proposed?
Chris Brewster, the city’s planner through Gould Evans, reviewed the planning commission’s direction from October 2023 that guides the specific changes.
Some specific changes that were borne out of the October 2023 guidelines included the following:
- Adding language that describes the scale and character of development the city wants in all multifamily and commercial districts
- Clarifying that the city wants to see 30% building coverage in the apartment district, or R-3 zoning, which reflects existing complexes like Corinth Paddock
- Allowing residential options, called “residential mixed-use,” in most commercial districts, such as residential on the upper floor of a commercial building or behind a ground-level building
Where in Prairie Village are we talking about?
Examples of commercial districts in Prairie Village include the office buildings on the east side of the intersection at 75th Street and Mission Road and on the east side of the intersection at Somerset Drive and Mission Road.
There are more substantial recommended changes in districts that only exist if a developer submits a plan to the city, which are zoned either as a planned zoning district or a mixed use district.
Meadowbrook Park is the sole mixed use district example in Prairie Village.
There are currently several planned zoning districts across the city, including a commercial planned zoning district in the southwest corner of the city near 95th Street and Nall Avenue.
There are also multifamily planned districts along Mission Road between 79th Street and 83rd Street, mostly on the eastern side of the thoroughfare.
Why are these changes needed?
Brewster said planned zoning is a type of rezoning — a topic that drew significant pushback from residents over the last two years — that currently exists in city code with little criteria.
Brewster said the proposed changes to planned zoning and mixed use districts standardize what can be built in these districts where there are currently no standards.
The proposed changes to planned zoning, Brewster said, gives the city code “more teeth” because it makes it easier for the planning commission or the city council to object to a project if it fails to meet the criteria.
“I think what we’ve put in here (in planned zoning), actually, has more criteria and specific targets for someone to hit,” Brewster said. “Whether that makes it easier (to rezone land) or harder might be in the eye of the beholder.”
Brewster’s entire presentation is included in the embedded document below, beginning on page 37.
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Open in new tab Next steps:
- The planning commission is expected to host a public hearing at its meeting in May.
- That public hearing will be a time for the public to provide input directly to the planning commission regarding the proposed zoning code changes.
- The city council is anticipated to review and possibly adopt the changes in June.
- If the changes are adopted and published, then the changes will become effective sometime after that publication.
Go deeper: Watch the city council’s entire April 15 conversation regarding the zoning code updates (approximately 45 minutes) online here, starting at 58:36.
