For more than an hour on Tuesday, an organized group of home building professionals approached the podium in the Prairie Village council chambers and railed against a set of proposed design standards for new homes in the city.
They would discourage people from investing in their homes and the community, the builders said. They would stifle regreening of aging neighborhoods. They would put an onerous burden on the businesses trying to meet demand for modern houses. Builders should have been more involved in the process.
It was a standing room only crowd in the council chambers for the hearing on Tuesday.
But in the end, the planning commissioners unanimously sided with the group of long-time residents who made clear it was time for the city to take more action to preserve the character of the neighborhoods where they’ve lived for decades.
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post)