Prairie Village recently took a first step towards achieving its commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Prairie Village City Council last month approved a municipal operation climate action plan, the first citywide plan aimed at helping Prairie Village achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions — per its Cities Race to Zero commitment first approved in 2021. The commitment calls for the city to reach net zero emissions in its municipal operations — including emissions from public buildings and city vehicles — by the 2040s or sooner. The city worked with Indiana-based sustainability consultant Keramida to conduct a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and craft a city-specific climate action plan. Two big potential construction project could be opportunities for lowering municipal emissions, Keramida officials told the city council at its Oct. 16 meeting. Nick McCreary, a senior sustainability analyst with Keramida, said the firm recommends that a prospective new city hall be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Platinum standards.
Source: Prairie Village Post

After months of discussion, the Shawnee City Council remains in a holding pattern on whether to regulate short-term rental properties or ban them outright. At a Shawnee City Council committee meeting on Monday, councilmembers asked city staff to explore the idea of issuing special use permits for short-term rentals, like Airbnb and VRBOs. Since the meeting was only meant to gather feedback from the community, no vote or motion was taken by the council. While previous committee meetings about short-term rentals have mostly centered on feedback from neighbors who say they have been negatively affected by Airbnbs in Shawnee, Monday’s meeting drew more short-term rental owners defending their properties. Shannon Doser, a real estate agent who runs an Airbnb with her husband in Shawnee, said banning short-term rentals would be a mistake. “If you ban these, what you’re saying is, ‘We don’t want you here. We’re not going to have tourism. We’re going to simply send those tourists to Lenexa and over to Overland Park,’” she said.
Source: Prairie Village Post