19 hours ago
Kansas Supreme Court denial lets Prairie Village vote to abandon form of government
The Kansas Supreme Court declined to hear a case about controversial petitions requesting to change the form of government in Prairie Village.
The petitions sparked in 2023 after the city attempted to amend zoning laws to allow for more affordable housing. The situation transformed into a heated housing debate that bled into the 2023 city elections.
During this time, the group of residents, known as PV United, formed and led the charge for three petitions — which asked to limit rezoning, abandon its current mayor-council form of government, and adopt a new form of government.
Rex Sharp — an attorney with Sharp Law and husband to council member Lori Sharp — filed the case on behalf of PV United in August 2023. Sharp wasn't immediately available for comment and Prairie Village officials said that the city will issue a statement regarding the case on Monday.
The Kansas Supreme Court's decision to deny hearing the case upholds the Kansas Court of Appeals March 2025 decision, which largely agreed with the Johnson County District Court ruling that two petitions — rezoning limitations and to adopt a new city government — cannot go before voters.
Adopting a new form of government, which was denied in the Kansas Court of Appeals ruling, would've halved the council positions from 12 to 6 and establish a mayor-council-city manager form of government that would limit the mayor's powers.
Abandoning the current form of government can appear on the ballot, but the vote would not establish a replacement. Kansas law requires a city to continue operating its form of government until it's changed.
No language regarding this petition has been added to the Johnson County Elections Office informational page for the November general election as of June 27.
The Supreme Court decision closes one case as another popped up in the northeast Johnson County city.
Prairie Village resident Marc Vianello filed a lawsuit in Johnson County District Court earlier this week, claiming that the City Council's recent approval of a $30 million municipal complex project violates state law that requires cities to bring bond issues to a public vote.
The project proposes to use general obligation bonds to build a new City Hall building to house city staff and renovate the current municipal building to house the police department and municipal court.
While Prairie Village still has to issue the general obligation bonds, a local law, Charter Ordinance 28, allows them to take action and exempts the city from a state law called the Home Rule Amendment — which requires cities to hold an election for bonds over $100,000 in any one year.
Vianello's lawsuit challenges that local ordinance, claiming that it violates the Kansas Constitution and statutory requirements for a bond election. The lawsuit also claims that the city's previous reliance on the ordinance for other projects — including for a $3.2 million street light purchase in 2016 — was illegal.
'Mr. Vianello, like the vast majority of Prairie Village taxpayers, wants the City to follow the law and hold an election before issuing $30 million in general obligation bond debt that will cost the taxpayers for the next 30 years for this City Council's pet project,' Fritz Edmunds, Vianello's attorney, said in an emailed statement.
Prairie Village officials said in an emailed statement that it's reviewing the petition with its legal counsel and 'will defend the pending lawsuit accordingly.'
This story will be updated as more information is released.
