Short-term rental owners in Prairie Village need to switch gears following a newly adopted ban.
After a tense and lengthy public comment session Monday night, the Prairie Village City Council voted 10-2 effectively ban short-term rentals inside the city, requiring all such properties have a minimum of a 30-day stay.
Short-term rentals like AirBnbs and Vrbos are widely considered to be less than 28 consecutive days, oftentimes rented out for a few days or a week.
This decision comes months after the city council originally proposed a ban in May. The city council briefly detoured to consider taxing short-term rentals — a route supported by short-term rental owners who spoke on Monday.
The city council ultimately decided the social cost of short-term rentals outweighed the potential $130,000 in taxes such properties was estimated to generate.
Following Monday’s approval, current short-term rental owners in Prairie Village — of an estimated 30 or so properties — need to find a new use for their property by Nov. 1, 2025.
After that date, anyone operating a short-term rental for shorter than 30-day stays may face a fine of up to $500 per day or a revoked license for continued violations.
Supporters of the ban say short-term rentals are ‘hotels’
Some public commenters who supported a ban on short-term rentals argued that the city should listen to its residents rather than the owners of the estimated 30 short-term rentals in Prairie Village.
Other arguments in support of the ban included issues short-term rentals bring such as excessive parking on residential streets, the potential for parties to be disruptive or damaging to nearby homes, and safety concerns about strangers coming and going from neighborhoods.
The nearly dozen of public commenters who supported the ban shared a general concern: Short-term rentals are essentially hotels in neighborhoods.
“The reality is that we now — even though we live in a single-family, R-1, residential neighborhood — have a hotel across the street from us with strangers coming and going every week,” said resident Dana Flora.
Opponents: ‘The nicest house on the block’
The dozen short-term renter property owners and operators who spoke against the ban on Monday said they mostly rent to family members visiting Prairie Village residents.
Opponents said they care about these properties more than long-term rental owners and that they want to work with the city and residents on regulating short-term rentals.
Steve Cluck, a short-term rental owner in Prairie Village, said his property is “the nicest house on the block” and he thoroughly vets the people who rent his house.
Cluck said the ban is “fear-driven,” with supporters asking the city council to vote in favor of the ban “because we’re scared of these people.”
“It’s all about fear, not knowing your neighbors,” Cluck said.
The city council voted 10-2 to ban short-term rentals, with councilmembers Ian Graves and Dave Robinson casting the dissenting votes.
Council member Terrence Gallagher said he and his fellow councilmembers “can’t walk 10 feet without having somebody ask us what our thoughts are on this,” and he believes the city council needs to prioritize residents who are facing challenges.
“We’ve received an email, and we’ve heard tonight there’s an implication that we could be faced with some kind of future legal challenge,” Gallagher said. “And you know what, I’m OK if we’re going to the court to defend the rights of our residents in this. That’s something I think we should be serious about.”
Conversely, Robinson said he thinks the city is rushing into a ban without doing its homework on what is a personal issue for supporters and opponents.
Similar to Robinson, Graves, who previously supported a ban, said he doesn’t believe the city has “gone through enough process at this point to justify what I feel like is sleepwalking into litigation.”
What happens now?
Prairie Village’s new rules for short-term rentals take effect on Nov. 1, 2025.
This gives all current short-term rental owners and operators a year to figure out what to do with their property.
Violators may be fined up to $500 per day starting Nov. 2, 2025, according to the newly adopted language.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.