This November, Prairie Village voters will be asked whether they want to do away with the city’s current form of government.
The public vote, which the city has confirmed will occur this November, is the culmination of a years-long debate in Prairie Village, which began as a fight over zoning and housing and wound up in a legal battle over city governance.
The question about the city’s form of government is also completely separate from the city’s current debate over a new municipal complex, which some residents have been insisting also be put on the ballot.
In a statement Monday, the city confirmed that the question, “Shall the City of Prairie Village, Kansas, abandon the mayor-council form of government?” will appear on the November ballot.
That question was the thrust of one of three petitions put forward by a resident-led group in 2023 that opposed the city’s efforts at addressing housing affordability and rezoning.
While the question to “abandon” the city’s form of government may sound significant, the immediate impact of a vote remains unclear. During legal arguments over the petitions, lawyers for the city argued that the “abandon” question fails to authorize the city to replace it with a new type of government, meaning the current mayor-council model could stay in place for the foreseeable future, even if voters approve ditching it.
City leaders say it is unclear what exact steps will follow to put the question on the ballot, but Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman said Sept. 1 is the rough deadline to submit questions to appear before voters this November.
Ballot measure the result of years-long legal battle
On June 27, the Kansas Supreme Court denied reviewing the case between the city of Prairie Village and the resident group PV United, nearly two years after a Johnson County district judge ruled only one of PV United’s three petitions borne out of the housing debate could be taken to a ballot.
The high court’s move upholds not only the Johnson County District Court ruling from 2023, but also a Kansas Court of Appeals decision from earlier this year that agreed with the lower court’s findings that voters can only decide whether to “abandon” the city’s current form of government.
Rex Sharp, an attorney representing PV United in this lawsuit who is also the husband of Prairie Village Councilmember Lori Sharp, did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment Tuesday.
In a Tuesday morning text, Mayor Eric Mikkelson told the Post that “we now have final confirmation that the main failed petitions violated Kansas law from inception.”
“Unfortunately, such scorched-earth, extreme tactics waste tax money, mislead residents, burden staff and sow division,” he said, adding that he wants those involved with the lawsuit to start working with “mainstream Prairie Village by engaging in good-faith dialogue.”
How we got here
In 2022 and 2023, the city of Prairie Village was embroiled in a housing debate sparked by resident pushback against any rezoning changes to single-family neighborhoods in the city.
In June 2022, the city had advanced a set of three housing recommendations, the first of which called for an update to the city’s zoning code to allow for more attainable housing options.
As a result of the housing debate, PV United, the group opposed to any rezoning in the city, crafted the three petitions. One sought to limit the city’s ability to make rezoning changes, and the two other petitions proposed broader changes to the city’s form of government.
The group circulated those petitions for signatures and submitted them to the county and city, with the hope of voting on the three petitions at the November 2023 election.
Instead, the city asked the Johnson County District Court to make a declaratory judgment — or a legal determination — as to whether the petitions were valid for a ballot measure.
District Court Judge Rhonda Mason ruled in September 2023 that only one of the petitions — which sought to abandon the city’s current form of government — was eligible for a future ballot.
PV United filed a notice of appeal days after Mason’s ruling, and, in turn, the city filed its own appeal in early October 2023.
A year later in October 2024, a three-judge panel in the Kansas Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from both PV United and the city. In March 2025, the appellate court largely upheld Mason’s September 2023 ruling.
What did the petitions say?
Here’s what the petitions said, in summary:
- A “rezoning” petition called for limiting rezoning and, in particular, curtailing the use of accessory dwelling units — such as so-called “granny flats” — and other multifamily projects in single-family neighborhoods in Prairie Village.
- An “abandon” petition aimed to throw out the city’s current mayor-council form of government. The petition’s organizers called the city’s current form of government a “strong mayor” form and signaled an interest in paring back mayoral power.
- An “adoption” petition sought to replace the mayor-council form of government with a mayor-council-manager form of government. That petition included language that would have slashed the city council in half from 12 councilmembers to six and would have effectively ended six sitting councilmembers’ terms two years early.
Both a district court judge and the Kansas Court of Appeals found both the “rezoning” and “adoption” petitions invalid but ruled the “abandon” petition could be put before voters.
The question lacks an accompanying 'adopt' measure
The “abandon” petition asks residents whether the city should get rid of its current mayor-council form of government.
A mayor-council form of government means the mayor presides over city council meetings and the administrator deals with daily functions.
In Johnson County, cities like Fairway, Leawood, Merriam, Mission and Roeland Park all have this same form of government.
In 2023, Prairie Village city attorneys told the Post that the “abandon” petition on its own fails to specify a new form of government and, because of that, nothing would immediately change about the city’s mayor-council government.
The city’s public information officer told the Post that if the “abandon” petition is approved by voters, then nothing will change unless either the Prairie Village City Council decides to take action or something is adopted through a future petition and ballot initiative.
This is completely separate from a recent resident lawsuit
Recently, and completely separate from this lawsuit, Prairie Village resident Marc Vianello filed a lawsuit to stop the city’s municipal complex project.
The Prairie Village City Council last month approved the project in two separate 9-2 votes, and is expected to issue bonds for the $30 million project next month.
Vianello’s lawsuit argues that the city using a charter ordinance to issue those bonds is illegal because it exempts the city from taking the issue to a ballot, as required by state law.
The city is defending the lawsuit, according to a statement from the city administrator.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post.
