Johnson County city cracks down on noise complaints instead of limiting new builds

Could posting more warning signs around town help quell neighbors’ frustrations with the noise from seemingly constant, nearby construction projects? That’s what Prairie Village City Council members are hoping for, at least.

On Monday night — at the request of fed-up homeowners — the council considered an ordinance that would have limited the hours construction work could take place on weekdays in the city and banned such work on weekends and federal holidays altogether.

But instead of approving those restrictions, officials settled on a different path, for now.

The allowable hours for construction work to take place will stay the same, but the City Council would like to require all construction sites to post a sign with a phone number on it that residents can call to file complaints about work happening on the site.

It’s unclear what additional action the City Council would need to take to add more signs at construction sites.

In addition, the city is also encouraging law enforcement to issue fines to property owners whose projects break city rules, instead of giving warnings.

The discussion brewed from residents looking for a little relief from the noise and impacts of consistent construction in their neighborhoods.

Initially, the city looked into ways to limit the number of teardown rebuilds that could be permitted, but legal concerns around property rights and fairness led the discussion in a new direction: getting stricter with noise restrictions.

A change in direction

During Monday’s meeting, Councilmember Inga Selders – who helped bring this discussion back to the dais – supported a stricter noise ordinance.

She requested that staff explore shortening the permitted time of construction noise during the week and banning work on Sundays and federal holidays – similar to Mission Hills.

Any changes to the noise ordinance would have had to come back to the City Council for final approval at a later date.

But she fell short in the votes needed to move the ordinance forward.

While they sympathized with Selders’ concerns, several council members worried about the impacts limiting work hours would have on homeowners’ ability to do work and the added time it would take to finish a project.

“We live in (a) city that is going to have knockdowns and rebuilds. It’s not stopping. So we have to sort of come to a way that everybody can get along,” Councilmember Terry O’Toole said during the meeting.

More fines for noise complaints

According to city documents, Prairie Village’s summer construction hours run from May 15 to September 15, during which construction can happen from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. On weekends, it can happen from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

During non-summer hours (September 16 to May 14) construction can happen Monday through Sunday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

For now, hours will stay the same.

On the enforcement side, the police department used to issue a warning first for those who worked outside of construction hours, but that’s changed.

After the July 7 City Council meeting where council members supported tighter enforcement on those who violate the noise ordinance, the Prairie Village Police Department sent a letter out to all permit holders and residents – informing them of the construction hours.

The letter is considered the first warning.

The police department has received a complete list of construction sites that have received a warning, and patrol supervisors have been directed to have officers issue citations for any noise violations.

If officers find people in violation of ordinances, the first citation is no more than $500, the second no more than $1,000, and the third no more than $2,500.

Council member O’Toole said he’d like to give the Police Department’s enforcement changes more time before making changes to the noise ordinance.

“In seven months we’ve had 24 noise complaints… I’m sure it’s an issue at that time, but I am hesitant to knock out 52 (additional) work days (Sundays) for people who have permits, plus federal holidays,” O’Toole said. “Give it six months, suppose 24 goes down to 18 because people are then aware.”

Impacting homeowners

Councilmember Terrance Gallagher added that banning construction from taking place on federal holidays and Sundays could hurt homeowners, too, because it would limit the work people could do on their own properties.

“I’ve been out of my house for three weeks because the water pipe burst,” Gallagher said. “All of the floors are disappearing in my house. I had no walls for several months because of abatement, mold abatement, stuff like that. That takes time and if I can’t have somebody in there, it only prolongs my stay in a hotel or imposing on somebody else”

“As someone who’s done a lot of work on my home the weekends are perfect,” Gallagher said. “If we have residents who work five days a week, weekends are the only days they can do their work. We’re penalizing the noncontractor individual.”

If residents have questions or concerns about a construction site in their neighborhood, they can submit a complaint to the city.