Tall house on 72nd Terrace has some Prairie Village neighbors grumbling

The new house on 72nd Terrace in Prairie Village is considerably larger than others on the block.

In the down economic environment, many people would view construction of new houses in the area as a good thing. But a teardown-rebuild project on 72nd Terrace in Prairie Village has some of its neighbors grumbling.

The new house going up between Roe Avenue and Tomahawk Road is considerably taller than those on the rest of the block — a fact that prompted one neighbor to write us with concerns:

This home towers over every single house on the block. You can literally see it looming over the block all the way from Roe and 75th St. Homes around here are all modest in size, and they all fit together aesthetically. If someone wants to build a home of this size, they should be doing it in a neighborhood that has houses similar to it’s scale.

The city of Prairie Village’s building ordinances only require that new homes be less than 35-feet tall. The Prairie Village Homes Association’s construction covenant, however, directs that homes be no more than “a story and a half” — though the precise meaning of that dictate has been the subject of debate. And no body exists to approve or disapprove of a building based on aesthetic characteristics, like the Architectural Review Board does in Mission Hills.

Assistant city administrator Dennis Enslinger said that homes association issued a waiver for the 72nd Terrace project acknowledging that it would be two stories.

So what do you think: should some entity be taking a more active role in saying what housing designs are appropriate for Prairie Village?