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Prairie Village discusses how to increase compliance with noise ordinance after complaints about construction

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House-Project
The city is considering requiring a new sign at job sites clearly communicating that construction must not start before 7 a.m.

After a wave of resident complaints about construction noise in recent months as the city sees more home projects, Prairie Village city council members on Monday discussed tactics for increased compliance with the city’s ordinances that set an earliest start time for construction at 7 a.m.

Councilwoman Jori Nelson, whose Ward 2 neighborhoods have seen many of the tear-down rebuild projects in the city, initially suggested that the council consider pushing back the start time for construction to 7:30 a.m.

“There is so much redevelopment in our ward, some streets have three homes that are being torn down and rebuilt,” Nelson said, “and all the trucks and all the services and all the construction going on has been really difficult for the neighbors.”

Mayor Laura Wassmer said that she believed the city would get significant push back from homebuilding and roofing companies if the city pushed the start time back, citing the intense heat of the summer months and the need for construction crews to get as much work done as possible before the temperatures get dangerous.

Instead, Wassmer suggested that the city may start requiring builders to post a notice at a project site next to the building permit which clearly specifies the acceptable start time. Wassmer said many of the issues in the city appear to stem from a lack of communication between sub-contractors and the project manager, with the sub-contractors apparently not aware that the start time in the city is 7 a.m. She said the residents she’d heard from are generally okay with the 7 a.m. start time. It’s when builders start before that that noise becomes a real issue.

Nelson agreed to the idea of posting the signs at the job sites.

Wassmer also stressed that people who have a complaint to make about construction noise should feel free to contact the police department’s non-emergency number at 913-642-6868.

About the author

Jay Senter
Jay Senter

Jay Senter is the founder and publisher of the Post.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he worked as a reporter and editor at The Badger Herald.

He went on to receive a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, where he earned the Calder Pickett Award. While he was in graduate school, he also worked as a reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World.

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