Barndominium planning for Prairie Village, KS.

Test the shop layout against the residential design standards.

Prairie Village’s zoning resources link adopted residential design standards addressing how a new home fits its lot and street. For a barndominium, evaluate the overall mass, roof form and garage arrangement before selecting a standard wide shell. A large uninterrupted building face may need a different layout than the floor plan you first pictured. Ask Planning which standards apply to the parcel and proposal, including how current state-law provisions for qualifying single-family homes affect the review. Then prepare elevations as well as the interior plan.

Compare the building footprint and the paved area separately.

The city’s design guide distinguishes building coverage from impervious area. A compact living area with a large shop and generous vehicle apron can use space in both categories. Draw the house, shop, covered areas, driveway and walks together, and ask the city how the applicable limits are measured. An alternate garage orientation may preserve useful yard space, but it can require a different drive. Compare the complete site arrangement rather than deciding from indoor square footage alone.

Review garage frontage and windows on every elevation.

The adopted guide addresses garage-door frontage and orientation, windows on building elevations, and the relationship of replacement-home grades to the site. These details make the outside of a shop home part of the initial feasibility work. Ask the designer to show front, rear and side views, the main entrance and vehicle doors at the same time. That makes it possible to revise a stock concept before structural drawings, exterior materials and a shell order lock the shape in place.

Bring two site layouts if the shop dominates the frontage.

The first comparison can be simple: the same living program with different shop placement and driveway arrangements. For each option, collect:

• Building and paved-area calculations using the city’s definitions for the actual lot.
• Street-facing and side elevations showing garage doors, windows, entrance and roof shape.
• The parcel’s zoning, existing survey, any replacement-home grading questions and private restrictions.