Breaking: Kansas AG Kobach Fights Illegal Edgerton Annexation

To start . . . We need to thank our conservative pals over at The Sentinel for doing the groundwork on this story and helping us to attempt a bit of understanding of this zoning debacle.

Here are the basics . . .

RURAL JOHNSON COUNTY ANNEXATION AT THE BEHEST OF DEVELOPERS IS NOW TARGETED BY AG KRIS KOBACH!!!

From our view . . . It looks like Edgerton messed up when they used their annexation power like a game of Jenga to build a shaky plan that might now come crashing down. 

Here's some of the detail for those who can speak legalese . . .

"This case concerns Defendant’s illegal annexation of rural land in violation of its annexation authority. The Kansas Legislature granted cities only a limited power to unilaterally annex land. K.S.A. 12-520(a)(7) grants cities the power to annex land if the land adjoins the city and a written petition for annexation is filed with the city by the owner. Such an annexation is referred to as a “consent annexation.” But the Legislature placed limits on a city’s annexation power. K.S.A. 12-520(g) prohibits annexation of “a narrow corridor of land to gain access to noncontiguous tracts of land.” Rather, the land “must have a tangible value or purpose other than for enhancing future annexations of land by the city.” Id.

"Thus, cities are prohibited from annexing narrow parcels of land for the sole purpose of enabling the annexation of other land. The City of Edgerton’s December 10, 2020, annexation of rural Johnson County property violated the limitations imposed by K.S.A. 12-520(g). Defendant’s actions were intended to circumvent the limitations on its annexation powers and are illegal. An action challenging these annexations was previously filed by affected property owners, but was dismissed by this Court based on its finding that the property owners lacked standing to challenge Edgerton’s annexation.

"Because the Attorney General, acting on behalf of the State of Kansas, has standing to raise these issues, he brings this action questioning the City’s annexation authority."

Even better, the dox found a way into our www.TonysKansasCity.com filthy hands and now we're sharing them with the Internets . . .

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

State of Kansas v. city of Edgerton

Developing . . .