KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has filed a lawsuit against the city of Edgerton over alleged “illegal annexation of rural land.”
The suit claims the Johnson County city violated its annexation authority by creating a narrow corridor.
With limited annex powers granted by the Kansas Legislature, “consent annexation,” which is legal, occurs when a petition is filed with the city by the owner.
What is illegal is annexation that creates “a narrow corridor of land to gain access to noncontiguous tracts of land,” per Kansas annexation statutes. The land is required to “have a tangible value or purpose other than for enhancing future annexations of land by the city.”
By annexing a narrow area of land, cities could then use such property to annex further plots, which is what Kobach is alleging the city of Edgerton did.
Kobach maintains Edgerton’s annexation on Dec. 10, 2020, of rural Johnson County property violated K.S.A. 12-520(g). The AG believes the city’s action was taken with the intent to “circumvent the limitations on its annexation powers and are illegal.”
Approving the annexation of Property 1, which created the narrow corridor, allowed the annexation of properties 2-9, listed in the suit.
Property 1 is located at 199th Street and South Gardner Road. The other eight properties are similarly located along Gardner Road between 215th Street and 199th. One property extends to touch Moonlight Road.
The suit alleges property owners attempted to challenge the annexations, but their filings were dismissed based on a lack of standing to challenge.
Combined, the nine properties listed in the suit span 685 acres.
To remedy the alleged illegal annexation, Kobach’s suit seeks for the annexation of Property 1 to be deemed invalid, along with properties 2-9, and for the subject properties to be restored to unincorporated status.
In response to Kobach's allegations, the city of Edgerton released a statement denying the accusations and exuding confidence the "facts of this case will show the annexation to be legal."
“The City of Edgerton believes the facts of this case will show the annexation to be legal and look forward to presenting the case to the court. The property owner voluntarily requested annexation into Edgerton in late 2020, which was granted. We strongly deny accusations that any illegal or inappropriate actions were taken in this case.”
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