Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

Kansas Senate Bill SB124 Compare Versions

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1	1	Session of 2025
2	2	SENATE BILL No. 124
3	3	By Committee on Local Government, Transparency and Ethics
4	4	1-30
5	5	AN ACT concerning cities; relating to unilateral annexations; imposing
6	6	restrictions on such annexations; expanding the causes of action for
7	7	landowners to challenge such annexations; amending K.S.A. 12-520
8	8	and 12-538 and repealing the existing sections.
9	9	Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
10	10	Section 1. K.S.A. 12-520 is hereby amended to read as follows: 12-
11	11	520. (a) Except as hereinafter otherwise provided, the governing body of
12	12	any city, by ordinance, may annex land to such city if any one or more of
13	13	the following conditions exist:
14	14	(1) The land is platted, and some part of the land adjoins the city.
15	15	(2) The land adjoins the city and is owned by or held in trust for the
16	16	city or any agency thereof.
17	17	(3) The land adjoins the city and is owned by or held in trust for any
18	18	governmental unit other than another city except that no city may annex
19	19	land owned by a county without the express permission of the board of
20	20	county commissioners of the county other than as provided in subsection
21	21	(f).
22	22	(4) The land lies within or mainly within the city and has a common
23	23	perimeter with the city boundary line of more than 50%.
24	24	(5) The land if annexed will make the city boundary line straight or
25	25	harmonious and some part thereof adjoins the city, except no land in
26	26	excess of 21 acres shall be annexed for this purpose.
27	27	(6) The tract is so situated that
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29	29	/3 of any boundary line adjoins the
30	30	city, except no tract in excess of 21 acres shall be annexed under this
31	31	condition.
32	32	(7) The land adjoins the city and a written petition for or consent to
33	33	annexation is filed with the city by the owner.
34	34	(b) No portion of any unplatted tract of land devoted to agricultural
35	35	use of 21 acres or more or any other tract of land that is less than 20 acres
36	36	shall be annexed by any city under the authority of this section without the
37	37	written consent of the owner thereof.
38	38	(c) No city may annex, pursuant to this section, any improvement
39	39	district incorporated and organized pursuant to K.S.A. 19-2753 et seq., and
40	40	amendments thereto, or any land within such improvement district. The
41	41	provisions of this subsection shall apply to such improvement districts for
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78	78	which the petition for incorporation and organization was presented on or
79	79	before January 1, 1987.
80	80	(d) Subject to the provisions of this section and K.S.A. 12-520a(e),
81	81	and amendments thereto, a city may annex, pursuant to this section, any
82	82	fire district or any land within such fire district.
83	83	(e) No city may annex the right-of-way of any highway under the
84	84	authority of this section unless at the time of the annexation the abutting
85	85	property upon one or both sides thereof is already within the city or is
86	86	annexed to the city in the same proceeding. The board of county
87	87	commissioners may notify the city of the existence of the right-of-way of
88	88	any highway which that has not become part of the city by annexation and
89	89	which that has a common boundary with the city. The notification shall
90	90	include a legal description and a map identifying the location of the
91	91	highway. The governing body of the city shall certify by ordinance that the
92	92	certification is correct and declare the highway, or portion of the highway
93	93	extending to the center line where another city boundary line abuts the
94	94	opposing side of the highway, annexed to the city as of the date of the
95	95	publication of the ordinance.
96	96	(f) The governing body of any city by one ordinance may annex one
97	97	or more separate tracts or lands each of which conforms to any one or
98	98	more of the foregoing conditions. The invalidity of the annexation of any
99	99	tract or land in one ordinance shall not affect the validity of the remaining
100	100	tracts or lands which that are annexed by the ordinance and which that
101	101	conform to any one or more of the foregoing conditions.
102	102	(g) No city may utilize any provision of this section to annex a
103	103	narrow corridor of land to gain access to noncontiguous tracts of land. The
104	104	corridor of land must have a tangible value and purpose other than for
105	105	enhancing future annexations of land by the city.
106	106	(h) No tract of land owned by any federal or state agency or any
107	107	other governmental agency, or instrumentality thereof, except land owned
108	108	by the city, shall be considered contiguous to the boundary of such city for
109	109	purposes of any annexation conducted pursuant to this section.
110	110	Sec. 2. K.S.A. 12-538 is hereby amended to read as follows: 12-538.
111	111	Any owner of land annexed by a city under the authority of K.S.A. 12-
112	112	520(a)(1) through (6), and amendments thereto, including any annexation
113	113	of a narrow corridor of land prohibited under K.S.A. 12-520(g), and
114	114	amendments thereto, and any city whose nearest boundary line is located
115	115	within
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117	117	/2 mile of the land being so annexed, within 30 days next following
118	118	the publication of the ordinance annexing the land, may maintain an action
119	119	in district court of the county in which the land is located challenging the
120	120	authority of the city to annex the land, whether the annexation was
121	121	reasonable, whether the service plan was adequate and the regularity of the
122	122	proceeding had in connection with the annexation procedures. When
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166	166	determining the reasonableness of an annexation in the case of a city
167	167	challenging the annexation, the court shall include in its considerations the
168	168	effect the annexation has on the future growth of the city challenging the
169	169	annexation.
170	170	Sec. 3. K.S.A. 12-520 and 12-538 are hereby repealed.
171	171	Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
172	172	publication in the statute book.
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