Kansas, I may be panicking for nothing

[KSPixieChick]

The city of Newton, Kansas is buying up all the farmland southeast of the city to lure in businesses, manufacturing businesses. They are calling it a Logistics Park. To make a long story short we are finding ourselves about to be annexed by the city. Farmers and the few folks that live out here are being pressured to sell and move elsewhere. Since we already have farm animals, chickens, sheep etc do we grandfather in or can they make us give them up and force us to change our way of life?

 

[GraceAK]

Don't you sell that land!

YOU BETTER NOT!
They can't make you sell it, but they can probably make it difficult for you to live there, depending on how much land you have. If it does become a very industrial, businessy area, you'll probably get a good price for your excess product! ;D

Hold strong! Fight the system, and such!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Actually that is not correct (at least according to a US Supreme Court decision--Kelo v. City of New London--a few years back). Many states reacted by increasing the specifics that allow cities/towns to condemn land for public use, more strictly defining seizures allowed and disallowed under eminent domain.

So, check up on your state laws and bolster whatever support you have to prevent 1) annexation and 2) condemnation.

 

[Katy]

It will probably depend on what our wonderful zoning office decides! (She and I live in the same county.)

 

[tazcat70]

KSpixiechick- Go to those city and county meetings, I read somewhere that a live body is worth more than a 1000 signatures when it comes to things like this.

Katy- you aren't close to Newton so you aren't in trouble by this are you?

 

[Katy]

Quote:
No....I'm not affected. The area she's talking about is a couple of miles south of where I grew up......I'm about 20 miles away.

 

[PineappleMama]

Quote:
Actually that is not correct (at least according to a US Supreme Court decision--Kelo v. City of New London--a few years back). Many states reacted by increasing the specifics that allow cities/towns to condemn land for public use, more strictly defining seizures allowed and disallowed under eminent domain.

So, check up on your state laws and bolster whatever support you have to prevent 1) annexation and 2) condemnation.

This past election bits of that were on the ballot. Dang, trying to recall how it was worded... I think they wanted to make it where the only time land could be condemned and taken would be for STATE use... not for private businesses use.... dang, I'll have to double check... I've slept since thing. But check your state laws, and city if there are any. You'd be surprised what flies under the radar until it's too late.

Edit... and BTW just what the heck is this business about CONDEMNING people's homes, perfectly fine, safe homes, anyways? I thought to be 'condemned' it had to be a danger? Falling apart. Structural problems. Etc. How do they manage to condemn perfectly functional homes legally? That's always bothered me.

 

[Slinkytoys]

Nope. The Gubmint can "condemn" anything, no matter the condition. Called the right of eminent domain. It sucks.

We lost our home to the Emerald necklace metroparks system in Ohio. Our home was used by the Underground Railroad (lots of hidey holes and secret passages), a century home and we owned the land and water rights to the river flowing on our property. They took it all. The price wasn't fair, they said take it or don't, we still take the property. The SWAT team used the house for practice before it was totally razed. Our barns and terraced gardens were destroyed. It just sickened me.

Slinky

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Condemn has a slightly different meaning when being seized by a government entity due to eminent domain. One of our local cities tried to force a local brake repair shop to sell to them so that they could then sell the land to a hardware store. THe purpose was redeveloping the area. This is a very close match to what went on in the Supreme Court case I mentioned. However Arizona's laws already provided some protection to him and after a number of appeals by both sides our state's Superior Court ruled that the city could not force him to sell--that their grounds were not sufficiently public a purpose--that yes, improving an area that is eroding is grounds for eminent domain, but that then reselling it to a different merchant was not appropriate. Now if the government had wanted to build a public park or some public facility it would have been a different matter. The legislature put additional strengths into the law after the supreme court case--cities cannot sell land acquired through eminent domain for a specified number of years--enough to put the kabosh on it.

But, the big questions is what are Kansas laws on eminent domain? And also on annexation?

 

[KSPixieChick]

Update on the logistics park. We became aware of the expansion late last summer/early autumn when there was an auction going on 1/2 mile west of our property. The city bought the farm land to expand the existing industrial area. The owner of the property was told everyone around him had already sold options to the city and he was an island in the middle. This was false and caused some very hard feelings between him and the neighbors because no one knew what/whom to believe. Next the city told our immediate neighbors to "get a lawyer" when they said they were not interested in selling their property. This is when we first heard about the logistics park expansion. Lawyers became involved and it boiled down to get what you can because if they really want the property they will get it. To be "fair to the city", if that is what you call it, they are offering $7000-$8000 an acre that would normally go for about $2500. We have offered to buy the farmstead west of us, 4 acres, because we live on the corner and we don't want to move. The extra room would be a nice buffer between us and the concrete plant they are putting in. We have been told that Tindall Corp is not interested in having neighbors. That does not sound good to us. The city sent out an appraiser, matter of fact they called him while he was on vacation, to appraise our home. This happened two weeks ago and we have not heard how "fair" they are going to be.
A few things we have discovered during our research: The city annexed everything they had options on up to our property line. The surveyors are planning for sewer/utility, and road upgrades. Yes the city can take property using eminent domain but they have to pay "fair market value" (property values are not what they used to be are they?), and if they condemn they can not resell but they can , "rent" the property out for $1 for 99 years or so.