Opinion ID: 2590389
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: The Commercial Development Petition

Text: Before considering the Commercial Development Petition under the guidelines, it is necessary first to discuss the proposed ordinance's purpose because it is debated by the parties. Appellants argue its purpose is limited to precluding the City from allowing commercial development of the City's residential and historic properties by prohibiting eminent domain and rezoning for future commercial development. But on its face, the proposed ordinance is more expansive. The proposed ordinance's title is Restrictions on the Future Commercial Development of Residential Property in the City of Fairway, Kansas. The first sentence states: Be it ordained ...: That the City of Fairway, Kansas shall not allow rezoning, nor eminent domain use, nor condemnation of Fairway's residential, neighborhood business or state historic properties, and specifically the following locations shall not be considered by the City of Fairway, Kansas as proposed and/or potential commercial, business, apartment, condominium or mixed use sites. The first half of this language attempts to place a total restriction on rezoning, eminent domain use, or condemnation of properties currently zoned as residential, neighborhood, or historic. The League of Kansas Municipalities, in its amicus curiae brief, correctly argues this language not only restricts the City's ability to use its statutory authority to rezone or condemn property, but taken literally it imposes on the City an obligation to not allow any other entity, such as a public utility, to exercise its own independent statutory authority to initiate eminent domain proceedings. Thus, the plain language of the proposed ordinance attempts to inject the City into areas in which our legislature has given it no role, such as public utility condemnations. We believe we must analyze the Commercial Development Petition by referring to its plain language, rather than a common-sense reading as urged by its proponents. It is not unreasonable, nor does it represent a hyper-technical interpretation, as Appellants claim, to simply accept this proposed ordinance by the plain and simple language it employs, rather than allowing Appellants to recast it for purposes of this litigation. Although we acknowledge Appellants' attempt to argue a less expansive interpretation, the plain language of the proposed ordinance imposes much broader obligations on the City than Appellants concede. Faced with this plain language, we are compelled to test its provisions against that language. With this understanding, we apply the four guidelines to the Commercial Development Petition.