12-532. Petition for hearing, by landowners to county commission to exclude land from the city if municipal services not provided; notice and hearing; order to exclude land, when; record of order by register of deeds; land not liable for certain taxes; compelling hearing, attorney fees. (a) If, within 1½ years following the conclusion of the hearing required by K.S.A. 12-531, and amendments thereto, or, where there has been litigation relating to the hearing, 1½ years following the conclusion of such litigation, the city has not provided the municipal services as provided in the timetable set forth in the plan prepared in accordance with K.S.A. 12-520b or 12-521, and amendments thereto, the owner of such land may petition the board of county commissioners to exclude such land from the boundaries of the city. Within 10 days after receipt of the petition, the board shall schedule the matter for public hearing and shall give notice of the date, hour and place of the hearing to: (1) The owner; (2) the city; (3) the township into which the property, if deannexed, would be placed; and (4) the governing body of any fire district, sewer district, water district or other special district governments which have jurisdiction over territory adjacent to the area sought to be deannexed. The notice shall be sent by certified mail no less than 21 days before the date of the hearing.

(b) At the hearing, the board shall hear testimony as to the city's extension of municipal services, or lack thereof, from both the owner and representatives of the city. Except as provided by subsection (e), if the board finds after the hearing that the city has failed to provide the municipal services in accordance with the plan and consistent with the timetable therein, the board may enter an order excluding the land from the boundaries of the city. Any such order shall take effect in the same manner as provided in K.S.A. 12-523, and amendments thereto, for the effective date of annexation ordinances. Such land shall not be annexed again for three years from the effective date of the order without the written consent of the owner of the land.

(c) The county clerk shall certify a copy of the order to the register of deeds of the county. The register of deeds shall record the order in the deed records of the county, and, at the expense of the city, the register of deeds also shall record the order of exclusion on the margin of the recorded plat of such land, giving reference thereon to the page and book of records where the order is recorded in the register's office.

(d) Except as provided by this subsection, after the effective date of the order to exclude the land from the city, such land shall not be liable for any general taxes imposed by the city. Such land shall remain liable, however, for any taxes or special assessments levied by the city as are necessary to pay its proportionate share of the interest on and principal of such bonds or other indebtedness incurred by the city for improvements to the land which were approved by the city before the date on which the owner or owners filed a petition for the exclusion of the land from the city.

(e) The board shall not order exclusion of any land if:

(1) The service extension plan conditions the extension of certain improvements or services on the filing of a legally sufficient petition by the owners of the land for the creation of an improvement district and to levy special assessments therein to pay a portion of the costs of such improvements, and a sufficient petition has not been filed;

(2) since the annexation, the governing body of the city initiated the creation of an improvement or benefit district affecting such land to levy special assessments thereon to pay a portion of the costs of certain municipal improvements, and the formation of the district was blocked by the filing of a sufficient protest petition by some or all of the owners of any land in the proposed district;

(3) the exclusion would result in the land being completely surrounded by other tracts of land located within the city's boundaries; or

(4) the board finds the exclusion of the land would have an adverse impact on the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the city or such land.

(f) Any owner or the city aggrieved by the decision of the board may appeal the decision to the district court in the manner provided in K.S.A. 19-223, and amendments thereto. Any city so appealing shall not be required to execute the bond prescribed therein.

(g) If the board of county commissioners refuses to hold the hearing as required, any owner of land may bring an action under provisions of K.S.A. 60-1201 et seq., and amendments thereto, to compel the board to hold the hearing. The court, upon finding the hearing is required, shall award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the landowner.

History: L. 1987, ch. 66, § 8; L. 2011, ch. 101, § 9; June 2.