Kansas committee hears wide-ranging testimony on bill to repeal cities' three-mile extraterritorial zoning authority

Senate Bill 37, which would repeal the three-mile extraterritorial planning and zoning authority that allows cities to apply subdivision and zoning rules to land up to three miles beyond their corporate limits, drew hours of testimony at a Local Government Committee hearing. Proponents said the measure restores property rights to rural landowners who cannot vote in city elections; opponents said repealing the authority could disrupt utility service areas, long-term infrastructure planning and orderly growth.

The bill matters because it determines which government — city or county — can regulate subdivisions and land use just outside city limits, affecting landowners' ability to build and sell property, the scope of city planning and infrastructure investments, and how utilities and developers plan projects that may depend on coordinated land use rules.

Representative Ken Corbett, who testified in support of SB 37, described the equity argument for repeal: "There’s thousands of people ... the city tells them what to do and none of these people can vote for anybody in the city." Several private citizens and two state senators also urged repeal,…