Cities, counties warn bill shielding some home businesses could limit local enforcement

Representatives of Kansas cities and counties told the Senate Commerce Committee on Feb. 20 that House Bill 23-43, which would classify some home occupations as "no impact" and limit local regulation, could create enforcement gaps that leave neighborhoods exposed to noise, safety and property-value harms.

The League of Kansas Municipalities' government affairs director, Spencer Duncan, said the bill's definition of "no impact" focuses on whether activity is visible from the street and whether it produces "substantial" traffic, language cities would find difficult to apply. "Under this bill, we think you could gravel your backyard, you could put cars in your backyard, and you could essentially have a used car lot in your backyard," Duncan said.

The League and county associations cited a range of concrete problems they said arise under current local practice and would be harder to address if the state preempts regulation: increased…