Austin Properties v. City of Shawnee

Summary

The court held that Kansas courts may review whether a zoning decision complied with applicable law, and that both Shawnee's municipal code and K.S.A. 12-757 governed Austin Properties' planned-unit-development application. A valid protest petition increased the required approval vote to three-fourths but did not eliminate the statutory procedures requiring the city council to approve, override, return, or otherwise act on the planning commission's recommendation. Because the city council neither obtained the required supermajority nor followed the procedures for denial or remand, the court reversed and directed judgment for Austin Properties. The court did not reach whether the City's decision was arbitrary because the City lacked legal authority to deny the application in the manner it did.