KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, and regularly talks with city planners and residents about county issues. Share your story idea with Olivia.
Johnson County is in the process of changing how land is developed in unincorporated areas, reworking zoning rules that could affect how and where future growth happens. Before anything is final, they’re giving residents the opportunity to ask questions at an open house.
This is the first zoning overhaul the county has done in decades. County planners say it's about balancing development with rural preservation, but there are also some changes for residents to pay attention to.
The proposed zoning update will reduce the number of zoning districts from 15 to about 8 or 10, streamline approval processes, and create clearer development standards. This means that projects that meet specific criteria, which the county is still finalizing, may skip public hearings altogether.
"We're wanting to allow for some uses to be approved administratively, without going through that formal process with the public hearing if they meet the standards," said Sean Pendley, Johnson County planning deputy director. “Not every type of development will be allowed to do that.
Pendley stresses this isn't about changing what people already own — it's about preparing for future growth.
"That'll be one of the main goals, is to still protect and preserve the rural areas of the county and make sure that any new development that is occurring in the county is compatible with those rural areas and does not have any negative impacts to existing residential areas," Pendley said.
Johnson County is still in the draft phase of these changes. They expect the new regulations to take effect by summer 2026. Before we get there, they're having public hearings to walk people through the changes. There's one Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Stilwell Elementary.
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