KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and agricultural topics. This story derived from a tip from a viewer. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Walnut Pond Agricultural Discovery Center is caught in a standoff with the City of Lenexa over future development and code compliance.
"If there is something that is standing in front of your face, and it's important, then it's worth fighting for," said Shawn Lagemann, the farm operator at Walnut Pond.
Walnut Pond is a nonprofit organization that is an fully functioning farm — raising chickens, beef cattle, hogs, and other specialty crops.
The goal of the nonprofit is to educate the public on where their food comes from. About 75% of the nonprofits educational demonstrations happen off the farm, and the other quarter is by reservation only.
"You don't come out here unless you can get around," Lagemann explained. "Nobody is left unattended."
The Lagemann's purchased the property in 2022 and have made substantial improvements to the land, building greenhouses, a large chicken coop, and barn with laboratory-style rooms and a small gathering space.
They didn't know future development in Lenexa would be on their plate so fast.
"I think we are unaware that things happen until its too late," Lagemann said.
She said they sat down with city officials a couple years ago, hashing out their plans for the property and educational nonprofit endeavors. The city laid out a set of requirements, which they met in their on-site structures, which cost just over $250,000.
A few years later, Lagemann says, they're faced with new code requirements.
"ADA accessibility throughout the entire property, bathrooms, water fountains, paved parking lots, etc.," she said. "We're not going to do it."
The City of Lenexa rolled out its new Comprehensive Plan in 2024, which helps guide the city council, planning commission and staff in addressing community goals for years to come.
"The future of Lenexa is going gangbusters," Community Development Director Scott McCullough told KSHB 41. "Growth is going to happen, it has for decades, and we have to acknowledge that will continue to happen."
Lagemann told KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa she's concerned that agriculture is not included in the newest plan.
McCullough said the comprehensive plan does not mandate what the property will become, a common misconception.
"We have a really good road map now for building out the remaining parts of Lenexa," he said. "Of course, we're landlocked being surrounded by other cities, so we don't have any physical room to grow, but we certainly have some great growth happening within our boundaries."
He estimated about 10-20% of Lenexa's land is zoned agriculture, which includes Walnut Pond.
On the city's website, the future land use map indicates all current agriculture land will have different classifications. While agriculture appears not to be in the city's future, McCullough said that's not the case.
"Our plan isn't attempting to put pressure on agriculture to leave our city," he said. "It's just acknowledging that the development pressures will come and we now have a plan to accommodate that. I think we have to weigh that the development pressures outweigh agriculture opportunities in Lenexa and the region."
As for the additional standards Walnut Pond is now required to meet, McCullough said it's to meet a desired public safety service.
"The building code does apply, and the zoning standards do apply to properties zoned for agriculture usage when those uses kind of pass a threshold going to agriculture to something else," McCullough said.
Walnut Pond disagrees with their service passing the threshold. The State of Kansas has some liability protections under Agritourism laws — which Shawn has posted on her property.
According to the City of Lenexa, those laws do not provide any protections when the address is within the city limits.
"I don't think people realize the ramifications when you do away with something," she said. "We have food insecurity all around us. We can't do it without less land. There isn't more to be farmed on. There isn't any more being made."
Lagemann is seeking legal advice from a program at Kansas State University, Johnson County Farm Bureau, and Kansas Farm Bureau. Their goal is to work alongside her state legislators to push back.
"It's less about how agriculture fits in that and more about what standards are there to serve the public, employees, those coming onto the site that should have an expectation of safety on that site," McCullough said.
For now, Lagemann says she plans to keep operating as usual and raise awareness for her neighbors.
"We're just going to have to see it through to fruition again and again and again," she said.
KSHB 41 will continue to monitor the progress on new legislation for agriculture protections as this story develops.
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