For immediate release                                                            Contact information:
October 22, 2007                                                                    Lynne Matile
                                                                                            913-897-4030
                                                                                            lynmatile@wildblue.net

Hundreds of residents join together to fight Overland Park

They say you can’t fight city hall, but a group in Johnson County is doing just that.  They’re trying to stop the city from destroying their way of life.  

Overland Park wants to annex 15 square miles in southern Johnson County, but it’s not giving the 1660 people who live there a say.  Instead, on October 30, city leaders plan to bypass the people and go right to the Johnson County Commission for permission to annex.

Despite Overland Park’s attempt to bulldoze any opposition, residents who live in the area are determined to have a say.  They’ve formed the NO TO ANNEXATION COALITION to make their voices heard.  

Many of the 571 single family homeowners in the affected area purchased their homes outside of city limits for a reason.  They were seeking something the city didn’t offer: a rural lifestyle with an opportunity for a little bit of greenspace and a chance to have some livestock.  Now Overland Park says these folks will become a part of the city, like it or not, and that they must change their lifestyle to align with city requirements.

If the homeowners had sought to become a part of the city or even had a say in the process, this would be acceptable.  Instead, Overland Park has made up its mind and the residents are just being told how their lives will change and what new rules they’ll now have to follow.

The process doesn’t seem fair.  That’s why the coalition is fighting city hall and hoping that the Johnson County Commission doesn’t go for Overland Park’s annexation without representation.

OP Annexation Facts

•    The proposed annexation is the largest annexation request in KS history.
•    Input was not gathered by OP from residents prior to voting on the annexation petition presented to the county commissioners (they gave one week notice for residents to attend their city council meeting where they voted to petition for annexation).  We’ve had no chance to address environmental, natural resource, transportation, life style, and other issues.
•    MO law requires a vote of residents prior to annexation while KS law relies on discretion of County Commissioners.  They must determine if there is manifest injury to residents.  We think there is manifest injury in several areas.
•    OP projects over 600% growth in the area by 2030.  They state this growth needs to be managed by a city vs. county.  We disagree.
•    OP imposes a $.24/sq. ft. ($10,000/ac.) excise tax on development land which results in high density housing.  This would destroy valuable natural resource areas of the county (Wolf and Coffee creek valleys).
•    Combined property and excise (utility) taxes would increase for residents as shown by OP’s own software; however, OP continues to just say that property taxes will decrease.
•    OP ordinances restrict the life styles of the current rural residents (limit number of pets, don’t allow farm animals, don’t allow hunting, don’t allow burning of pastures, etc.).  
•    “Grandfathered” exceptions to city ordinances in previously annexed areas were not followed as one resident was even jailed for “violations” that were subsequently overturned by the KS Supreme Court.
•    OP does not honor their zoning commitments as demonstrated by the proposed Lowe’s in the Blue Valley Riding subdivision which was designated “transition residential”.
•    OP is abusing their power by telling their police officers to start patrolling the proposed annexation area when they do not have any jurisdiction there.  They have also approved changing Switzer road in the proposed annexation area.

What we’ve done:

In the few weeks we’ve had since receiving the OP petition, we’ve:

•    Gathered over 400 petitions (561 single family homes in the area and 700 property owners) against the annexation and given them to the JO county commissioners.
•    Many residents have sent letters and emails to the commissioners stating their opposition to the proposal.
•    Several yard signs in opposition to the proposal have been put up.
•    We’ve established the “NO TO ANNEXATION COALITION” with 20 steering committee members (Lynne Matile, president; Tom Watson, vice president; Norman Pishny, Secretary/Treasurer).
•    The coalition is sending a letter with enclosed return postcards to all landowners on Tues. asking for their “in favor of” or “not in favor of” input which we will provide to the commissioners at their 10/30/2007 meeting to decide the issue (BV HS Performing Arts Center at 7:00 p.m.).
•    We will be issuing press releases to the newspapers and media releases to television media throughout the week.
•    We are preparing speakers for the 10/30/2007 commissioners meeting.