How many signatures does it really take to stop a rezoning?

Last week the Kansas Court of Appeals answered a question that’s been lurking in planning offices for years: how do you count property held by co-owners when you’re totaling signatures on a zoning “protest petition”?

Prairiewood Holdings, LLC v. Board of Riley County Commissioners, No. 127,166 (Kan. Ct. App. July 11 2025)

Quick refresher:  Under K.S.A. 12-757, if owners of 20 percent of the land within 1,000 feet of a parcel sign a protest petition, a county commission must approve the rezoning by a ¾ supermajority. That percentage is calculated by acreage, not headcount.

The knotty question:  What if Tract A is owned 50/50 by siblings Alice and Bob as tenants-in-common, and only Alice signs? Do you count:
 1. the entire tract (because Alice is an owner of record), or
 2. only Alice’s half (because Bob didn’t sign)?

The court’s answer: Count only the signing owner’s proportional share. “When a protesting owner is a tenant in common or joint tenant, acreage proportionate to that owner’s undivided interest is credited toward the 20 percent.”

In Prairiewood, the county credited just 14.26 of a 28.52-acre tract because only one co-owner signed. Without that reduction the petition would have crossed 20 percent; with it, the protest failed and the rezoning stood.

Why it matters:
 • Predictability for planners & developers – Staff now have a bright-line rule when certifying petitions.
 • Fairness to non-signing co-owners – Your acreage isn’t “commandeered” into a protest you never joined.
 • Strategic filing – Petition circulators must chase every cotenant’s signature—or do the math to see if they can win without it.