City of Wichita v. Peterjohn
| Decision Date | 30 December 2022 |
| Docket Number | 123,485 |
| Citation | 522 P.3d 385 |
| Parties | CITY OF WICHITA, Appellee/Cross-appellant, v. Karl PETERJOHN and Celeste Racette, Individually and as Representatives of "Save Century II Committee," Appellants/Cross-appellees. |
| Court | Kansas Court of Appeals |
Austin Keith Parker, of Parker & Parker, LLC, of Wichita, for appellants/cross-appellees.
Sharon L. Dickgrafe, chief deputy city attorney, for appellee/cross-appellant.
Before Malone, P.J., Atcheson and Warner, JJ.
Kansas law allows city residents of Kansas cities to directly impact city policy through the initiative-and-referendum process. When a certain percentage of the voters in a city sign a petition to adopt a proposed ordinance under this procedure, the city council must either pass the proposed law or submit it for the voters' consideration in an election.
Initiative petitions thus provide a powerful tool for city residents to alter a city's legislative policies. But the initiative process cannot be used to address administrative matters, which require specialized knowledge of the city's financial constraints and expertise as to how day-to-day operations are carried out. And initiatives must comply with various procedural safeguards to ensure that the petitioners, city government, and electorate understand the specific policy advanced.
This case involves an ordinance proposed by a group of Wichita residents through the initiative process to prevent the sale, demolition, or redevelopment of the Century II performing arts center and former Wichita public library. The proposed ordinance would require the City of Wichita to hold an election whenever it sought to destroy, replace, or adversely affect prominent buildings owned by the City that are historically important or architecturally significant. After the residents filed their petition and proposed ordinance, the City sued, seeking a declaration that the ordinance concerned administrative matters that could not be raised via the initiative process. The district court agreed and entered judgment in the City's favor. After carefully considering the parties' arguments in light of the governing law, we affirm the district court's decision.
The facts relevant to our discussion are generally undisputed. In the 1960s, the City of Wichita built a new performing arts center and a public library near the banks of the Arkansas River. The arts center, named Century II to honor the 100th anniversary of Wichita's incorporation, has served as a performance venue for organizations such as the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the Wichita Youth Symphony, and Music Theatre Wichita. Though the library has since moved to a new location, Century II continues to host concerts, theatrical performances, and other events.
In late 2019, defendant Celeste Racette learned of five proposals by the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan Coalition—a partnership between various public and private groups—to redevelop the land where Century II and the former library sit. Four of these proposals involved demolition of Century II and the former library. This information led Racette to join the Save Century II Committee with the goal of preserving these two buildings. Racette and defendant Karl Peterjohn subsequently helped the Committee organize the "Save Century II" campaign with the same aim.
Part of the "Save Century II" campaign involved the advancement of the initiative petition that is the subject of this lawsuit. Peterjohn submitted the campaign's petition to the Sedgwick County Counselor in January 2020. The petition included the following language and proposed ordinance:
The County Counselor approved the form of this proposed ordinance, and Save Century II organizers went on to obtain over 17,000 voter signatures supporting the petition—more than 34% of the number of electors who voted in the 2019 municipal election. The organizers filed the petition, signatures, and proposed ordinance with the Wichita city clerk in July 2020. The Sedgwick County Election Commissioner reviewed and verified the signatures, and the proposed ordinance was presented to the city council.
Later that month, the City sought a declaratory judgment against Racette and Peterjohn (as organizers of Save Century II) to determine whether the City was required to present the proposed ordinance to Wichita voters in a special election. The City argued that the initiative petition failed to comply with various statutory requirements and that the proposed ordinance was administrative in nature and thus not appropriate for a citizen initiative. The City also asserted that the proposed ordinance was void because it exceeded the City's constitutional authority by requiring the City to call future binding elections not otherwise permitted by Kansas law. And the City asserted that the language of the ordinance was unconstitutionally vague because it did not give sufficient direction as to what actions the City must take to carry out the proposed law.
As the City's lawsuit proceeded, the Wichita City Council adopted a new policy in response to Save Century II's efforts. The City's policy acknowledged the thousands of signatures on the initiative petition but stated that the City lacked the statutory authority to call binding elections on its own initiative. Nevertheless, the policy announced that the City would hold an advisory election before tearing down either Century II or the former public library.
The district court held an evidentiary hearing a few days after the City's policy announcement. There, Wichita's Interim Assistant Director for Public Works and Utilities testified about how the City makes its decisions regarding building maintenance, renovation, and demolition. He also explained that the City owns about 540 buildings, about 60% of which are at least 40 years old. Racette also testified about Save Century II's motivations for proposing the ordinance and the group's intention that the ordinance's scope should not be limited to buildings on the historical registry.
The district court later announced its ruling in a 38-page decision. The court found the initiative petition substantially complied with the governing statutory procedures. But the court concluded that the proposed ordinance was predominantly administrative in nature and thus could not be adopted by initiative. The court also found that the ordinance would exceed the City's constitutional authority by requiring it to hold future binding elections. Finally, the court found that the terms "historically important or architecturally significant" and "adversely affected" rendered the ordinance unconstitutionally vague. The district court thus entered a declaratory judgment for the City, finding the proposed ordinance did not need to be adopted by the city council or set for an election.
The Save Century II organizers now appeal the district court's judgment. The City has cross-appealed the district court's procedural ruling that the initiative petition substantially complied with Kansas law.
In general, a city's power to adopt and amend its legislative policies rests with its city council. Council members consider and vote on "various ordinances, resolutions, and motions that the issues of the day" present. City of Topeka v. Imming , 51 Kan. App. 2d 247, 252, 344 P.3d 957, rev. denied 302 Kan. 1008 (2015). While members of the public may participate in public debate and open meetings, their role in the development and advancement of policy is indirect—they ultimately rely on the judgment of the city's elected representatives.
The Kansas Initiative and Referendum statute, K.S.A. 12-3013, establishes a powerful procedure by which residents may more directly influence legislative decisions by petitioning the city government to adopt new policies or repeal existing ones. Under the initiative process relevant to this appeal:
Given the power and lasting effect of an initiative petition—compelling the adoption of a policy by some percentage of previous voters, but potentially less than the voting majority who elected the city council members—Kansas law imposes various procedural safeguards to ensure "the validity of the proponents' support." State ex rel. Schmidt v. City of Wichita , 303 Kan. 650, 664, 367 P.3d 282 (2016). For example, the initiative...
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