The Rural Comprehensive Plan is a policy guide that describes the County’s intentions for directing future land development that aligns with the goals of the community. A comprehensive plan is a foundation for regulations, but not a legally binding document. The comprehensive plan is an active document that is reviewed annually so that it may evolve with the county’s needs. The review and Plan modification process helps to maintain relevancy for both current and long-range development.

The Sunflower Area Plan study area encompasses 44 square miles in the northwest portion of Johnson County. The boundaries of the study area are County Line Road on the west, Waverly Road on the east, 151st Street on the south, and K-10 Highway to the north.

Much of the 1998 Sunflower Plan area has recently been annexed by the City of De Soto. The Comprehensive Plan will be updated to reflect this change. The only proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan are sections related to the 1998 Sunflower Area Plan.

This update recommends that the remaining land in the Sunflower study area be absorbed into the surrounding Rural Policy Area. The purpose of the Rural Policy Area is to promote land uses such as very low density residential and agricultural uses to maintain the surrounding rural character and to discourage incompatible and more intensive land uses. Intensive land uses, such as high density residential, commercial and industrial uses, are more appropriate in urban areas that are able to provide the required levels of infrastructure such as sewers, water and paved roads.

No. The recommended Plan update is in line with the current zoning in the area and the zoning map will not be changed. The county is amending the Policy Area Map which recommends potential future land uses that will be compatible with the vision and character of the area. This policy area map update will not change the existing zoning map. Any potential rezoning would have to go through a public hearing process.

No. The recent annexations by the City of De Soto did not require county approval or involvement. Under Kansas state statute, there are several different methods by which cities can annex land. Annexations are typically done voluntarily with landowner consent. The only instance where the county is involved in the annexation process is when the land being annexed is not contiguous with the existing city boundary.

This Plan update only addresses land use updates. This Plan update does not propose any road construction or improvements within the unincorporated area of the county.

The Planning Commission Subcommittee is made up of volunteers from the Planning Commission. The Subcommittee began a series of meetings in October 2022 to discuss the Sunflower Area Plan update. The recordings of the meetings and corresponding material can be found on the Johnson County Planning website for this Plan update.

First, the Subcommittee will present its recommendation to the Johnson County Planning Commission. Next, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and receive public input. Upon consideration of the public comments regarding the proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan, the Planning Commission will submit its recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners to be considered for final action.

No. The Panasonic development is located within the city limits of De Soto. The Plan update only includes land area that is located in the unincorporated portion of the county. The county has no planning or zoning jurisdiction for land located within city limit boundaries.