Today the Kansas House of Representatives passed a bill that will protect property owners from harm simply because their property is near a historic property.
The bill is HB 2118, as described by its supplemental note:
HB 2118 would delete provisions related to environs restrictions from historic property reviews.
Under current law, proposed projects within 500 feet of the boundaries of a historic property located in a city or within 1,000 feet of the boundaries of a historic property located in the unincorporated portion of a county are subject to historic design and appearance restrictions.
The bill would limit historic reviews conducted under the act to proposed projects that would directly involve, damage, or destroy a property included in the National Register of Historic Places or the State Register of Historic Places.
The bill passed today by a vote of 99 to 24. Those voting against this bill — those who wish to keep the current restrictions on private property rights — were Alcala, Ballard, Becker, Bridges, Burroughs, Carlin, Crum, Davis, Dillmore, Grant, Henderson, Henry, Hill, Kuether, Lane, Meier, Pauls, Ruiz, Sloop, Tietze, Weigel, Whipple, Wilson, and Winn.