City of Wichita v. Kansas Taxpayers Network, Inc.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Davis, J.:

The City of Wichita (City) enacted Charter Ordinance 147 under its home rule powers. The Charter Ordinance exempted the City from the provisions of the Kansas Water Pollution Act, K..S.A. 12-3101 et seq. Based upon Charter Ordinance 147, the City adopted Ordinance 41-948, which established a storm water utility system for the City. Kansas Taxpayers Network, Inc., and Karl Peterjohn (Taxpayers) through initiative and referendum authority of K.S.A. 12-3013 attempted to repeal Ordinance 41-948. Ultimately, in response to a declaratory judgment…