On February 6, 2001, residents of Johnson County, KS defeated a proposal by Wal-Mart to build a store abutting neighborhoods. The vote in the Overland Park City Council was 7 for Wal-Mart, 3 against. Neighbors won because they had submitted a valid Legal Protest Petition that required 9 of 11 votes to approve the motion. This article describes in detail how it was done, the steps that were followed. On November 19, 2001, residents were defeated by Wal-Mart on the same 7-3 vote because Wal-Mart persuaded some petitioners not to sign the second protest petition against a new application.

On November 6, 2002, residents of Johnson County defeated an application for a 210,000 square feet shopping center across from the Wal-Mart. The vote of the Johnson County Commissioners was 3 for the shopping center, 2 against. Again, the citizens had a legal protest petition that required a super majority to approve the application. This article describes how it was done.

To be valid, a Legal Protest Petition must be submitted within two weeks of the first meeting of the zoning board (or the City Planning Commission). It must be signed by owners of 20% of the acreage within 1000 feet of the proposed development property, if the property is within the unincorporated boundaries of the County. It must be signed by owners of 20% of the acreage within 200 feet if the property is in a municipality. If the property is on the border, Johnson County goes 1000 feet into the City, while the City goes 1000 feet into the County.

It is the acreage that counts, not the number of people. And every single owner of a property must sign. And they must sign as the name appears on the Deed.

When the Governing Body votes, a motion to deny an application DOES NOT BRING THE PETITION INTO PLAY. This means that it takes a majority vote to pass that motion. However, a motion to approve the application does bring the petition into force and a super majority is required to pass it. If the application does not get a supermajority, it is defeated. The defeat is equivalent in every way to a majority of the governing body defeating an application under normal circumstances.