Loralie and Eric Tangen want to finish a small section of the barn on their property in Miami County as a kitchen for preparing and packaging food, both for personal consumption and for sale at farmers’ markets. County officials won’t allow it, however, claiming that adding a kitchen to a barn would convert it into a “dwelling,” in violation of its one-kitchen single-family zoning rules.
However, according to a public comment filed by attorneys at Kansas Justice Institute, the County’s position that installing sinks and a few appliances automatically turns the Tangens’ barn into a second dwelling is not based on the zoning code but on unwritten rules. Kansas Justice Institute, like The Sentinel, is a subsidiary of Kansas Policy Institute.
“The Tangens simply want to use their own barn to prepare food for a local farmers’ market,” said Sam MacRoberts, litigation director at the Kansas Justice Institute. “Treating a small, functional kitchen as if it creates a second home is irrational and stretches the law beyond what the zoning code actually allows.”
MacRoberts argues in the filing that the Tangens’ home is located in the Countryside District (CS), which allows for “[o]ne single-family dwelling per legal lot or parcel.” Through its unwritten rules, MacRoberts said, Miami County has modified this “one dwelling” rule into a “one kitchen” rule, where an additional kitchen is automatically considered an additional dwelling unit. “But this rule is not in the code itself and was instead invented by Miami County officials.”
Miami County’s interpretation also raises concerns by attempting to distinguish between so-called “second kitchens” and wet bars, which the county allows. Kansas Justice Institute says a wet bar, according to the Miami County code, may only be used for “preparing and serving drinks and snacks,” so it would be acceptable to microwave frozen mozzarella sticks — because it is a snack — but would be a crime to microwave a Stauffer’s lasagna — because it is a meal.
“But the code, on its face, does not permit Miami County’s ‘one kitchen’ rule,” MacRoberts wrote. “A building only becomes a ‘dwelling’ when it is both ‘designed and used exclusively for residential purposes.’
“For instance, a structure that was designed as a single-family home would not be a ‘dwelling’ if it were used to operate a restaurant or convenience store rather than as a residence. Nor does a church building count as a ‘dwelling’ simply because it has a kitchen. Miami County can only determine that a building is a ‘dwelling’ by analyzing whether it is designed and used exclusively for residential purposes.”
MacRoberts said Miami County can’t simply skip this step and proclaim any building with a kitchen automatically becomes a dwelling.
“The Kansas Constitution protects the right of people to use their private property without arbitrary interference,” said MacRoberts. “When local officials rely on unwritten rules to prohibit ordinary uses, like adding a small kitchen to a barn, that raises serious concerns about the limits of government authority.”
Miami County also irrationally prohibits appliances in wet bars, such as coffee makers, popcorn machines, and margarita machines, which are intended only for preparing drinks and snacks.
But under the Kansas Constitution, private property is a fundamental and inalienable constitutional right, and government may not simply declare a kitchen to be a house.
KJI’s public comment says it is part of its campaign against the government using zoning laws and business regulations to interfere with Kansans’ fundamental and inalienable right to property. In 2023, KJI sued the City of Ottawa, successfully challenging its prohibition on home gardening and beekeeping as a home occupation. In 2025, a federal judge enjoined state officials from searching the homestead of KJI clients Scott Johnson and Harlene Hoyt without permission or a warrant. Also in 2025, a federal judge struck down the sign regulations in Salina’s zoning code for violating the free speech rights of the iconic Cozy Inn.
