Miami County residents Loralie and Eric Tangen won their challenge to Miami County’s zoning regulations after a public comment filed by the Kansas Justice Institute late last month. KJI, like The Sentinel, is owned by the Kansas Policy Institute.
The Miami County Board of Zoning Appeals met on July 7, 2026, and voted 9-0 to approve the Tangens’ permit to build a kitchen in their barn.
“We’re incredibly pleased that Miami County did the right thing,” KJI Litigation Director Samuel MacRoberts said. “Some governments dig in their heels, but Miami County didn’t, to their great credit. Moving forward, we hope Miami County will change its codes to make it easier for people to use their own property.”
Miami County officials had been attempting to prohibit the Tangens from finishing a small section of the barn on their property as a kitchen to prepare and package food for both personal consumption and sale at farmers’ markets.
According to the comment KJI filed with the Miami County Board of Zoning Appeals, officials believed that installing sinks and a few appliances would automatically turn the Tangens’ barn into a second dwelling in a single-family zoning district. Miami County’s “one kitchen” rule is not based on the zoning code but on unwritten rules.
“The Tangens simply want to use their own barn to prepare food for a local farmers’ market,” MacRoberts said after filing the public comment. “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 argued 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. Under Miami County’s code, a wet bar 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 that 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.”
“The Kansas Constitution protects the right of people to use their private property without arbitrary interference. 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’s rule also irrationally prohibits appliances such as coffee makers, popcorn machines, and margarita machines, which are intended solely 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.
This public comment is part of KJI’s campaign against the government’s use of 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.
