The Hein Family Story: A Kansas Dream Denied
Meet Norman and Leatha Hein.
For 30 years, the Heins built a successful lawn care business from their rural Kansas home – creating jobs, serving their neighbors, and, most importantly, minding their own business.
But as their business expanded, they ran headlong into a wall of local zoning rules. To keep up with customer demand, they asked the Sedgewick County Board of Zoning Appeals for a few allowances,
• Extra storage space,
• More employees on site, and
• Permission to maintain equipment on their land.
The Sedgwick County board initially agreed – acknowledging that the Heins had met all the legal requirements for a zoning variance. However, lawsuits from a nearby sand pit operator soon followed, and a lengthy court battle ensued. The courts ruled that the Heins’ growth created a “self-imposed hardship,” and because they were aware of the zoning laws, they could not request flexibility – even if their business remained quiet, clean, and safe.
In other words, the Heins were penalized for success. Their reward for thirty years of work? A court order forcing them to either shrink or shut down.
Not That: When Local Government Says “No” to Your Business
Kansas should be better than this. The Heins’ story is a cautionary tale – and it is not unique. Across Kansas, small-scale entrepreneurs face arbitrary local rules that can shut down a dream before it begins. Across Kansas, municipalities are erecting roadblocks that make it more complicated, if not impossible, for people to operate home-based businesses legally. Here are just a few examples:
• Prairie Village bans signs, prohibits non-resident employees, and limits business space to just 20% of your home.
• Shawnee County prohibits on-site sales and limits business activities to the primary residence only.
• Douglas County enforces complex classifications for home businesses, which require additional approvals and can create confusion.
• Garden Plain goes even a step further, allowing neighbors within two hundred feet to kill your business permit with a petition.
These policies are not just overbearing; they discourage entrepreneurship, push businesses underground, and hurt the very people trying to build something for themselves and their communities.
This: The No-Impact Home-Based Business Fairness Act
That is why we need the No-Impact Home-Based Business Fairness Act – strong protections for home-based entrepreneurs. Here is what the act would do:
• Permit use by right: If your home-based businesses do not generate extra traffic, noise, or disruptions, it is allowed – period.
• Override unnecessary local red tape: Municipalities cannot force you to get permits, variances, or licenses to operate your no-impact business.
• Protect rural entrepreneurs: Greater flexibility to Kansans in rural areas, where space and isolation make most restrictions unnecessary.
• Keep regulations narrow and reasonable: Cities can only regulate for proper health and safety needs – no more arbitrary zoning enforcement.
Florida has already passed similar comprehensive protections with bipartisan support, and states such as Texas, Utah, and Arizona, to name a few, have passed laws limiting local government overreach. Everyone benefits when people can start and grow businesses from home, and Kansas should follow suit.
By passing a robust No-Impact Home-Based Business Fairness Act, Kansas can become the best place in America to start a business, especially if such a business starts at the kitchen table, garage, or backyard. Pass the No-Impact Home-Based Business Fairness Act and give thousands of Kansans the freedom to thrive – just like the Heins tried to.
