Kansas City Planning and Zoning issued a cease and desist order to Clay County officials, which officially stopped work on the Clay County Commission’s controversial $20 million annex.

*Government cannot be above the law - Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte*

Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte has been very clear that he wants all annex work halted. He has indicated that he wants the incoming commission to decide whether and how to move forward with construction. Voters will be selecting two new commissioners in the November election as Commissioners Gene Owen and Luanne Ridgeway are not seeking reelection.

During a commission meeting on Monday, Nolte attempted to engage Owen and Ridgeway in a discussion regarding letting the new commissioners deal with the annex.

“Somebody said that they understood that there was some legal action that was on its way or pending, related to the annex, and they thought that it would be better to table it until we got an idea of what the nature of the legal action was,” Nolte said.

The action turned out to be Kansas City Planning and Zoning requiring the county to get a permit.

“Kansas City issued a cease and desist order,” Nolte said.

Nolte said Kansas City’s cease and desist order shows why the commission should have acted on his call to wait until after the election to decide all annex questions.

“This should make us pause and really consider what we’re doing out there,” Nolte said. “Government cannot be above the law. We just can’t.”

KPGZ News – Jim Dickerson contributed to this story