Shawnee County, KS Ordinances (2026)

Shawnee County allows a small animal hospital or veterinary clinic only as a conditional use in districts such as O&I-1, and only if it meets five supplemental conditions in the Zoning…

Cats are not covered by Shawnee County's at-large ban. Sec. 5-23 prohibits 'domestic animals other than cats and dogs' from running loose in the unincorporated county, which by its own…

Every county park is legally a game sanctuary under Shawnee County Code Sec. 21-35: hunting, shooting, trapping, injuring, or otherwise "molesting in any way any bird or animal on or…

Shawnee County outlaws owning any animal that isn't domesticated. Sec. 5-90 makes it 'unlawful to own, keep, harbor, or possess any animal which is not domesticated,' and Sec. 5-91…

Shawnee County regulates dangerous animals by behavior, not breed. Sec. 5-114 imposes strict liability on any owner whose animal attacks, injures, or is at large after being deemed…

Shawnee County's RA-1 Rural Agriculture District zoning bars a second permanent dwelling on one lot. The only path to a second home is a temporary hardship exception: the county may…

Converting a garage into living space in unincorporated Shawnee County requires a building permit from Land Use & Development and must meet habitable-space standards under the…

A shed or other detached accessory building in unincorporated Shawnee County needs a building permit once it exceeds 150 square feet and sits on a permanent foundation, under Zoning…

Unincorporated Shawnee County treats bed and breakfast lodging as its short-term-rental category, and the zoning regulations cap it two ways: a home-based B&B tops out at four…

Renting rooms short-term as a bed and breakfast inn in unincorporated Shawnee County requires a conditional use permit under Zoning Regulations Sec. 26.00(r). The inn must operate…

Shawnee County requires anyone operating a bath business or massage business to hold a license from the board of county commissioners, and every massage attendant to hold a separate…

Shawnee County dispatches non-consent tows only through a sheriff's office rotation list of contracted providers. Sec. 7-145 caps every towing, storage, release and cleanup fee a…

Retailers of tobacco paraphernalia and novelty items in unincorporated Shawnee County need a county license. Sec. 7-28 requires a $500.00 application fee, a sworn statement that the…

Shawnee County zones its rural land as the RA-1 Rural Agriculture District, adopted August 31, 2006, specifically to protect farmland and farming from encroaching development. Zoning…

A structure the county health department finds unfit for human occupancy, or one left burnt or unsecured against trespassers, is a nuisance under Sec. 23-30 and 23-31, with fines up to…

Vacant-lot owners must keep grass and weeds down and the site clear of debris. In Topeka the limit is 12 inches; countywide, the Shawnee County Weed Department enforces the…

Shawnee County ties residential trash pickup to your water meter: getting county water service automatically enrolls you in refuse department collection under Sec. 28-5(a), and…

Shawnee County limits how long a trash cart can sit out: containers can't go to the curb more than 24 hours before pickup and must come back in within 24 hours after collection, under…

Shawnee County requires every occupied residence and commercial or industrial business outside city limits to have regularly scheduled refuse collection at least once a week, under…

Tree limbs and shrubs set out for Shawnee County refuse pickup must be tied into bundles no longer than 48 inches and no thicker than 24 inches in diameter under Sec. 28-4(m). Grass…

Shawnee County runs residential curbside recycling on an every-other-week schedule under Sec. 28-8(b), with monthly fees the county solid waste department sets for customers who aren't…

Dumping or abandoning trash, junk or personal property on someone else's land without permission is unlawful in Shawnee County and draws a flat $1,000.00 fine per occurrence under Sec…

Shawnee County's refuse department picks up residential 'bulky waste,' items like furniture and appliances, at no extra charge under General Code Sec. 28-5(h), but only once a month…

Shawnee County lets advertising signs in its C-2 commercial district grow from 35 feet to 55 feet tall when they sit within 700 feet of an interstate highway interchange, so a business…

Shawnee County treats festivals, fairs and carnivals over 100 attendees as regulated Special Events under Article XXXII of its Zoning Regulations, requiring a permit, a 30-foot setback…

Booking a Shawnee County park shelter, the Lake Shawnee Event Center or a gazebo runs through the county parks and recreation department, with fixed rental windows, no silly string or…

Want to close a street in unincorporated Shawnee County for a block party? General Code Sec. 26-23 lets the county engineer grant the closure for a $75.00 fee, while Sec. 26-24's…

In Shawnee County's residential and two-family zoning districts, trucks, trailers, boats and similar equipment must be screened or garaged, and anything five tons or heavier cannot be…

A driveway in unincorporated Shawnee County must stay on your own lot and be a paved surface: Zoning Regulations Sec. 27.01(b) bars any driveway from extending beyond the boundaries of…

Leaving a wrecked, junked, partially dismantled, or abandoned vehicle parked on any unincorporated Shawnee County property for more than 30 days is a nuisance violation under General…

Shawnee County requires a building permit for any accessory building or structure over 150 square feet that is attached to or built on a permanent foundation, under the county's Zoning…

Shawnee County's zoning code treats a stand-alone child care center as a "day care facility, type II," allowed only as a provisional or conditional use in the zoning districts that…

Skateboards, roller blades, roller skates, and bicycles are banned from Shawnee County's park tennis and sand volleyball court surfaces, which are reserved for tennis and volleyball…

Smoking is banned on all county-owned property, indoors and outdoors, under Sec. 23-4, with fines that climb from $100 for a first offense to $500 for a third within a year, though the…

Alcohol on Shawnee County property must stay in its original, sealed container. Sec. 4-58 makes it unlawful to possess an open bottle or can of liquor or cereal malt beverage anywhere…

Shawnee County requires a fence permit only when a new fence reaches six feet or taller, an existing fence is extended, or half or more of an existing fence's length is replaced, under…

Shawnee County caps fences at eight feet, four feet in required front yards in residential and agricultural districts, and nine feet for industrial perimeter fencing, under Sec…

Kansas fence law makes adjoining rural landowners split the cost of a partition fence in equal shares. County commissioners act as fence viewers to settle disputes. A residential…

Shawnee County allows barbed wire only as a one-foot topper on nine-foot industrial and substation fences, restricts front-yard fencing to open styles like chain-link and picket, and…

Shawnee County's 18-inch rank-vegetation nuisance rule exempts native, wildflower, or drought-tolerant xeriscaping, and vegetable or flower gardens, as long as the planting still looks…

Kansas's Noxious Weed Law, K.S.A. 2-1314, requires every Shawnee County landowner to control and eradicate twelve named noxious weeds, backed by county entry, notice, and lien powers…

Shawnee County lets Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes use every county parks and recreation trail, but bans Class 3 and any other electric-assisted bicycle from those trails, backed by a…

Shawnee County has formally refused to adopt any sanctuary policy. County Code Sec. 2-15, passed by Resolution No. 2017-79, states the county 'has not elected sanctuary county policy'…

A backyard fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or barbecue used for cooking, warmth, or pleasure counts as a "recreational fire" under Shawnee County Code Sec. 17-21, and it needs no burn…

In unincorporated Shawnee County, fireworks may only be discharged from June 27 through July 4, between 8:00 a.m. and midnight, under the county's noise ordinance, Code Sec. 23-224(1)…

Open burning, including controlled agricultural burns, is unlawful anywhere in unincorporated Shawnee County unless a burn permit is obtained from the local fire district or the burn…

Shawnee County presumes a public nuisance exists whenever a residential, commercial, or platted-subdivision property harbors rats, mice, or other vermin, under Sec. 23-30(a)(3) of the…

Hotels, motels, and tourist courts in unincorporated Shawnee County collect a six percent transient guest tax on gross lodging receipts, plus an extra one percent earmarked for…

Shawnee County bans any discharge into its storm drainage system that isn't 'entirely of uncontaminated stormwater.' General Code Sec. 23-193 lists common banned contaminants like yard…

Anyone wanting to place a private dock, buoy, or boat rack on a Shawnee County public fishing area, including Lake Shawnee, must first get written authorization from the director of…

Any construction site in unincorporated Shawnee County that disturbs soil or removes vegetation must implement an approved stormwater pollution prevention plan under General Code Sec…

Kansas is landlocked, so no coastal law applies. Building near the Kansas River, Soldier Creek, or Shunganunga Creek instead triggers floodplain permitting, state Division of Water…

Every Shawnee County park and recreation facility closes at 11:00 p.m. and reopens at 6:00 a.m. under Code Sec. 21-37, unless a visitor is camping, boating, fishing, or engaged in a…

Running a home occupation in unincorporated Shawnee County requires a permit from the county zoning administrator under Zoning Regulations Sec. 29.02(a)(9). The business must be run by…

A home occupation in unincorporated Shawnee County cannot have any exterior sign at all. Zoning Regulations Sec. 29.02(a)(9)a.3 bars changing or modifying the outside of the dwelling…

A home occupation in unincorporated Shawnee County cannot see customers outside an 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. window. Zoning Regulations Sec. 29.02(a)(9)a.8 restricts public hours to that…

Running a child care home in Shawnee County requires a license from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Under K.S.A. 65-501, it is unlawful to maintain a child care…

Shawnee County's weed nuisance ordinance carves out a specific exception for vegetable and flower gardens: General Code Sec. 23-30(a)(1) exempts them from the county's 18-inch…

Shawnee County bans lighting on communication towers except what the FAA requires for aviation safety, and any security lighting at a tower's base must be shielded so no light spills…

Shawnee County's zoning regulations require every reviewed site plan to shield its light sources so no illumination spills onto adjoining properties. Zoning Regulations Sec. 39.06(d)…

In platted subdivisions where the rule has been activated, Sec. 5-55(c) makes it unlawful to keep or harbor a dog that 'frequently disturbs the peace or repose of any persons in the…

Unincorporated Shawnee County has no separate county noise ordinance capping amplified sound or setting quiet hours; deputies instead enforce Kansas's disorderly conduct statute…

In unincorporated Shawnee County, in-ground and permanent above-ground pools and spas need a building permit from the Land Use & Development Department, reviewed under the…

Growing marijuana at home is illegal everywhere in Shawnee County. Kansas has no medical or recreational cannabis program, and cultivating any amount is a felony under K.S.A. 21-5705…

There is no cannabis dispensary zoning in Shawnee County because Kansas bans marijuana sales entirely. No dispensaries are licensed statewide, and distributing marijuana is a felony…

Shawnee County does not license or register rental homes, and Kansas has no statewide landlord license. Topeka enforces a property-maintenance code and debated a landlord registry in…

Rent control is illegal anywhere in Shawnee County. Kansas statute K.S.A. 12-16,120 bars every county, city, and township from any ordinance that controls the rent charged for…

In unincorporated Shawnee County, the Zoning Regulations set yard setbacks by district. The rural RA-1 and RR-1 districts, which cover most unincorporated land, require a 30-foot front…

In Shawnee County's RA-1 Rural Agriculture District, the zoning regulations cap principal structures at 42 feet and pair that ceiling with 30-foot front and rear yards and a 7-foot…

Shawnee County limits detached accessory buildings to 30 percent of the rear yard area and applies parcel-size-based square footage caps, with a Board of Zoning Appeals exception…

Rooftop solar in Shawnee County needs building and electrical permits plus a utility interconnection agreement. Kansas guarantees net metering through the Corporation Commission, and…