TOPEKA — CoreCivic and the city of Leavenworth will continue their fight over development regulations in front of a Kansas appellate court after a Leavenworth district judge decided to wait for a decision in that case.
Judge John Bryant on Friday said the primary issues being argued in his court would be significantly affected by the case that’s being appealed.
“The court believes that due to the pending appellate review and ongoing federal case, the court has no choice but to stay certain decisions pending the outcomes of those matters,” Bryant wrote in his decision. “The legal issues in those matters overlap the issues pending before this court to such a degree as to make them unable to be parsed.”
CORECIVIC and Leavenworth city officials are arguing about the reopening of the CoreCivic prison facility, which closed in 2021. CoreCivic signed a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to open the vacant facility to house immigration detainees.
However, Leavenworth told CoreCivic that it needed to go through the city’s updated development process and apply for a special use permit, which would require multiple steps and include public hearings. CoreCivic contends the permit is not needed.
Bryant also said that if the city is successful in the federal case, it would make “any decisions in this matter moot.”
However, Bryant did dismiss one of the four counts in the case, in which Leavenworth says the CoreCivic operation creates a public nuisance. While Leavenworth “goes to great lengths to paint Defendant CoreCivic in a negative light,” Bryant said he finds those arguments are based on past complaints about the prison’s operation.
“There can be no question that as Defendant CoreCivic’s facility currently sits, it is not a nuisance and Plaintiff pleads no facts that would portray it as such,” Bryant wrote.
LEAVENWORTH and CoreCivic continue to stand firm in their opposing views that led them to court.
The city believes the case is important because it needs to ensure development processes are followed, said city manager Scott Peterson.
“That is the core argument of the City Commission,” he said. “They want to ensure that the city of Leavenworth has the right to govern development within its city limits, and that anyone looking to open a business in Leavenworth follows the process as outlined in the adopted city ordinances.”
THE CITY doesn’t have the financial resources of CoreCivic, Peterson said.
“However, the City Commission has made it clear that ensuring Leavenworth’s ability to govern development and hold companies like CoreCivic accountable to the City’s development regulations is money well spent,” he said.
CoreCivic could “save all of us a lot of money” by applying for the special use permit, he added.
The national private prison company, through spokesman Ryan Gustin, said only that it is pursuing all avenues to successfully end the legal matters so it can fulfill the ICE contract.
“CoreCivic respects the entire judicial process, both at the state and federal level, and we welcome the opportunity to present our position to the courts,” Gustin said.
