PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT SUMMARY

Non-Public Hearing Item

 

PC Staff Report

09/28/05

ITEM NO 21A:          ANNEXATION OF 17.52 ACRES; NORTH OF HIGHWAY 40 AND EAST OF K-10 HIGHWAY (PGP)

A-01-02-05:  Annexation request for approximately 17.52 acres, located north of Highway 40 and east of K-10 Highway.  Submitted by Landplan Engineering, Inc., for Hanover Place, LC, Oread, LC, and Tanglewood, LC, property owners of record.  This item was deferred from the 7/27/05 meeting.

 

 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:  Staff recommends denial of this annexation request, at this time, based on the findings presented in this report. Specifically, staff can not support this annexation request because it is inconsistent with the City’s Annexation Policy (AP-74), it is not in compliance with the 2003 Wastewater Master Plan or adopted CIP for wastewater infrastructure improvements, and this request’s timing is premature given the City’s inability to provide the same level of city services and infrastructure to this area as is planned for or can be provided to other areas within the city.

 

 

Applicant’s Reason for Request:

“The subject property is currently undergoing rezoning for multiple rezoning classifications for proposed residential, office and commercial development. Area of annexation must be incorporated for applicable zoning to be implemented.”

 

KEY POINTS

·         The area of this request is outside the benefit district and service area for the sanitary sewer lift station (No. 45) that it proposes to use.

·         The proposed land uses and acreages would generate sanitary sewer flow for nearly twice the population the entire 215 acres of the Baldwin Creek No. 1 Benefit District was designed to serve.

·         The proposed (potential) generated sanitary sewer flows from this development would exceed the total population anticipated in the 2003 Wastewater Master Plan for the Baldwin Creek-2 drainage basin.

·         The 2003 Wastewater Master Plan assumes ultimate treatment at a new Wastewater Plant along the Wakarusa River. Until that time, interim plans would send the sewage east to the Kansas River Plant. The flow contribution from this site exceeds the capacity of the infrastructure now in place, to carry it to the Kansas River Plant.

·         The property is undeveloped and has not been platted.

·         The proposed annexation is within Service Area 2 as identified in Horizon 2020.

·         The site is beyond the desired six minute fire department/emergency medical response time from a fire station.

 

 

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CONSIDERATION

·         Growth Management and extension of public facilities and services are required to service this property.

 

ASSOCIATED CASES/OTHER ACTION REQUIRED

·         Annexation decision by the City Commission [A-01-02-05]

·         Zoning recommendations and decision by the City Commission [Z-01-(08,09,10,11,12)-05]

·         Zoning Ordinances by the City Commission and Ordinance publications.

·         Preliminary Plat: [PP-05-10-05] and Final Plat approvals by Planning Commission

 

PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED PRIOR TO PRINTING

     No public comment was received prior to printing.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Current Zoning and Land Use:                   A (Agricultural) District; undeveloped property, existing crop land.

 

Surrounding Zoning and Land Use:             North – A (Agricultural) District; Agriculture uses and undeveloped land.

 

West – K-10 Highway and Frontage Road.

 

South and East – A (Agriculture) District; Undeveloped.

 

 

Annexation Procedure and General Location:

The site is located 1,200 to 2,500 feet north of W. 6th Street (U.S. Highway 40) and on the east side of K-10 Highway.  Kansas Statutes [K.S.A. 12-510 et. seq.] provide for annexation by ordinance of the City Commission. Lawrence City policy requires the Lawrence/Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission’s review of all annexation requests for ten acres or more. Upon annexation, the property owner is required to request rezoning to a compatible city classification. The owners have submitted rezoning requests and a preliminary plat for concurrent consideration with this annexation request.

 

Site Characteristics:

The subject property is adjacent to the existing city limits on the east and south sides of the property. This area is included in the Urban Growth Area for the City of Lawrence, Service Area 2.

 

SUMMARY OF LAND USE AND REQUEST:

 

This request is accompanied by four rezoning requests covering portions of the area to be annexed plus a fifth rezoning that does not cover any portion of the annexation area. In addition, this area is contained within the Mercato Preliminary Plat, which is also scheduled for consideration at the September Planning Commission meeting. Annexation will allow for the enforcement of City ordinances on this property, including City land use regulations, and precedes the installation of necessary improvements to serve the proposed development area including the area requested for annexation.

 

Infrastructure and Utility Extension:

 

 

Wastewater:  The proposed development is not in compliance with the 2003 Wastewater Master Plan or adopted CIP for wastewater infrastructure improvements.

 

Municipal Water:  Additional utility extensions can be made to service this property as part of the development process. The subject property is undeveloped. Water line extensions will be required to serve this development.

 

Private Utilities: Telephone, cable, electric and gas service can normally be extended to serve the subject property.

 

Public Right-of- Way: The subject property would be accessed in the future by an arterial street (George Williams Way, extended north of W. 6th Street) and a collector street (extension from Queens Road of Overland Drive) into this area. The dedication of future street rights-of-way occurs at the subdivision plat process. Specific site access to the property will be addressed at the platting stage and will require future public improvement plans. As part of the subdivision review process, the necessary location and dimensions of dedication of easements [both permanent and temporary] and rights-of-way will be evaluated.

 

STAFF FINDING

Based on a determination by City Staff that there are service delivery issues for existing properties within the original sanitary sewer benefit district and the land within this annexation request lies outside the boundaries of the original sanitary sewer benefit district, a finding of inadequate public infrastructure to serve this property has been made.

 

Comprehensive Plan:

 

The subject area to be annexed is located within Service Area 2 of the Urban Growth Area as shown in Map 3-1 of Horizon 2020. This area is anticipated for development in the future.

 

Several goals and policies are provided in Horizon 2020 related to development timing. These are found in Chapter 4, Growth Management.

 

CITY OF LAWRENCE URBAN GROWTH AREA (Chapter 4 - Page 1)

Service Area 2 (4 -2)

Annexation Policies (4-3)

GROWTH MANAGEMENT GOALS AND POLICIES (4-3)

GOAL 1:        Establish Urban Growth Areas (4-4)

Policy 1.3:      Limit Premature Development (4-5)

Policy 1.3.1:   Residential Land Uses: b, f, g (4-5)

Policy 1.3.2:   Nonresidential Land Uses: a, b, d, e (4-5)

Policy 1.4:      Establish Utility Extension Policy for Newly Annexed Areas: a, b (4-6)

GOAL 3:        Annexation Policy (4-8)

Policy 3.1:      Areas Immediately Adjacent to the City Limits: a, b, c

Policy 3.3:      Specific Annexation Policies: b. (4-9)

 

STAFF FINDING

Horizon 2020 indicates that Service Area 2 cannot readily be served by the municipal wastewater/sanitary sewer system.

 

SERVICE DELIVERY

 

Fire/Emergency Response Time: The site is located nearly three miles from the Fire/Emergency stations located on W. 6th Street and to the new station being built on Wakarusa Drive. Fire Department believes the response time for this location would be more than double the six minute standard for fire/emergency response.

 

Public Transit: The “T” at this time does not have a route that extends this far west. Route times and headways would need to be modified to provide for public transportation for fixed route bus service.

 

Public Safety Response Time: As the City of Lawrence expands farther to the west, and traffic along the arterials increase, the public safety response times for police services will increase.

 

STAFF FINDING

The City currently has an inability to provide the same level of city services to this area as is planned for or can be provided to other areas within the city.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE ANNEXATION POLICY

 

Lawrence’s Administrative annexation policy (AP-74, see attached), stipulates that annexation into the City ensures coordination of services and infrastructure and that development will occur to City standards for properties located in the anticipated growth areas of the Community.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Horizon 2020 supports a definitive approach that requires utility services and major street improvements are in place prior to development. The Comprehensive Plan indicates expansion of the city limits in this area is anticipated and expected as part of the Urban Growth Area. The requested annexation area is in Service Area 2.  A significant development issue will be the coordination of physical improvements of the subject property with the planned improvements of W. 6th Street, George Williams Way, and Overland Drive. Staff notes for the record that the widening of W. 6th Street is not scheduled to be completed until the Summer of 2006.

 

Based on Utilities Department findings of inconsistency with the Wastewater Master Plan and exclusion of this property from the sewer benefit district formed for Baldwin Creek – 2, the City cannot ensure, at this time, the coordination of services or infrastructure to this (proposed) development.