League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County

P.O. Box 1072, Lawrence, Kansas 66044

January 22, 2006

Dr. Terry Riordan, Chairman

Members

Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission

City Hall

Lawrence, KS 66044

RE: ITEM NO. 9, HIERARCHY OF PLANS

Dear Chairman Riordan and Planning Commissioners:

We were very encouraged to see the description of the Hierarchy of Plans presented to the Planning Commission for your review. However, after studying the description and diagram, we had difficulty distinguishing the purpose of the separate plans and what they actually involve. We suggest that clearer language is needed.

For example, under the “Watershed or Sub-basin Plan,” the “Purpose or reasons to use a watershed or sub-basin plan...” reads exactly the same as for all of the other plans listed. There is no clear indication that, as its most basic function, a Watershed Plan involves the study of stormwater runoff and potential for flooding within the watershed. Futher, the question as to when a watershed plan is appropriate states that it “is used to determine the long-term future (potential) for urban densities of development and their impact on the natural environment.” It would seem to us that exactly the opposite is the case in undeveloped urban growth areas: watershed studies are necessary to determine the impact of the natural environment on the potential for future development. Consequently, watershed plans and all subsidiary plans should map the environmental constraints and hazards before development occurs. The watershed study and resulting plan will identify risks to new development. It should also indicate the impact that development will have on exacerbating storm drainage and flooding, so that an important feature of a watershed plan will be how to preserve the natural storm drainage system. If the study indicates a risk in developing any part of the drainage basin, the community goals and values should then guide decision-making bodies in determining whether the risk is worth it.

The North Lawrence Drainage Study serves as a case in point. One map, showing potential build-out, indicates what portions of North Lawrence should not be developed at all and where development is feasible and at what densities, assuming the recommended storm drainage improvements are built. In another map overlay, the study indicates what areas would flood in the event that the Kansas River levee were breached. Although this is beyond the 100-year event category, it still indicates risk, and it becomes a community value judgment whether this risk should be ignored.

We were not able to get a clear picture of the purpose of the “Sector” plans, either, or the nature of neighborhood planning described here. In the Midwest, a sector is the area for a neighborhood unit plan. The purpose of a neighborhood unit plan is to provide a plan for the physical structure of living areas in undeveloped or newly developing areas. Each unit includes defined boundaries, detailed locations for residential and neighborhood-oriented, non-residential uses, and the interior, interconnecting circulation system. A neighborhood plan can also be for an existing urban area that has boundaries based on a political organization, such as a neighborhood association. This seems to be what is described in the Hierarchy. What seems to be lacking is a clear concept of a neighborhood plan that provides an “advance” physical plan for the development of an undeveloped sector, or portion of a sector, as a neighborhood unit. It is important to understand the concept of neighborhood unit, especially for newly developing areas, and to incorporate it into the planning system.

We urge the Planning Commission to have a clear picture of the separate purpose and function of each of the plans listed in the hierarchy, and their importance in the actual planning of new areas. We hope the language that you adopt will better express the functions of, and distinctions between, these separate plans, so that when implemented, they will help to build a convenient, livable, and sustainable community.

Sincerely yours,

Carrie Lindsey Alan Black, Chairman

President Land Use Committee