PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT

Regular Agenda - Public Comment Item

PC Staff Report

06/28/06

ITEM NO. 6:              FINAL PLAT FOR ELSIE HEMPHILL ADDITION, A REPLAT;

                                    1900 LEARNARD (PGP)

 

PF-04-10-06:  Final Plat request for Elsie Hemphill Addition, a replat of Tract D, Evergreen Addition, located at 1900 Learnard.  This proposed three-lot residential subdivision contains approximately 1.591 acres.  Submitted by Landplan Engineering, PA, for Richard Hemphill, applicant, and Elsie F. Hemphill, property owner of record. (Deferred from May PC meeting).

 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the Final Plat for Elsie Hemphill Addition and forwarding it to the City Commission for acceptance of easements and rights-of-way, subject to the following conditions:

  1. Provision of the following fees and recording documentation:
    1. A current copy of a paid property tax receipt.
    2. Recording fees made payable to the Douglas County Register of Deeds.
    3. Master Street Tree Plan per Section 21-708a.
  2. Execution of An Agreement Not to Protest the Formation of a Benefit District for street and sidewalk improvements to Learnard Avenue.
  3. Execution of An Agreement Not to Protest the Formation of a Benefit District for sidewalk improvements to E. 19th Street.
  4. Submittal of public improvement plans to Public Works prior to the recording of the final plat, for the extension of sanitary sewer main to serve Lots 1 and 3.
  5. Provision of the following notes on the plat:
    1. “Building permits shall not be issued until LOMA has been approved by FEMA.”
    2. Provide Register of Deeds Book and Page number reference for the existing easements that have been filed by separate instrument.

 

Applicant’s Reason for Request:

To divide 3 lots for single-family homes.

 

KEY POINTS

·         Replat of portion of existing Tract of Evergreen Addition.

 

ASSOCIATED CASES/OTHER ACTION REQUIRED

 

·         Acceptance of right-of-way and easements by the City Commission.

·         Recordation of the final plat at the Register of Deeds Office.

PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED PRIOR TO PRINTING

Letter from Williams S. Burroughs Trust, dated May 17, 2006 is attached.

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Current Zoning and Land Use:

RS-2 (Single-Family Residential) District; Existing single-family home on proposed Lot 2.

 

Surrounding Zoning and Land Use:

RS-2 (Single-Family Residential) District; Existing duplex to east and south, single family homes across E. 19th Street and Learnard Avenue to the north and west.

Site Summary

 

Number of Lots:       3 single-family lots

Gross Area:             1.591 acre/approximately 69,300 square feet

Right-of-Way:           0.051 acre/approximately   2,200 square feet

Lot 1 Area:              0.455 acre/approximately 19,800 square feet

Lot 2 Area:              0.521 acre/approximately 22,700 square feet

Lot 3 Area:              0.565 acre/approximately 24,600 square feet

 

Minimum Lot Area for RS-2 District is 7,000 square feet.

Minimum Lot width at front building line is 60’.

Minimum Lot Depth is 100’.

 

The proposed lots meet the minimum lot area, width and depth requirements for the RS-2 District.

 

STAFF REVIEW

 

The request is for final plat approval of Elsie Hemphill Addition, which is a proposed 3-lot subdivision for single-family homes. The site is located on the southeast corner of E. 19th Street and Learnard Avenue within the City of Lawrence.

 

There is an existing house on proposed Lot 2. The Burroughs Creek, with a drainage easement and 100 year floodplain, runs through the property. The property was previously platted in 1938 as a portion of Tract “D” of Evergreen Addition.

 

Sidewalks

 

There are no existing sidewalks along Learnard Avenue or along the south side of E. 19th Street. No sidewalks are proposed by this project. A condition should be required for participation in a future benefit district for sidewalk improvements to Learnard Avenue and to E. 19th Street.

 

Access

 

E. 19th Street is designated in Transportation 2025 as a minor arterial. Normally direct access to a minor arterial would not be considered. Because of the existing configuration of this property, the number of other existing driveway accesses along E. 19th Street in this area, and the physical imposition/difficulty of constructing a driveway across Burroughs Creek; in this specific instance, access to Lot 1 would best be accomplished from E. 19th Street.

 

E. 19th Street is a minor arterial. Per Section 21-607.3, a minor arterial requires a minimum right-of-way of 80’ (normally 40’ from the centerline of the street). The final plat is dedicating the requested addition 10’ of public right-of-way to the existing 30’ of public right-of-way from the centerline of E. 19th Street (10’ + 30’ = 40’ from the centerline of the street).

 

Access for Lots 2 and 3 would be provided from Learnard Avenue. Learnard Avenue is a local street with an existing 60’ right-of-way width. Learnard Avenue is asphalt, but does not have curb and gutter. No improvement to Learnard Avenue is proposed by this project. A requirement for execution of An Agreement Not to Protest the Formation of a Benefit District for street improvements would be consistent with conditions placed on other plats where the street and sidewalk improvements were not required to be installed at the time of platting by the developer.

 

Infrastructure

 

Municipal water lines exist along the south side of E. 19th Street and along the west side of Learnard Avenue. There are existing sanitary sewer lines along E. 19th Street, Learnard Avenue and within the stormwater easement across the property. Public improvement plans should be submitted to public works for extension of sanitary sewer main to serve Lots 1 and 3 prior to the recording of the final plat. Private sanitary sewer lines should not be allowed to directly connect with the 12” or 24” sanitary sewer lines which are located parallel to and within the Burroughs Creek drainage easement.

 

Stormwater Drainage

 

This property has Burroughs Creek running though it, which provides the major stormwater drainage for this area. There are existing drainage easements shown on the final plat along with the 100 year floodplain. A note on the face of the proposed final plat states; “Floodplain limits shown hereon were provided by the City of Lawrence pursuant to a LOMA (a Letter of Map Amendment to the Federal Emergency Management Administration submitted by the City of Lawrence to modify the FEMA flood plain map) application for drainage way improvements through the property.”

 

A Hydrologic and Hydraulic Study (H&H Study) was not required based on the City’s LOMA application. MEBO’s shown on the plat are based on the LOMA application. The City has submitted the LOMA application to FEMA. FEMA has reviewed the application and believes a further amendment should be submitted which would show the 100 year floodplain width as actually being narrower than what the LOMA application depicted. The Stormwater Engineer believes the LOMA should be approved by FEMA within the year and that the further narrowing of the 100 year floodplain should not impact the recording of the Final Plat.

 

Conditions should be required for a note on the plat that provides a Register of Deeds Book and Page reference for the existing easements that have been filed by separate instrument and a note that indicates building permits shall not be issued until the LOMA has been approved by FEMA.

 

Summary

 

The Final Plat, as conditioned, is in conformance with the requirements for the RS-2 Zoning District and platting of property.