Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning Department

TO:	Dave Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Planning Staff
CC:	Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager
Date:	11/16/06
RE:	TND Parallel Code – PlaceMakers Contract Authorization

Please place the following item on the City Commission agenda for consideration at their November 21, 2006 meeting:

Contract with PlaceMakers for development of a Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND) parallel code via a seven day charette process.

Project History: Staff issued a request for proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from qualified teams of professionals to assist Lawrence with the creation of a parallel TND-style development code. Four teams responded to our request. A selection committee consisting of Vice-Mayor Sue Hack, City staff, and Community Design Committee members evaluated each of the proposals and elected to interview three of the teams. Of those three finalists, PlaceMakers received the recommendation of the selection committee as the top firm based on project approach, consultant qualifications and previous project experience.

Project Details: PlaceMakers presented the City with their SmartCode calibration, regulating master plan, and sector plan proposal for Lawrence. The plan includes use of a comprehensive charrette process to give us a form-based and transect-based code that enables walkable, mixed use, compact neighborhoods. PlaceMakers is proposing a seven (7) day charrette that is scheduled for January 31^st thru February 6^th. Deliverables for the contract with PlaceMakers include:

· SmartCode calibration.

· A Regulating Plan for four areas (up to 250 acres) within the current City limits, generally described as Downtown, 19^th & Haskell, 23^rd & Louisiana, and 25^th & Iowa (all maps were revised, indicating boundaries are tentative pending the charrette process, on 11/20/06). A regulating plan includes growth projections and recommendations for the planning area.

· Assign a general G-4 Infill category to the remainder of the City limits not included in the Regulating Plan described in the first bullet. A G-4 designation means an area will be available for implementation to receive the optional SmartCode overlay and will be color-coded to indicate future growth.

· A Regulating Plan for up to 2,560 acres of the Urban Growth Area (1,280 acres west of K-10 and 1,280 acres south of the Wakarusa River). The consultants and staff will be working with property owners and developers representing property in these areas to identify property for use in the charette.

· A Sector Plan to address the remaining 45,000 acres (approximately) of the Urban Growth Area not addressed by the Regulating Plan. The Sector Plan establishes the legal boundaries for future developments that elect to use the SmartCode Overlay. It defines both unbuildable open space and urban growth sectors

Additional Information: Additional information about Placemakers may be found at:

http://www.placemakers.com. The following website details a similar PlaceMakers project in Post Falls, Idaho:http://www.sensiblegrowthinpostfalls.com/

Project Status: Staff is negotiating a contract with PlaceMakers for services with a cost not to exceed $221,100 and reimbursable expenses not to exceed $30,400 for a total cost of $251,500. Funding for this project will be provided from several sources, including the General Fund contingency, Water/Sewer Fund, and Capital Improvement Reserve Fund, since this is an unbudgeted item for 2007.

City Commission Action: Staff is seeking City Commission approval to authorize the City Manager to execute a contract for $251,500 with PlaceMakers for the creation of a parallel TND-style development code, if appropriate.