Memo

City of Lawrence

Department of Administrative Services

TO:                  Dave Corliss, City Manager

CC:                  Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager

                        Toni Wheeler, Interim Director of Legal Services

FROM:            Frank S. Reeb, Administrative Services Director/City Clerk

DATE:             January 30, 2007

RE:                   Downtown Lawrence Request for Exclusive Use of Right of Way

On January 17, 2007, Downtown Lawrence Incorporated (“DLI”) submitted an amended Application and Permit for Use of Public Right of Way (please see attached).  DLI’s application requests the exclusive use of the sidewalk on both sides of Massachusetts Street from 6^th Street to 11^th Street from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on July 19, 2007, the date of the annual Sidewalk Sale.  While City Code, 16-801 et seq., authorizes the City Manager to review and, as appropriate, approve requests for use of the right of way, DLI is requesting the City Commission waive the Code requirement for written consent by the adjacent property owner or tenant.  Specifically, City Code section 16-805(3) provides, “If the applicant is not the owner or tenant of the land adjoining the right-of-way sought to be used, the permit must be accompanied by a writing from such owner or tenant consenting to such use of the adjoining right-of-way.”  DLI requests that this requirement be waived because it is “both extremely difficult as well as impossible, and because the event is a wonderful draw for out of town shoppers to Lawrence…”

Background

In past years, DLI has submitted an application and permit request for use of the sidewalk right of way for the same area from 6^th to 11^th in connection with the annual Sidewalk Sale and the City Manager has approved those applications.  However, in each of the past two years, the City has also received approximately five other requests for the use of right of way from non-DLI member downtown merchants who have requested their own use of right of way permits for the areas immediately in front of their establishments.  Some of those applications came in as late as the day of the Sidewalk Sale.  As a result, DLI had use of the majority of the sidewalk area from 6^th to 11^th Street and approximately five non-DLI member establishments had the use of the sidewalk directly in front of their businesses and sold merchandise on the public right of way on the day of the annual Sidewalk Sale. 

Action Item

City Commission direction is requested on the request to waive the written consent of the adjacent owner or tenant requirement for DLI’s application for use of right of way.