October 02, 2007
The Board of Commissioners of the City of Lawrence met in regular session at 5:00 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers in City Hall with Mayor Hack presiding and members Dever, Highberger, Chestnut, and Amyx present.
It was then moved by Chestnut, seconded by Amyx, to recess into executive session for one hour for the purpose of consultation with attorneys for the City on matters deemed privileged under the attorney-client relationship. The justification for the executive session is to keep matters confidential at this time. Motion carried unanimously.
The Commission returned to regular session at 6:10 and recessed until 6:35 p.m.
The Commission returned to regular session at 6:35 p.m.
RECOGNITION/PROCLAMATION/PRESENTATION
Mayor Hack introduced Lawrence’s Sister City, Eutin, Germany high school delegation.
With Commission approval Mayor Hack proclaimed October 7 – 13, 2007 as “Kansas Family and Community Education Week”; the month of October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month”; and, Disability Employment Awareness Month.”
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to approve the City Commission meeting minutes of September 20, 2007.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to receive the Board of Plumbers & Pipe Fitters meeting minutes of August 14, 2007; the Planning Commission meeting minutes of August 27-29, 2007, the Hospital Board meeting minutes of August 15, 2007; the Convention and Visitors Bureau meeting minutes of August 22, 2007; and the Mental Health Board meeting minutes of August 28, 2007. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to approve claims to 497 vendors in the amount of $1,850,006.30 and payroll from September 16, 2007 to September 29, 2007 in the amount of $1,692,292.18. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to approve the Class A Club License for American Legion Post No. 14, 3408 West 6th; and the Retail Liquor Licenses fro The Wine Cellar, 2100A West 25th Street; 23rd Street Liquor, 945 East 23rd Street; and Jensen Retail Liquor, 602 West 9th Street. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to concur with the recommendation of the Mayor and appoint James Bush to the Aviation Advisory Board, to a term which will expire May 31, 2008; and appoint Janney Burgess, Jo Byers, Don Penny, Elaine Penny, and Saunny Scott to the Lawrence Douglas County Advocacy Council on Aging. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to approve the sale of surplus equipment and vehicles on Gov Deals. Motion carried unanimously. (1)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to authorize the City Manager to sign a change order for the Alvamar Area Sanitary Sewer Improvements Project for $44,770.36. Motion carried unanimously. (2)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to authorize the City Manager to enter into an engineering services agreement with Burns & McDonnell/BG Consultants, Inc., for $355,000 for modifications to Pump Station No. 5 (East Hills Business Park) and the associated force main. Motion carried unanimously. (3)
The City Commission reviewed the bids for the North Iowa Sanitary Sewer Relocation, Phase I for the Utilities Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
Nowak Construction $70,281.40
Linaweaver Construction Inc. $96,750.00
McLouth Excavating $123,989.00
Kahle $126,312.00
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to award the bid to Nowak Construction, in the amount of $70,281.40 and authorize the City Manager to execute a contract agreement for the project. Motion carried unanimously. (4)
Ordinance No. 8136, establishing the maximum assessments for the construction of Stoneridge Drive from 6th Street south approximately 630 feet, to include street, storm sewer, waterline improvements, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (5)
Ordinance No. 8180, regulating building and construction and related activities within the corporate limits of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, incorporating by reference “the September 25, 2007 Edition of Chapter V – Building and Construction – of the Code of the city of Lawrence, Kansas” amending existing articles and sections in Chapter V and enacting new articles, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (6)
Ordinance No. 8055, repealing the existing Fire Code and adopting the International Fire Code, 2006 Edition, and excepting, amending and modifying certain of its provisions, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (7)
Ordinance No. 8160, County Resolution No____, amending Horizon 2020, pursuant to K.S.A. 12-747 by amending the specific plans section of Chapter Fourteen – Specific Plans in “Horizon 2020” and repealing the existing section, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (8)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to sign a license agreement with Jeffrey and Lina Nus, 1032 Rogers Place, to place a privacy fence in the right-of-way along Harvard Road. Motion carried unanimously. (9)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to authorize the City Manager to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Douglas County Senior Services, Incorporated for the “Safe Winter Sidewalks” pilot program that will coordinate volunteers to shovel walkways for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Motion carried unanimously. (10)
David Corliss, City Manager, requested the second reading of Ordinance No. 8159, providing for a Special Use Permit (SP-07-06-07) to allow for KU Boathouse and dock facility as active recreation within the Open Space zoning district for certain property located at Burcham Park, be pulled to discuss clarifying language. He said last week the City Commission established new conditions for the boathouse facility. Staff had some discussion about the wording regarding “pervious pavement.”
The current language in condition No. 6 was:
“Prior to releasing the site plan for building permit review the dock facility and locations where concrete pavement is proposed to be used shall instead be constructed with a pervious concrete pavement approved by the City.”
The proposed change to condition No. 6 was:
“Prior to releasing the site plan for building permit review the applicant and staff shall work to significantly reduce the impermeable concrete pavement, as proposed, with permeable paving material. The plan to replace impermeable concrete pavement with permeable paving material shall be approved by the City prior to issuing a building permit.”
The difference between the conditions was in current language the permeable pavement shall be put in, but with the proposed changed language, it would allow the applicant to show their best efforts to do that in different locations. He thought that was the intent of the discussion last week was to minimize damage to the tree roots. He said that language could be added now or second reading of the ordinance could be deferred until next week. The City Commission could add additional language that they wanted to see the plans. He said staff understood the goal was to reduce the impervious paving to make it as pervious as possible, but there might be situations where that would not work. Staff understood it was not a cost issue, but a performance and function issue.
Commissioner Highberger said the new language reflected what he was trying to convey. He said the City was not going to ask the applicant to do anything impossible, but he certainly would want someone on City staff to make sure that absolute best efforts were made before approval was given.
Commissioner Amyx said the new language reflected what he had stated and it gave staff the opportunity to work with the applicant to make sure the amount of impervious surface was minimized along that walkway.
Mayor Hack said the new language would give the City an opportunity to survey the plan.
Vice Mayor Dever said specifying pervious concrete was tough for the City to be specifying building materials. He thought it was better to be vague and might be able to reduce it down to a gravel area or something that was less intrusive with this language.
Mayor Hack called for public comment.
After receiving no public comment, it was then moved by Amyx, seconded by Chestnut, to approve on second reading, Ordinance No. 8159, providing for a Special Use Permit (SP-07-06-07) to allow for KU Boathouse and dock facility as active recreation within the Open Space zoning district for certain property located at Burcham Park, with a revision to Condition No. 6. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously.
Nancy Thellman pulled Ordinance No. 8097/County Resolution No.____, replacing Chapter Seven- Industrial and Employment Related Land Use in Horizon 2020 with a revised Chapter 7 entitled “Chapter 7 – Industrial and Employment Related Land Use in Horizon 2020, CPA-2004-02 Edition”, for additional comment.
Nancy Thellman a resident of Grant Township, said she realized that Chapter 7 had been in the works for a very long time. As the City Commission moved forward to adopt the new version of Chapter 7 of Horizon 2020, the chapter which addressed industrial and employment related land uses, she brought forward a request that as the City Commission adopted this chapter to adopt the chapter with the condition that the Lawrence Municipal Airport, cited as a future industrial development, be given the consideration of a City development plan called an Issue Plan before ambitious development was allowed to proceed. Chapter 14 of Horizon 2020 laid out the hierarchy of plans, one of which would address the window of opportunity that still remained for the land around the airport. A specific issue plan would be appropriate for the Lawrence Airport site because the proposed business park which wanted to be built at that location constituted as a significant land use change which had the potential to substantially change an entire community from agricultural and rural practices to industrial and dense residential. Though the limited guidance of Chapter 7 was helpful because it addressed considerations of the flood plain, prime agricultural land, an extraordinary public expense, it seemed there were many unknowns in this process of this new developing area, which needed further attention and careful preplanning before the soil was turned and the opportunity for City driven citizen friendly development was lost. She said her concern was the window of opportunity for thoughtful, preplanning and comprehensive future planning was almost gone for the airport industrial site since ambitious development pressures were already upon it with proposed airport business park development, which began as a 144 acre development, but might very well grow to include the entire North Lawrence water shed which might be as much as almost 1000 acres with either this developer or the next one. A comprehensive City and County led plan, which focused on what was best for the City, best for the tax payers, and best for the residents of North Lawrence and Grant Township, would be very welcome before it was too late. Grant Township had already asked the County to consider making an area plan for it so that there was adequate planning and preparation for the township’s future. Right now, the airport industrial site was of concern and was perhaps out of the purview of the future area plan.
She requested the City Commission adopt Chapter 7 with the condition that the Lawrence Municipal Airport be studied specifically with a City led specific issue plan before ambitious development proceeded. She believed the area was too important to the community, the industrial park plan was too large, and the language of Chapter 7 was too vague to proceed otherwise.
Mayor Hack asked Corliss to explain why the Commission was reviewing an area that was not in the City limits.
David Corliss, City Manager, said replacing Chapter 7 was approved unanimously by the City and County Commissions. It was not inappropriate for the City Commission to consider area plans for property outside of the City. In fact, for development issues it was somewhat common such as the Southeast Area Plan and the farmland property. This had been one of the discussion issues with the proposed airport industrial park which was the land use requirements and whether or not there had to be specific area plans to proceed with this project. He said it was an issue before the Planning Commission. If the City Commission wanted to have area plan requirements that went beyond what were otherwise required in the Comprehensive Plan, the Commission probably did not want to single out one project, but talk about all projects.
Scott McCullough, Director of Planning and Development Services, said the Chapter 7 plan was a broader chapter that covered the City and County in a broad sense. The analysis of the airport property in its course of the public process through the Planning Commission and City Commission would be addressed.
Mayor Hack said when looking at various additions and changes to Horizon 2020, they had not done so with a condition to look at a specific area for a more detailed look.
Commissioner Amyx said if language was placed in that chapter that would require those plans to be put into place, that action would probably send the entire chapter back to the Planning Commission for review and the process would need to be started over again.
McCullough said if making those plans a condition, that chapter would need to go back through that process just for a Chapter 7 update because the County Commission and Planning Commission had not seen that particular comment.
Corliss said the other policy issue was whether or not the City Commission wanted to change the land use rules on a project that had already been submitted. He said it was fair discussion about what level of planning was needed in the area by the airport as far as the current application. Staff tried to fairly interpret their comprehensive plan requirements and development code requirements for the project. If the project proceeded, the City Commission would have an opportunity to hear those arguments and whether or not there had been adequate planning to look not only at this project, but the area around it as well.
Commissioner Highberger said he would be a lot more comfortable seeing an area plan before the Commission made any decision on any specific property in North Lawrence, but as far as Chapter 7, it was too late to make amendments with the last proposed change. If it changed now, the chapter would need to be revisited, and if they were going to make any changes to Chapter 7, it needed to go through the amendment process.
Mayor Hack said the Commission’s past practice was once a plan was submitted it was a little hard to change things along those lines.
Commissioner Amyx said Chapter 7 was important and the process needed to be completed and suggested going on from that point because there would be constant amendments to all those plans.
Moved by Highberger, seconded by Hack, to adopt on second reading, Ordinance No. 8097/County Resolution No.____, replacing Chapter Seven- Industrial and Employment Related Land Use in Horizon 2020 with a revised Chapter 7 entitled “Chapter 7 – Industrial and Employment Related Land Use in Horizon 2020, CPA-2004-02 Edition”, was read a second time. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (11)
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
David Corliss, City Manager, said concerning the levy accreditation process, staff would be following a process to comply with those federal requirements for the integrity of the City’s levy. There were still a number of unknowns particularly regarding cost, not only for the study, but also on anything that study might reveal. He said when the City Commission discussed the federal legislative statement he wanted to use this project as an item to discuss with federal legislators.
Finally, the City’s Long Range Planners had been working on the draft Southeast Area Plan and the draft Farmland Redevelopment Plan. A planned meeting was scheduled for the Southeast Area Plan and staff looked forward to public comment and finalization of those plans in the coming weeks. (12)
REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
Presentation from K-10 Corridor Association.
Richard Caplan, Executive Director K-10 Corridor Association, presented the report. He said he wanted to update the City Commission on a few key trends that were occurring along the corridor and update the Commission on some major activities on K-10 and some key issues on the horizon.
He said K-10 was a 29 mile corridor. The K-10 Corridor Association was incorporated in 1991 and the City of Lawrence was a current representative of their association. Commissioner Mike Amyx served as the City’s liaison to the association on the executive committee. Also, County Commissioner Bob Johnson was on the Board of Directors and other Lawrence representatives. Their association was proud of the coordination that had occurred between the communities along K-10.
The K-10 Association trademarked the phrase “America’s Smart Corridor” about 9 years ago. The phrase came about because of the smart work force in the surrounding communities with Douglas County ranked 6th and Johnson County 4th in terms of the percentage of population with a college degree. He said there were smart institutions along K-10 anchored by KU on one end and Johnson County Community College and the KU Regents Center on the other end and not only some of the State’s best school districts, but the country’s best school districts and smart companies in technology and bioscience that many people along K-10 were constantly trying to recruit. The recent population data showed that Johnson and Douglas County continued to grow faster than both the Kansas Metropolitan Area and the State of Kansas. He said approximately 30,000 jobs had been added in the community that served K-10 in the last 6 years, including 3,400 jobs in Douglas County. The population of Lawrence was growing faster than Overland Park, percentage wise, and Lenexa in less rapid growth than DeSoto, Eudora and Olathe. Despite the census issues, certainly the population trends were on the increase and they continued to be the fastest growing region both in the State of Kansas and the Kansas City Metropolitan area.
He said this June at their annual meeting the K-10 Association revised and adopted the major goals for the association. The foundation of the organization was to maintain community coordination and cooperation, seek balanced economic development and strive for orderly and compatible, sustainable land uses, and ensured quality development and appearance. He said the K-10 design guidelines had been practiced by all the communities and hoped that continued to be the case so they had the appearance and quality of development regardless of what the land uses were along K-10, as well as preserve open and natural areas and ensure safe transportation.
He said the Bioscience activity was occurring along K-10 and was consistent with the fact they were “America’s Smart Corridor” with the kind of development that was occurring. One of the biggest bioscience companies in Kansas was located in DeSoto and that company was growing, expanding and was one of the most important animal science research companies in the world. In the Corporate Ridge Office Park, Garmin Industries was about to move into 200,000 square feet in a building that was under construction at Renner and K-10. There were 69 bioscience companies according to the State data in the K-10 communities as of 2005. In terms of the break out, 9 of those bioscience companies were in Lawrence. The largest concentration of bioscience companies in the State of Kansas was in Lenexa, followed by Overland Park. He said people were not aware that Bioscience Headquarters were located in Cedar Creek.
He said most importantly, the activities that were ongoing they certainly appreciated and recognized the commitment the City of Lawrence and Douglas County had made for the new project in the East Hills Business Park.
He said one of the most exciting changes to Johnson County, in the next decade for the City of Olathe, was the research center K-State would be constructing, a public/private partnership with the Olathe School District, the City of Olathe, the State of Kansas, K-State and the Bioscience Authority. They hoped to start construction on their first building probably in 2009 and that campus would be an engine that would certainly drive spin off development activity for the biosciences in Douglas and Johnson Counties.
The transfer of the Sunflower property to the private sector was in the process, including 500 acres which were in the master plan at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant that would be transferred to KU which the university had designated as a research park. As a practical matter, they expected that would not happen in the near term, but at some point some company would come in and want 200 or 300 acres which could not be found in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area or in Douglas County, and at that point, KU and DeSoto and everyone else would be positioned to compete for that company.
Some of the issues that were on the table right now affecting the K-10 Corridor were the potential interchange. He said there was a new interchange that was funded and would be constructed in Leavenworth County. He said all along K-10 they expected there should be a link between the Turnpike and K-10. There were two potential alignments in Johnson County and at least one potential alignment in Douglas County which the Douglas County Commissioners informally embraced and their effort was to get Kansas Turnpike Authority to study the alignments. All of those alignments were costly and long term, but everyone recognized this was inevitable and would have a significant impact on Eudora, Lawrence, DeSoto, and Lenexa. They wanted that study to be evaluated and keep it on the radar screen so the Turnpike Authority and KDOT would make sure it had appropriate engineering and ultimately construction money at the right time in the future. The private developers of Sunflower had offered to provide alignment through the Sunflower property for a future connection from K-10, south looping towards Gardner in anticipation/hope that a connector from I-70 would loop down to Gardner and go through the Sunflower property. It would aid and accelerate enhanced development at Sunflower if that future roadway did go through the Sunflower property.
He said the City actively participated with other cities and counties in the recent K-10 Corridor Study that KDOT completed which identified 7 new interchanges, including one in Eudora and six in Johnson County that were unfunded at this point, but at least on the map as being something that would hopefully occur in the future.
He thanked the City Commission for their commitment to the K-10 bus connector route that ran from Lawrence to Johnson County. That bus system had been extremely successful and embraced by students and employees that commute. The transit experts were ecstatic and surprised on how successful that plan was. He said not only was it successful, but both the Johnson County Transit and other transits had been requested by the City of Eudora and DeSoto to make stops in their communities. He said they would like to see it happen, but the only question was at what point would that become appropriate and financially feasible to keep the ridership at its level and continuing to grow.
He said he also wanted to mention the bike trails through the efforts of Congressman Moore, there was some money that was going to be building an extension of the bike trail that was a dotted line between Lenexa, Olathe, and Lawrence and hoped that would be continued to be implemented over time. People now ride their bikes from Lawrence to Johnson County and they wanted to make it a safe, identifiable route between those destinations. He said next year, people would see some of the improvements along K-10 about a mile and a half on the north side of K-10 in Lenexa for a portion of that bike trail.
The Sunflower redevelopment, while they were still in the remediation process, would be a major benefit to Lawrence in the future. He said before the ammunition plant was shut down, there were more employees from Lawrence than any other community that worked at Sunflower, even though it was just across the county line in Johnson County, it was a major employer for Lawrence and Douglas County residents. There was no reason to think that it would not continue and maintaining the quality development they wanted. He said he wanted to express the Association’s appreciation for the continued support of the ridership because it had been so successful and there was no reason why it would not continue in the future with everyone’s support.
In working with the Chamber, they were able to put the Smart Corridor logo into the East Hills Business Park sign. They had made a modest contribution to a future sign in the South Lawrence Trafficway that was intended to be built. They had the permits from the state and some funding available because of the cost of concrete and delays in construction, it had not been constructed. He said there was a technical design issue they needed to work out with staff on what should go on that panel, but the intent was to construct it sooner than later when resources public and private were permitting. He said that would go on the west side of the South Lawrence Trafficway between 6th Street and the Kansas Turnpike. (13)
Conduct public hearing for the dilapidated structure at 1230 New York Street. Consider adopting Resolution No. 6742, declaring the structure unsafe and dangerous and ordering it to be repaired or removed within a specified time. Failure of the owner to comply will result in the City contracting to have said structure removed.
Mayor Hack called a public hearing for the dilapidated structure at 1230 New York Street.
Brian Jimenez, Codes Enforcement Manager, presented a staff report. He said staff had some type of involvement with this property for almost four years now. The information showed that the property was last occupied around February 2004. They had numerous complaints throughout the neighborhood. He said he had been in contact with the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association to express their position on that. They talked to the president, Phil Collison, and he was in support of their stance. Staff worked with Jesse Delcampo who stated he had a contract to purchase the property and had made mortgage payments, etc. Staff worked with him in previous complaints in regards to securing the structure, boarding up windows. It became a place for transients and the inside suggested there was much of that activity there. They met Delcampo on July 23rd and at that time a complete inspection was done of the property. The owner of record was Arthur Carmona. They never had any contact with this individual. As far as they knew, this person was out of the country in Mexico. They received that information consistently from several people they have had contact with. This structure had been vacant for almost four years and was in extremely bad condition. Jimenez said it was his professional opinion that the structure was unsafe and dangerous, especially being unsecured at any given time. He said starting from the foundation up, it was in really bad shape. Tony Hoch, who did rehabilitation projects throughout the community, assisted them with this project. Hoch was experienced in doing that type of rehabilitation work and it was his professional opinion that this structure was beyond gut rehabilitation. There are parts of the roof that were gone, there was probably termite dry rot conditions possibly in the walls and floor of the property. They did not have any contact with the property owner; typically they did not like to get to this point and usually did not. Their last demolition was probably in 2005. It was not something they liked to do and was a last resort, but unfortunately they got to this point sometimes where they had an absent property owner and the property gets to the point where they have no other options.
Mayor Hack called for public comment.
Angela Carmona, said her father was the property owner of record, and she was also trying to find him. She said as far as she knew, she had been to the courthouse to speak to a couple of people about this property. Jesse Delcampo as far as she knew made no mortgage payments but had paid back taxes. She had an attorney she was trying to get on this. She had no complaints about the neighborhood being concerned about the property because it was in pretty bad shape. She did not disagree about the property being in bad shape. She said as far as the property, it was not up to anyone to say who owned it at this time. She was trying to put the property in her name.
KT Walsh, representing the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association, said they all wanted to thank the City Commissioners, City Manager, and all the people that worked on the 12th and New York drug house problem. It was sold at auction last Sunday. She was glad Angela Carmona was present; Angela and her mother should own at least half of that property and was glad they retained an attorney. There were some ownership issues and no one ever saw the paperwork from Jesse Delcampo Jr. saying that he paid the mortgage. They knew he had mowed the lawn and paid the taxes, but did not know if he actually paid any money on the house. The East Lawrence Neighborhood Association understood it was in very poor shape and needed to come down, but it was an educational moment and was a prime example by demolition by neglect. Although this structure was not on any historic register, it was a shot gun style home, so called because you could shoot a gun through the front door and straight through out to the back. This simple shotgun architectural style came to Lawrence with the former slaves, who came to the north to escape the Jim Crow south. People from Mississippi and Tennessee settled in North and East Lawrence and hand built many shotgun homes. They have very few left and made her sad to see another go done. She said she would like to see people restore their shotgun houses.
Amy Price said she lived just south of the property in question. She urged the Commission to please try to move forward with bringing this house down. They have been looking at it for a number of years in the condition it was in. It was the view from their dining room table and was pretty unappetizing. It was in really bad shape and had lots of transients there and operated as a wildlife refuge for quite a while. They would like to see it come down. She knew there was a lot of debate as far as who owned it, but the property was in bad shape, was unsafe, and did not belong in their neighborhood anymore.
Commissioner Amyx said the ownership questions aside, they had some responsibility to the neighborhood. Their order called for the property owner to repair or remove the structure within 30 days. They were going to find out either who the owner was or they were going to take care of making that property so that the house would not exist anymore. He said he was down by the property Sunday and there were all kinds of wildlife running through that property. He thought that they had a responsibility to take an action on that. It was sad to say that a structure was allowed to get in this kind of situation over the history of its life it had been a very productive home in East Lawrence.
Commissioner Highberger agreed with everything Commissioner Amyx said. He said he wanted to take KT Walsh up on her suggestion to make this a teaching moment. He would like to see on some future agenda a review of what mechanisms they had now for prevention of demolition by neglect and what, if anything, they could do to strengthen that because it was something he had seen too many times sitting on the City Commission and thought there was something they could do.
Mayor Hack said they talked about when they were going to meet with the Oread Neighborhood on the same kinds of questions and might be a good time to pull those conversations together because getting to this point was not where any of them wanted to be. It was horrible when a valued, historical property was demolished simply because no one paid attention to it and took care of it. She agreed with Commissioner Amyx and thought they had some structural safety issues, some public safety issues, and could not keep it boarded up forever. There were some serious problems there and they may or may not ever be able to resolve the ownership issue, but they could take care of the neighborhood and public safety issues.
Upon receiving no public comment, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Amyx, to close the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously.
Moved by Highberger, seconded by Amyx, to adopt Resolution 6742 declaring the structure at 1230 New York Street unsafe and dangerous and order it to be repaired or removed within a specified time. Motion carried unanimously. (13)
Consider the following items related to the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility:
a) Consider approving the requested annexation of approximately 536.88 acres for A-04-02-07 located at N 1175 Road & E 1600 Road. Submitted by Bartlett & West Engineers, for the City of Lawrence, property owner of record. (PC Item No. 8A; approved 10-0 on 5/23/07)
b) Consider accepting the dedication of easements and rights-of-way for PP-04-04-07, a Preliminary Plat for the City of Lawrence Water Reclamation Facility, approximately 536.88 acres, located at N 1175 Road & E 1600 Road. Submitted by Bartlett & West Engineers, for the City of Lawrence, property owner of record. (PC Item No. 8D; approved 10-0 on 5/23/07)
c) Consider approving the requested rezoning for Z-04-04-07, a request to rezone a tract of land approximately 536.88 acres, from A (Agriculture) and V-C (Valley Channel) to GPI (General Public and Institutional). The property is located at N 1175 Road & E 1600 Road. Submitted by Bartlett & West Engineers, for the City of Lawrence, property owner of record. (PC Item No. 8B; approved 9-1 on 5/23/07).
d) Consider approving a Special Use Permit, SUP-04-04-07, for the City of Lawrence Water Reclamation Facility, located at N 1175 Road & E 1600 Road. Submitted by Bartlett & West Engineers, for the City of Lawrence, property owner of record. (PC Item No. 8C; approved 10-0 on 5/23/07) (Valid protest petition has been filed. Approval requires a 4-1 supermajority vote.)
Mary Miller, Planner, presented the staff report. She said on May 23rd, 2007, the Planning Commission considered the items listed above. They voted unanimously to recommend approval of the annexation and the preliminary plat and special use permit. They voted 9-1 to recommend approval of the rezoning request. The one no vote resulted from a condition in the development code that required facilities in the GPI district to be located on collector or arterial roads. The Planning Commissioner felt they should obtain a variance on that requirement. Since that time, a text amendment had been adopted which exempted certain facilities from that requirement and facilities such at this would not be appropriate for location along collector or arterials. Valid protest petitions were filed and they were against the rezoning to the GPI district and also the special use permit. They required a supermajority vote for approval, so four City Commissioners would have to vote to approve those. As the annexation request was an island annexation, which meant it did not border the City limits, it was necessary to refer to the County Commissioners for a finding that the annexation would not hinder the orderly growth and development of the county. City staff worked with County and Township staff to resolve some issues. They developed a dedicated truck route and made some maintenance agreements on the roads involved. On August 14th, the item was brought back to the City Commission to refer to the Board of County Commissioners. The County Commission considered the item on September 18th and had one concern at that meeting and that was with the maintenance and repair of roads that led to the dedicated truck route. The City representatives present at the meeting assured the County Commissioners that damages resulting from the construction truck traffic or truck traffic related to the facility would be repaired by the City. The County Commission voted unanimously to adopt the annexation findings that the annexation would not hinder the orderly growth or development of the community. There would be future planning items before the City Commission regarding this. The development code required stricter flood plain, overlay, district standards for lands that were annexed after 2003. Therefore, they would not be using the floodplain overlay on the flood insurance rate maps. Rather, it would be rezoning the property as a floodplain overlay district. The development code required that the entire right-of-way for boundary roads be annexed and the City was requiring the right-of-way and would annex those in a later request. There was abandoned railroad right-of-way which would be included in that future annexation request.
The proposed site contained about 537 acres. It was located just south of the City of Lawrence and was in service for the urban growth area. The two roads it touched upon was North 1175 and East 1600 Road. It was approximately one mile south of the Lawrence City Limits. The proposed plan location was selected based on recommendations for the City’s 2003 Wastewater Master Plan and also additional siting studies. With most annexation requests, the major concern was the availability of utilities to serve the development, however this development would be providing the utility and infrastructure for future developments. The City Utilities Department would be extending waterlines to serve the facility and they did have projects in the Capital Improvement Plan to extend water lines south of the Wakarusa River. The annexation request and the development proposal complied to Comprehensive Plan Community Facilities Policies and the Growth Management Policies. The majority of the site did lie within the floodway. Horizon 2020 recommended that lands and service area for that are encumbered with flood plain, be used for agriculture uses, open space, recreational, or private or public utilities. The site had been selected to ensure that the land use compatibility with minimal disruption to existing development areas in accordance with Horizon 2020 and the impact on adjacent properties would be minimized with buffering and screening as well with the design and location of the facility. The proposal was also compliant with the City’s annexation policy. The approval of the annexation request was subject to the condition that the rural water district with facilities located on the property be compensated for their facilities as required with the City’s annexation policy. The property was currently zoned Valley Channel, which was similar to the extended flood plain overlay district in the county. There were also small portions of agricultural property in the site.
The request to rezone the property to GPI, General Public and Institutional Use District, which was the appropriate district for utilities located within the City. The property was currently being used for agricultural purposes. The surrounding area was also used for agricultural purposes with a few residences nearby and the facility would be well buffered from the surrounding properties by the wooded waterway buffer areas, and also by the floodplain which was located to the north and south of the property. An additional buffering would be required for the southwest portion which did not have an adjacent wooded buffer yard and it would be addressed at the site plan special use permit stage. While it was a relatively isolated area, there were residences nearby. The nearest residences would be the houses to the north across the Wakarusa River. Black and Veatch prepared a comparison graphic to where they could see the distance from these houses to the proposed facility and compare them to similar locations in the existing facility. The houses to the west were about the same distance from the proposed facility as the New Hampshire Street Bistro was to the existing. The nearest property to the south was about the same distance from the proposed facility as Eastern Heights Elementary, or the Learning Center, was. The use would be controlled to avoid significant adverse impacts on the natural environment. There would be many regulating and permitting objects involved in the project. The Utilities Director stated the City would utilize an independently certified environmental management system in conformance with ISO 1401 elements to establish appropriate environmental controls and meet all regulatory requirements for this project and the subsequent operation of the facility. The roads that were interior to the facility would be vacated with this preliminary plat. The roads that were adjacent to it currently had inadequate right-of-way and half of the additional right-of-way was being dedicated with the preliminary plat; the other half would be annexed later.
She said the special use permit was also the institutional development plan for the project. The design of the project would be determined at the design/build stage. It would be revised later when the details were more specific. It would be revised from time to time as the project expanded or changes were made. The special use permit showed the wooded buffer area along the Wakarusa River and would need to be revised to show the wooded buffer area along Coal Creek. The boundaries of mature trees must be shown and if trees needed to be removed, it must be noted. A 75 foot buffer guard was required along the portions of the property that were not bounded by the wooded waterways to buffer the adjacent properties. There was a condition that stated the dimensions from the location of the plant to the road must be noted.
Mayor Hack called for public comment.
Debra Ann Harvey Green, said her ancestors settled out by Mount Blue in 1863. She owned 130 acres out there, including the original acre her great grandmother settled. It was her property that would be directly affected along with her mother’s, Dorothy Harvey. They owned property on both sides of 1100 North and Coal Creek ran right through their property. She kept hearing about the flooding. Her concern was the last time it flooded, which was about 2 months ago, the City had no clue what the flooding looked like, no one can assure her that her property would not be affected by the flooding. After they built the building, it was going to take a lot of dirt to build that area up. She could not tell them how many times in her 56 years of living, that she woke up and found the area they tended to put the building on, under water. She watched crops that her father planted on that property go under water right before harvest time. She did not think they talked to the people who were experienced in this area.
Corliss said one of the important reasons they wanted this property in the City was because they wanted to follow their stormwater floodplain regulations that made it very clear that improvements on the property within the City would not negatively impact other property in regards to storm water. They also had significant storm water challenges for this project, but they had good engineering solutions to them. One of the challenges for a wastewater treatment plant was that they wanted it near a river and usually want it at a low gravity point. They had that. It also could invite the challenges that Ms. Green just articulated. One of the things they knew was that usually they did not know much about property as the neighbors do, so they listened to a number of neighbors and listened to those comments before. They also took a very strong look at the stormwater, and flood plain, challenges for this property; they had good engineering solutions for that. Primarily, to build up their site and do it in a way that did not negatively impact other property. They were going to build up the site that they were going to put the facility on in a way that did not negatively impact the surrounding property.
Mike Orth, Black & Veatch, said the flooding conditions that were represented and discussed were currently being permitted through the Corps of Engineers and the Department of Water Resources. They also had a City permit that they were getting ready to meet with Planning on Thursday to finalize it. They were already through the hydraulic modeling. That site was very low and it was one of the very attractive features to it from a waste water facility to allow as much flow into the gravity site as possible. There were issues associated with that and the one issue was they had to build the site up significantly to rise up the property above a 100 year flood elevation, but were designing the facility to be above a 500 year flood. He said they did have to bring in a lot of dirt or utilize the on site fill material to build up the site to protect all the super structures that they were talking about building on the site. The modeling that showed impact on Wakarusa and Coal Creek had been completed and was being reviewed by the appropriate permitting agencies presently. They expected to hear back from them in a month.
Commissioner Amyx said at the same time they were building that site up to elevate their facility out of harms way of flooding, the same time Corliss suggested they were going to use their flood plain regulation and water management to make sure the properties down stream were not affected by their properties. They were going to be retaining some runoff water that they would have from that site and metering it off of that back into the stream.
Orth said yes. The firm flood insurance requirements would allow the water elevations be raised roughly one foot and still be permissible. The City standards did not allow an increase in floodway height or velocity. To compensate for that, they had to mitigate for that. Mitigation could be in multiple forms and could be acquiring an additional property that was not currently in the flood plain and excavating it out to create replacement storage. They could also dig a hole on the site, and that would be a 70,000 cubic yards of material they had to excavate to mitigate for that area that they were creating a rise, even though they were putting fill in the flood plain area. The valley channel was very wide so it was not a direct 1 to 1 increase. They did that within the model and had a plan for where that excavation was best fit to cause no increase in the flood plain elevation.
Commissioner Amyx said at the existing site, did they have the same type of issues.
Orth said they had the same type of issues on the Kansas River site on 8th Street was very low and that site was brought up 10 feet, which was the base elevation they were talking about bringing up the existing site. It was hard to fathom that because now in present time they thought of that as an existing structure, but over the course of time it used to be a low land also in the Kansas River Flood Plain. It was all brought up to match in the superstructure of the facility.
Commissioner Amyx said he appreciated the comments and concerns made. He said they heard over and over again from the City Manager that the main goal was to be good neighbors and to make sure that everything they did that was in the forefront in the discussions they had with their new neighbors was that it was important to follow the rules and protect the landowners property at the same time they were protecting their investment. He thought as this process began a long time ago, they had the opportunity to get into the site selection and be involved with a number of things as they all had. He heard the Mayor say this was probably the largest, single improvement that they would ever vote on as elected officials, and he believed that was true. As they looked to the future, the Lawrence community and a lot of the same questions that were brought up at the time the current plant they had, there were a lot concerns then about whether or not to build the facility, but they prepared for the future. That was what this was about and at the same time, they took some of the burden off the current infrastructure. He thought they had done that and with the help of the County Commission and recognizing a number of things that needed to protect against the new neighbors they have, the work the staff was doing, to make sure that it was carried out was extremely important. He thought they would have a good project that they could all feel good about for years to come.
Mayor Hack said Commissioner Amyx was correct in that they needed to look at the future and it was something they needed to be aware of and they had to plan for. She also thought they tried to do a very good job at looking at the past, looking at the current facility and what arrangements were made in that particular facility to take care of the same issues that they were talking about. She thought that there had been a number of hours of the time it had taken to get to this point. Between the work of Black and Veatch, Bartlett & West and the work of staff it had been a tremendous amount of time and not one decision had been taken lightly or been made without extensive research to get to that point. She was very confident that where this was located and the process that got them to this point had been fair and transparent. She knew it would not make Ms. Green happy, but did believe they addressed a lot of the issues.
Moved by Dever, seconded by Amyx, to place on first reading Ordinance No. 8181, annexing (A-04-02-07) approximately 536.88 acres, located at North 1175 Road and East 1600 Road. Motion carried unanimously. (14)
Moved by Dever, seconded by Amyx, to concur with the Planning Commission’s recommendations to approve the Preliminary Plat (PP-04-04-07) for the City of Lawrence Water Reclamation Facility, approximately 536.88 acres, located at North 1175 Road and East 1600 Road; and accept the dedication of easements and rights-of-way subject to the following conditions:
1) Submittal of a revised preliminary plat with the following changes:
a. All roads labeled with existing right-of-way and right-of-way being dedicated with this plat shown. 15’ of right of way must be dedicated for N 1175 Road (7’ must be dedicated for the 500’ section of the road located 500’ to the east of E 1550 Road and an additional 2’ of right-of-way for E 1600 Road.
b. Utility easements must be shown on the plan or a note must be added to the plan stating that the location of the easements will be determined during the design phase of the project and the easements will be shown on the final plat for recording or will be recorded via separate instrument and shown on the site plan.
c. Topography must be shown on the plan with contour lines at an interval not greater than 5’ based on an actual field survey performed within the last 12 months and tied to the vertical control benchmarks included with the description.
d. Areas designated floodplain or floodway must be shown and labeled on the plat along with surface elevation of the regulatory flood.
e. The location and direction of flow of existing water courses must be shown and labeled Wakarusa River or Coal Creek. The waterways must be distinguished graphically from the property line.
f. Each zoning category must be delineated with acreage.
g. Boundaries of significant stands of mature trees must be shown. The wooded corridor along the Wakarusa River and Coal Creek must be shown on the plat, with dimension, as well as the stand of trees in the southeast portion of the property. If any of these features are to be removed, please note on the plat.
h. Statement on the face of the plat noting the method to be used for financing public improvements in the subdivision and providing references to statutes, covenants or other sources for further information on the details of such financing.
i. Note on the plat stating that the minimum maintenance designation will be reversed for the portions of N 1175 and E 1600 which are not being vacated if they are to be utilized for access.
2) Public improvement plans for the extension of utilities must be submitted prior to the recording of the final plat.
Motion carried unanimously. (15)
Moved by Chestnut, seconded by Amyx, to approve rezoning, Z-04-04-07, and adopt on first reading, Ordinance No. 8182, an ordinance providing for the rezoning (Z-04-04-07) of approximately 536.88 acres from A (Agriculture) and V-C (Valley Channel) to GPI (General Public and Institutional), subject to the following condition :
1) Recording of a final plat prior to publication of the rezoning ordinance.
Motion carried unanimously. (16)
Moved by Chestnut, seconded by Amyx, to place on first reading Ordinance No. 8183, providing for a Special Use Permit (SUP-04-04-07) for the City of Lawrence Water Reclamation Facility, located at North 1175 Road and East 1600 Road. Motion carried unanimously. (17)
PUBLIC COMMENT
Margaret Stevens, on behalf of the Haskell Student Body, said they wanted to present their proclamation which was denied on the agenda. First, she wanted to say a few words regarding the history and controversy with Christopher Columbus and his so called discovery of America. There were three issues that arose with this very statement, Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America. First off, the name Christopher Columbus was not the name of the man who came to what was now Haiti and the Dominican Republic as well as the Bahamas. This man was Cristobal Colon. That was the first controversy. Second, the word America did not surface in Cristobal Colon’s lifetime. Last, and perhaps the most controversial issue, was the word discovery. Columbus was not on a mission to discover a new world or new lands, he was given permission by the king and queen of Spain with signed documentation to search for spices and herbs. Instead, he discovered a land to what he referred to as a paradise. The Tano Indian was what he first came in contact with. From these Indians, Colon acquired many skills such as housing, which was hurricane proof, and agriculture which was hurricane proof. There were other skills acquired. Colon also saw the Indians as savages who should be converted to Christianity. Because the Native American people lived off the land back in 1492, they lived with nature, they were seen as savages.
They understood that Christopher Columbus came in 15th Century in Europe when there was famine, plague, and violence was at an all time high. They understood he came to the New World, the paradise, with this culture that was instilled in him. They understood also that Christopher Columbus came to this land and saw the land as an opportunity to make a better world for his people. In doing so, he committed one of the most horrific acts of genocide in history. They believed that this was a terrible part of history and was not taught in the education system. They believed honoring this man was for lack of a better word a slap in the face to Native Americans. They did not want to come across as negative, but this man committed one of the most horrific acts of genocide in history and they honored this man on Columbus Day, October 8th every year.
Willow Bonga, a Haskell Indian Nations University student, said she was not into all of this when she first got here. When she first saw the Columbus Day protest she did not really understand it. It was not until she entered into the American Indian Studies Program and really learned about the history of the discovery, which was called the Discovery Era, but it was an encounter era because discovery defines it as one person discovering this world. It was an Encounter Era, an encounter period of native people meeting the colonists. There were two parties involved in that. By celebrating Columbus Day, they were only celebrating the one side. By creating and changing it to an Indigenous People’s Day, they would then be able to celebrate both sides. They would be able to open up the community. She said for Columbus Day some federally employed workers get the day off, but in general the students go over the myth of what happened when Christopher Columbus got to America. She said it would be more important to look at the indigenous people as the people that he did encounter and celebrate their lives instead of celebrating their genocide, which would dispel the negativity and transform into something much better. It would be a learning experience for the entire community. They talked about opening up work shops and allowing the community to come see them. They could work in conjunction with the public school systems, having their students educate the Lawrence Public School system about the realities of what happened, as opposed to prolonging the myths that did not need to exist anymore. She believed it could be something positive under the community and for Haskell and was something they would be working for and striving towards.
Shereena Baker, on behalf of Haskell Indian Nation University, thanked the City Commission for giving them the opportunity to speak in front of them. She said she was the Community Activities Association representative for American Indians Studies program. The American Indian Studies Club was sponsoring the representatives for Haskell or Indigenous People around the community. They would like to support the change of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. Haskell Indian Nations University originated as an institution designed to assimilate Indian people into mainstream American society. Haskell Indian Nation University’s current mission statement is to promote an Indian nation sovereignty and cultural preservation. Students currently enrolled at the Haskell Indian Nation University represented approximately 140 Indian Nations with formal recognition by the United States Government. As a result of the history of American continents, beginning with Christopher Columbus and the implementation of the Doctrine of the Discovery, Indian Nations have been subjected to colonization and continued threats to their political and cultural sustainability. In 1992 the City of Lawrence declared the Federal Columbus Day to be American/Indian Day that year. The City Commission’s declaration for a celebration of the Indigenous People’s Day rather than Columbus Day, represented a respect of the Indigenous People and the appreciation of their contributions and sacrifices. It offered the opportunity for their future and mutual respect, collaboration and promotion of the environmental, political, and social justice. The American Indian Studies Club was a student organization at Haskell for itself and on behalf of Haskell student body. On October 8th, 2007 they wanted to take action, but wanted to start today and for however long it would take to turn Columbus Day into Indigenous People’s Day. She knew there was South Dakota that had an Ingenious People’s Day, Alabama recognized Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day and also Hawaii.
She said the students of Haskell Indian Nation University through the American Indian Studies Club, hereby pronounces its request, support and appreciation of the Lawrence City Council’s Declaration to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day.
Mayor Hack said she appreciated the speakers being present and considered them very fortunate to listen to three such eloquent young ladies who lived in their community. They appreciated the courage that it took to come and do this because even though they were a friendly bunch, it was intimidating to come and speak. She knew the passion they had in their hearts for this was very strong. The things they pointed out in the proclamation that they thought the City Commission would look at as negative; in her estimation was not at all the concern. She thought they were exactly right. Having taught American history and government, she knew that what they have said was certainly true. For Haskell it was true and for Indigenous people throughout the United States it was true. The policy and what they have done as a City Commission was not use proclamations to do a political stand, something they would ask the state to change. It was not in their practice to do that, and the other proclamations were typically what they did. It did not mean that they did not take very seriously their conversation and comment. She encouraged them to visit with the legislators that represent this area. They had wonderful representatives at the federal and state level, and strongly encouraged them to meet with the representatives and present the same case in the same eloquent matter they did to the City Commission.
Commissioner Highberger said he would prefer to see them make the proclamation. He thought the points made were really good. Haskell Indian Nations University was such an important part of this community, he thought it would be a matter of basic respect that they do something like this. He said although it seemed negative and like a political statement, he thought the history of what happened to the native peoples of this country for the 500 years and more after Columbus or whoever came here, that story did not get told well enough. He knew how some of them in Lawrence would feel if someone was celebrating Quantrill’s day. He said he wished they would be able to grant this proclamation.
Stevens said on October 6, 1992, Mayor Bob Schulte proclaimed Columbus Day as American Indian Day at the Lawrence City Commission meeting.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
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10/18/07 Thursday meeting
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11/20/07 |
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TBD |
· Staff reports on Sales tax options, Intangibles Tax and Impact Fees · Revised Federal Legislative Statement (in anticipation of delegation visit to federal legislators in October) · State Legislative Statement · Downtown Redevelopment Issues (public procedures and financing options) · Review of plans for Stoneridge/West 6th Street watertower · Contracts for the development of maximum prices for the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility and for the conveyance system construction
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COMMISSION ITEMS:
Moved by Highberger, seconded by Amyx, to adjourn at 8:30 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
_____________________________
Mike Amyx, Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
1. Surplus Equipment – Gove Deals
2. Change Order – Alvamar Sanitary Sewer.
3. Engineering Service Agreement – Burns & McDonnell/BG Consultants $355,000 for Pump Station No. 5.
4. Bid – N Iowa Sanitary Sewer Relocation to Nowak Construction for $70,281.40.
5. Ordinance No. 8136 – 2nd Read, max assessment Stoneridge south.
6. Ordinance No. 8180 – 2nd Read, Chapter 5, amending existing sections & articles.
7. Ordinance No. 8055 – 2nd Read, Adopt International Fire Code, 2006 Edition.
8. Ordinance No. 8159 – 2nd Read, Special Use Permit (SP-07-06-07) KU Boathouse, Burcham Park.
9. Ordinance No. 8160 – 2nd Read, City/County Horizon 2020, Chapter 14.
10. Ordinance No. 8097 – 2nd Read, City/County Horizon 2020, Chapter 7.
11. Memo of Understanding –Douglas County Senior Services, “Safe Winter Sidewalks.”
12. City Manager’s Report.
13. Public Hearing – 1230 New York dilapidated structure.
14. Ordinance No. 8181 – 1st Read, annex (A-04-02-07) 536.88 acres, N 1175 Rd & E 1600 Rd.
15. Preliminary Plat – (PP-04-04-07) Water Reclamation Facility, 536.88 acres, N 1175 Rd & E 1600 Rd.
16. Ordinance No. 8182 – 1st Read, rezone (Z-04-04-07) approx 536.88 acres from A (Agriculture) & V-C (Valley Channel) to GPI (General Public and Institutional)..
17. Ordinance No. 8183- 1st Read, Special Use Permit (SUP-04-04-07) N 1175 Rd & E 1600 Rd.