PC Minutes 11/28/07 DRAFT

ITEM NO. 10:     SOUTHEAST AREA PLAN (MJL)

Consider approval the Southeast Area Plan.

ITEM NO. 11:     CPA-2007-4 (MJL)

CPA-2007-4: Consider amending Horizon 2020, Chapter 14 Specific Plans, to add a reference to the Southeast Area Plan and authorize the Chair/Vice-Chair to sign PC Resolution 2007-06.

STAFF PRESENTATION

Ms. Michelle Leininger presented items 10 and 11 together. She showed future land use map.

Commissioner Eichhorn asked how many acres were for industrial land uses.

Ms. Leininger said they typically do not put acres in future land uses.

Commissioner Eichhorn would rather see acreages of industrial. If we do not define something as industrial it is going to get moved to residential at some point. He said they needed to define industrial space so that they can move forward with an economic plan. He felt they should define at the best of their ability instead of a blob map.

Commissioner Harris asked if this plan conform with the Parks Plan.

Ms. Leininger replied, yes.

Commissioner Harris asked if it had a ¼ mile radius.

Ms. Leininger did not know if the Parks Plan went into that much detail. Some of the detail would be determined at the development review stage so that Open Space could be flexible.

Mr. McCullough said those were typically Site Plan and Plat issues. He thought that the Parks & Recreation Department was heavily involved with this plan but they have not included all the goals of the Park Master Plan. He stated the map was not really a blob map and that roads identified shows where designations stop and start.

Commissioner Harris mentioned T2025 versus T2030 and wondered why it was not done with this plan as well.

Ms. Leininger said it was in the policy section. T2025 was a reference because it was the current transportation plan.

Commissioner Moore would like to see these as concept plans. If land is designated for a park then the City should be prepared to buy it.

Commissioner Hird asked how the sizes were determined for the amount of space for Community

Commercial and Neighborhood Commercial.

Ms. Leininger said that Community Commercial had things like retail and services that would be community wide, Neighborhood Commercial would be more oriented toward the surrounding neighbors. These designations were described in Horizon 2020.

Commissioner Hird asked if the Planning Department had done a comprehensive look at what was available for Industrial use in Lawrence.

Ms. Leininger replied that the Chamber of Commerce had done some studies on that.

Commissioner Blaser asked if this was the area that had always been planned for Industrial use.

Ms. Leininger said that it had previously been larger and that along K-10 had been designated as Industrial.

Commissioner Blaser felt that Industrial areas were great because they increased the City’s tax base.

PUBLIC HEARING ON ITEMS 10 AND 11

Ms. Karen Heeb, property owner south of N 1300 Road, was concerned about N 1300 Road being an arterial road. She thought that moving the road north would be viable. She was concerned about the 150’ R-O-W.

Commissioner Finkeldei asked if there were any thoughts of taking the road south of homes, closer to the SLT.

Ms. Heeb did not know since that had not been discussed. She did not know what would come of the SLT so she was not sure if it would be appropriate to have two roads so close together.

Commissioner Finkeldei said one of the plans was to have the two roads close together.

Ms. Heeb said that during the T2030 meeting it was mentioned as one alternative.

Commissioner Moore inquired about the distance from the center line of the road.

Commissioner Finkeldei said that it may not be the center R-O-W.

Mr. Steve Glass, property owner in the area since 1990, and was frustrated by the process. He wanted the governing bodies to approve something so that the neighborhood could move forward. He felt that in general there was support from the neighbors. He stated that the existing road was pretty close to existing center of R-O-W. He said that there was probably not much that would keep the road from being moved to the north. He stated that a sizeable percentage of the identified industrial area was already zoned as industrial. He went on to say that there were some terrain issues where the land abuts K-10, so he did not think there should be concern about industrial being changed to residential.

Commissioner Lawson asked if there should be additional commercial in the area.

Mr. Glass felt that the west side of Franklin would be a better potential area for commercial. He did not feel that there was a need for more commercial areas.

Mr. John Moore, 1900 Road, said he had been a victim of rezoning. He felt it was hard to live in a community where residential would be rezoned into industrial and that it did not give him confidence in government.

Commissioner Harris asked about the principal arterial and how 9 houses on 1300 Road would work with more entrances then allowed on that road.

Mr. McCullough said it was based on the adopted T2025 designations and based on assumptions of future development to urban densities. He read Transportation Policies from the Staff Report.

Commissioner Blaser felt they should consider additional industrial use east of E 1700 Road because he did not think low density housing would fit in the area.

Commissioner Eichhorn had heard the city is looking at purchasing the old Farmland site over the years. The Parks Department already owned the identified park site that land so they did not want to relinquish that and try to repurchase.

Commissioner Blaser said the land certainly could be industrial but he was not sure if the Farmland site would be enough industrial.

Commissioner Eichhorn felt this was a good compromise.

Commissioner Harkins made note of the fact that it was a calm Planning Commission meeting and very few people in attendance. The public had had a lot of input over many years and they had accepted this. He was concerned the public might lose confidence in the process if they made a major change in it at this time, since this had been negotiated with them over the years. He was sympathetic of the need to designate more industrial but thought they should stick with what the neighborhood had been presented with.

Commissioner Moore agreed with the topography not being great. He also agreed with Commissioner Harkins and did not feel it was feasible to develop the eastern side of 1300 Road.

Commissioner Harris inquired about principal arterials having higher density land uses around them.

Ms. Leininger said south of N 1300 Road they were trying to protect the existing neighborhood acreage and large lot homes as they exist. The goal was to have higher density toward the center so traffic would not have to filter south through the development. Also it would give transition to the floodplain.

ACTION TAKEN ON ITEM NO. 10

Motioned by Commissioner Lawson, seconded by Commissioner Hird, to approve the Southeast Area Plan and forward to City and County Commissions with a recommendation for approval.

Commissioner Moore asked if Mr. McCullough thought the policy mentioned addressed Ms. Heeb’s concerns.

Mr. McCullough said there was a degree of how far they could go without getting into options of alignment. He did not think the sector plan should do that at this time and that they are not trying to box future administrations into one specific thing.

Unanimously approved 9-0.

Motioned by Commissioner Finkeldei, seconded by Commissioner Moore, to initiate comprehensive plan amendments identified in the implementation section of the plan as numbers 2-4, amendments to Horizon 2020, Chapter 6, for future public hearing.

Unanimously approved 9-0.

Commissioner Harkins asked if there were any other sector plans that needed to be brought up to date.

Ms. Leininger said the Northwest Plan was on the list to be updated.

Mr. McCullough said that the Northwest Plan was not activity being updating yet but that it was on the list of things to tackle in the next year.

ACTION TAKEN ON ITEM NO. 11

Motioned by Commissioner Finkeldei, seconded by Commissioner Harris, to approve the comprehensive plan amendment to Horizon 2020, Chapter 14, Specific Plans, adding the reference to the Southeast Area Plan and recommends forwarding this comprehensive plan amendment to the Lawrence City Commission and the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners with a recommendation for approval and authorize the Chair/Vice-Chair to sign PC Resolution 2007-07

Unanimously approved 9-0.