Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Legal Services Department

 

TO: 

David Corliss, City Manager

Toni Ramirez Wheeler, Director of Legal  Services

 

FROM:

John Jay Miller, Staff Attorney

 

CC:

Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager

Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager

 

Date:

February 12, 2008

 

RE:

Ordinance Establishing the Oread Redevelopment District

 

 

On January 8, 2008, the City Commission adopted Resolution 6749 establishing February 12, 2008 as the public hearing date regarding the establishment of the Oread Redevelopment District (the “Redevelopment District”).  To establish the Redevelopment District the City Commission must conduct a public hearing on the creation of the Redevelopment District, make findings that the a specific area within the City meets the requirements of K.S.A. 12-1770 et seq., (the “Act”) and adopt an ordinance creating the District.

 

The Act requires the City Commission to make a finding that the Redevelopment District is a “conservation area” and therefore is an “eligible area” as the term is defined in the Act for being designated as a Redevelopment District and that the redevelopment of the area is necessary to promote the general and economic welfare of the City.  

 

To qualify as a “conservation area” the City Commission must find:

(a)      the Redevelopment District comprises less than 15% of the land area of the City;

(b)      50% or more of the structures in the Redevelopment District are at least 35 years old; and

(c)      the Redevelopment District is not yet blighted, but may become blighted due to the existence of at least 2 of the factors outlined in the Act.  City staff believes that the following conditions exist within the Redevelopment District: (i) the existence of dilapidated and deteriorated structures, (ii) the presence of structures below minimum code standards and (iii) inadequate utilities and infrastructure.

 

(a) The Redevelopment District comprises less than 15% of the land area of the City.

The property in the Redevelopment District is approximately 8.51 acres.  The main body of the City is approximately 19,733 acres.  The Redevelopment District is approximately four ten thousandths of the land area of the City (.0004) and therefore comprises less than 15% of the land area of the City.

 

(b) 50% or more of the structures in the Redevelopment District are at least 35 years old.

The Redevelopment District is comprised of nine properties.  One property is a vacant lot with no structures.  Of the remaining eight properties with structures, five structures are greater than thirty-five years old and three of the structures are less than thirty-five years old.  Therefore, sixty-two and a half percent (.625) of the structures in the Redevelopment District are at least thirty-five years old.

 

(c) The Redevelopment District is not yet blighted, but may become blighted due to: (i) the existence of dilapidated and deteriorated structures, (ii) the presence of structures below minimum code standards and (iii) inadequate utilities and infrastructure.

Planning and Development Services staff has inspected the property in the Redevelopment District and provided photographs for your review.  Staff’s interpretation is that deterioration and dilapidation exists for structures in the Redevelopment District.  Many of the structures exhibit signs of physical damage, neglect, lack of maintenance, excessive use or weathering.  Staff’s inspection revealed evidence of multiple structures with broken windows, a building damaged by a vehicle collision, and unauthorized people entering and remaining in the vacant structures.  This issue remains an ongoing concern and doors have been screwed shut and windows boarded to prevent illegal entry into the property and to cover damaged windows.

 

The structures in the proposed Redevelopment District do not meet minimum code standards.  Development Services reported that several of the structures are below both interior and exterior code standards as determined by the 2006 International Property Maintenance Code.  Specifically, for the property at the location of the proposed hotel, staff reported substandard roofs, flood damage from broken pipes, broken plumbing fixtures, the presence of mold within structures, unstable stairs and handrails, and the presence of raw sewage.

 

There is evidence of inadequate utilities and infrastructure for the property in the proposed Redevelopment District.  A portion of the property within the Redevelopment District is requesting to be rezoned from CN1 (Inner Neighborhood Commercial District) and RM32 (Multi-Dwelling Residential) to a PCD (Planned Commercial Development District).  The proposed rezoning will result in the property having a more intensive land use.  The current infrastructure is inadequate to support the more intensive land use and requires upgrading. 

 

Constructed in 1922, the six-inch water line along Oread Avenue does not meet the City’s current standards for distribution system piping and needs to be upgraded to a twelve-inch line to serve the proposed development.  The water line along 12th street is an eight-inch line and needs to be enlarged for the fire line needed at the proposed hotel site.  The current sanitary sewer line serving property in the proposed Redevelopment District was installed in 1935 and is made of clay.  The pipe material is seventy years old and degrading.  There is a need to rehabilitate the sewer line in the Redevelopment District from 12th Street to 9th street.  The sewer line at the intersection of 11th and Indiana Street requires the installation of a manhole to meet current design standards and to comply with Kansas Department of Health and Environment requirements.  Neither the water lines nor sewer lines are built to today’s design standards with regard to access for operation and maintenance. 

 

The current streets are inadequate and need upgrading.  Many of the streets are below the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) standard.  12th Street has a PCI rating that ranges from 29 to 32.  That rating indicates that the street needs to be reconstructed.  Indiana has a PCI of 48 that indicates street repairs are needed.  Oread Avenue has a PCI of 39 and will need to be rebuilt as part of the hotel project.  Beyond the PCI indicators the current street alignments also present traffic control challenges because of the predominate flow of traffic north and south along Oread Avenue and Indiana Street between the University and 9th Street and the sight visibility issues with the 12th and Oread Avenue intersection. Rezoning the property to a more intensive land use exacerbates the utility and infrastructure challenges.

 

The facts support a finding by the Governing Body that the Redevelopment District is not yet blighted, but may become blighted due to: (i) the existence of dilapidated and deteriorated structures, (ii) the presence of structures below minimum code standards and (iii) inadequate utilities and infrastructure.

 

 

Action Requested: Following the public hearing, staff recommends that the Governing Body adopt Ordinance 8232 establishing the Oread Redevelopment District. By adopting the ordinance the Governing Body finds the following:

 

(1) That the property in the Redevelopment District is a “conservation area” as defined by the “Act” and is therefore an eligible area for being designated as Redevelopment District pursuant to the Act.; and  

 

(2) That the conservation, development or redevelopment of the Redevelopment District is necessary to promote the  general and economic welfare of the City.