PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT
Regular Agenda – Action Item
PC Staff Report
4/23/08
ITEM NO. 11: COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT TO
HORIZON 2020; CHAPTER
6 (DDW)
CPA-2007-02:
Hold public hearing on Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA) to Horizon
2020, Chapter 6 --- to address mixed
use development. This item was initiated
by the Planning Commission at their June 27, 2007, meeting.
|
STAFF
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff
recommends approval of this comprehensive plan amendment to Horizon 2020 by amending Chapter 6 to
add policy language in support of a mixed use district in the Land
Development Code and recommends forwarding this comprehensive plan amendment
to the Lawrence City Commission and the Douglas County Board of |
CPA-2007-2: An amendment to Horizon 2020 to include a classification of
mixed-use development areas in Chapter 6 Commercial Land Use. This amendment was
initiated by the Planning Commission at their June 27, 2007 regular meeting. Subsequently, the Planning Commission has
reviewed drafts of CPA-2007-2 at meetings on July 27, 2007, November 28, 2007,
and February 27, 2008.
STAFF REVIEW
Included as part of this staff report is the proposed
amendment to Chapter 6 (Commercial Land Use).
This amendment is to be located in Chapter 6 in the Commercial Center
Categories between the Mixed-Use Redevelopment Center (pg 6-6) and the
The draft has been changed since the last Planning Commission
review on February 27th, 2008. Bold
language is proposed language added since February 27th.
This item, along with Item 12 which proposes the creation
of a mixed-use zoning district, are action items.
A. Does
the proposed amendment result from changed circumstances or unforeseen
conditions not understood or addressed at the time the Plan was adopted?
The proposed amendment is a result of the changing
circumstances that have occurred since the comprehensive plan was first
written. At the time Horizon 2020 was written, it relied on
the suburban node model for new commercial development and did not contemplate
mixed-use development and redevelopment.
The proposed text amendment identifies the potential for new development
and redevelopment of suitable sites into mixed use districts. This type of development does not fit into
any of the current commercial center categories.
B. Does
the proposed amendment advance a clear public purpose and is it consistent with
the long-range goals and policies of the plan?
The proposed amendment is an advancement of a clear public
purpose and is consistent with the long-range planning goals and policies of
the community. The proposed amendment
helps further the goals and policies for commercial land use while staying
consistent with the overall intent of Horizon
2020 and the goals and policies relating to residential land use, economic
development, parks and recreation, and the various other components of the
comprehensive plan.
C. Is the
proposed amendment a result of a clear change in public policy?
As the City of
PROFESSIONAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Description inserted
in Horizon 2020 Text, shown in italics:
In order
to facilitate the orderly development of future commercial nodes,
If a nodal plan had not been
created by the city, the need to create a nodal plan for a specific
intersection shall be “triggered” by the first development request (rezoning,
plat, preliminary development plan, etc.) submitted to the Planning Department
for any portion of the node. The creation
of the nodal plan may involve input from landowners within the nodal area,
adjoining neighborhoods and property owners, and appropriate local and state
entities. The appropriate governing body
(City or
■ Mixed-Use
The City of
Mixed-use redevelopment centers shall include a mix of uses
designed to maintain the character of the surrounding neighborhood, achieve
integration with adjacent land uses, and be no larger than six acres in size.
As such, retail uses within mixed-use redevelopment centers shall not exceed
25% of the net floor area within the subject area, and a single retail shop or
tenant shall not occupy more than 16,000 square feet of a ground-floor level,
net floor area. Neighborhood integration shall also be accomplished by
providing transitions through alleyways and use and landscaping buffers, and by
ensuring existing structures are incorporated into the new center where
possible. New development shall respect the general spacing, mass, scale, and
street frontage relationships of existing structures and surrounding
neighborhoods. The City’s Historic
Resources Administrator shall be contacted if it is likely that historic
structures exist within or near the project area.
Centers shall provide multi-modal services, allowing
bicycle, pedestrian, vehicular, and, if available, transit options. Pedestrians
should be able to navigate the site safely and efficiently, and travel to and
from the site with ease. Pedestrian-scaled street furnishings, plantings, and
gathering places shall be utilized to allow for social activity in public
places. Bicycle parking shall be provided when required by the Zoning
Regulations, and transit services shall be incorporated into the design where
necessary.
■ Mixed-Use Districts
The City of
Mixed-use districts
shall include a mix of uses designed to maintain the character of the
surrounding neighborhood, achieve integration with adjacent land uses, and be
no larger than 20 acres in size. Neighborhood
integration may also be accomplished by providing transitions through alleyways,
variation among development intensity, implementation of landscaping buffers, or by ensuring existing structures are
incorporated into the development where possible. New development shall respect
the general spacing, mass, scale, and street frontage relationships of existing
structures and surrounding neighborhoods.
The City’s Historic Resources Administrator shall be included in the
review process if it is likely that historic structures exist within or near
the project area.
Mixed use districts
shall provide multi-modal services, allowing bicycle, pedestrian, vehicular,
and transit options. Pedestrians should be able to navigate the site safely and
efficiently, and travel to and from the site with ease. Pedestrian-scaled
street furnishings, plantings, and public spaces shall be planned to be utilized
to allow for social activity. Bicycle parking shall be provided when required
by the Zoning Regulations, and transit services shall be incorporated into the
design where necessary.
■ Inner-Neighborhood Commercial Centers
A subcategory of this section is
Inner-Neighborhood Commercial Centers.
Typically, this is an existing commercial area within an established
neighborhood. Existing Inner-Neighborhood
Commercial Centers are located at:
· Southeast corner of
· West side of the intersection of
· Intersection of
·
· E.
· Northeast corner of
·
Redevelopment of these existing
Inner-Neighborhood Commercial Centers should be facilitated through the use of
alternative development standards that allow for reductions in required
parking, open space, setbacks, lot dimensions and other requirements that make
it difficult to redevelop existing commercial areas
New Inner-Neighborhood Commercial Centers shall be allowed
in very unique situations, such as when Center is part of an overall planned
neighborhood development or can be easily integrated into an existing
neighborhood. Inner-Neighborhood
Commercial Centers are to be an amenity to the adjacent residents and serve
only the immediate neighborhood.
A new
New Inner-Neighborhood Commercial Centers shall be designed
as an integrated part of the surrounding neighborhood so that appearance of the
commercial area does not detract from the character of the neighborhood.
Description inserted
in Horizon 2020 Policy, shown in
italics:
Policy 3.10: Criteria
for Commercial Development in Unincorporated Areas
A. Existing commercial
areas that are located at the intersection of a hard surfaced County Route and
a state or federally designated highway should be allowed to expand if the
necessary infrastructure (water, road, approved wastewater treatment facility,
etc.) is available.
B. Encourage new
commercial development at key access points on major corridors only if served
by adequate infrastructure, community facilities and services.
C. The commercial gross square footage of a
development shall be limited to a total of 15,000 gross square feet.
D. The only new commercial area shall be
located at the intersection of either US-56 and K-33 or US-56 and
Policy
3.11: Require a Market Impact Analysis
A. Proposals to create any shopping district
that, when considering the entire node, will result in greater than 150,000
gross square feet of commercial building space shall include an independent
market analysis. Initial development proposals of 50,000 gross square feet or
less on any single corner are exempt from this market analysis requirement, but
will be limited to one exemption per corner of the intersection. The market analysis shall adhere to all of
the following criteria:
1. The
entity proposing the commercial project shall provide the funding of the study.
2. The
independent consultant that performs the market study shall be chosen by the city
and agreed upon by the entity submitting the proposal for the shopping center.
3. The
study shall analyze the commercial proposal and provide at least the following
information:
a. The overall viability of the proposal;
b. The validity of the proposal considering
any community retail vacancy, sales/square foot and square footage/capita data
as outlined in Policy 1.7;
c. How the proposal will impact existing
commercial development in the community;
d. How the mix and sizes of proposed uses of
the development will impact the viability of Downtown Lawrence;
e. A building phasing schedule based upon
the community’s ability to absorb the additional commercial square footage; and
f. Any other additional information
required by the Planning Commission.
B.
The
project shall not be approved if the market study indicates the commercial
project or any proposed phase cannot be absorbed into the community within
three years from the date of its estimated completion, or that it would result
in a community-wide retail vacancy rate of greater than eight percent.
Policy 3.12: Criteria for Mixed-Use Districts
A.
Encourage preservation of areas that are mixed use in nature, as well as
development and redevelopment of areas with vacant land, and or where existing structures are
underutilized, have experienced a high turnover rate, or have remained vacant
for an extended period of time.
B.
Mixed-Use Districts shall be no
larger than 20 acres in size.
C.
Mixed-Use Districts shall include a
mix of the following uses within the subject area and where possible, in
mixed-use structures:
a.
Residential;
b. Non-residential.
D.
Mixed-Use Districts shall maintain
the character of the surrounding neighborhoods by:
a.
Achieving integration with adjacent
land uses by providing transitions through alleyways, variation among
development intensity, and implementation
of landscape buffers;
b.
Incorporating existing structures
wherever possible;
c.
Maintaining general structure
spacing, massing, scale, and street frontage relationship when incorporating
new structures.
E.
Mixed-Use Districts shall provide
multi-modal services to include the following options:
a.
Pedestrian oriented public spaces, which shall include pedestrian-scaled street furnishings, and plantings;
b.
Bicycle, including bicycle parking;
c.
Vehicular; and
d. Transit.