Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Scott McCullough, Planning and Development Services Director Tammy Bennett, Assistant Director, Public Works
CC:	Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
Date:	May 23, 2008
RE:	Pilot Demonstration Project for Green Energy Gateway Fuel Station. Location:  9^th and Iowa Streets.

City staff has met with various stakeholders, including the property owner and KDHE, regarding a pilot demonstration project to exhibit green methods of development.  The project generally includes improving the privately owned fuel station located at the southeast corner of 9^th and Iowa Streets and the public right-of-way to the east of this site.  Improvements include adding solar panels and a wind turbine to the gas station canopy, converting a storage building into a drive-through coffee hut and constructing a green roof on that building, and constructing various structures in the right-of-way that will drain into a rain garden that will also be constructed in the right-of-way.

Additionally, staff understood that the applicants may be asking the city to aid in the site preparation and remove several trees from the site at the city’s cost.  The applicant has stated that funding may be limited for this project.

An opening day celebration is scheduled for June 30^th.  The applicant will be requesting to close the 9^th Street spur in order to set up special vendors and/or displays for that event.  The applicant plans to construct all of the improvements by this date.

While this project will highlight many environmentally important elements of living in today’s world, staff has identified the following issues with the project.

• Is this site conducive to developing a pedestrian-oriented use given the heavy vehicle uses of the area?
• Parking, pedestrian traffic, and vehicle traffic issues will need to be resolved.  Sidewalks do not exist at the property and crosswalks do not exist directly adjacent to the right-of-way site.  Additionally, sight distance at the intersection will need to be carefully considered.
• The site is challenged with various easements that will need to be considered by the appropriate agencies (Westar, AT&T, and the City).
• To meet the June 30^th opening day celebration, some elements of the project will need to be granted outside of the typical site plan process.

Procedurally, the improvements to the private fuel station property will require a site plan application and may require that the site come into full compliance with the city’s code, including possibly reducing the width of access points, adding sidewalks, adding landscaping, etc.  Variances may be needed to allow certain elements of the improvements to be constructed and the city will need to determine whether in this specific case the wind turbine and solar panels proposed for the gas island canopy count as mechanical equipment since such equipment is required by code to be fully screened from adjacent streets.

Improvements to the right-of-way will require an encroachment agreement and an accompanying site plan and should also include conditions related to providing sidewalks, landscaping, etc.

The opening day celebration will require a temporary use of right-of-way permit to close the street.

Staff seeks direction on whether to proceed in processing the applications, especially as they relate to granting permits to construct the improvements without site plan and other agency approvals in order to meet the June 30^th opening day date.