Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	Lawrence City Commission David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Amy Miller, Long-Range Planner
CC:	Scott McCullough, Planning and Development Services Director Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
Date:	June 10, 2008
RE:	CPA-2004-02; Comprehensive Plan Amendment to Horizon 2020, Chapter 7: Industrial and Employment Related Land Use.

This amendment is for consideration of a comprehensive plan amendment (CPA) to Horizon 2020, Chapter 7: Industrial and Employment Related Land Use. A previous version of this amendment was before the City Commission (Approved 3-2) and the Board of County Commissioners (Denied 2-1) in the Fall of 2007. The majority of the Commission members had concerns that the overall plan was not flexible enough to provide for other industrial or employment related land uses in locations outside of those identified on Map 7-2 in the draft chapter. In addition, the Commission also discussed if sites should be allowed in the unincorporated portions of Douglas County, outside of the UGA, and what criteria, if any, those sites would need to follow. The Commission members also expressed concern that the language of the overall chapter needed to be revised to be more positive. The revised chapter that is on the agenda for consideration reflects those concerns. The chapter has been revised to be more flexible and positive in meeting the Commission’s goals of encouraging industrial growth.

The associated staff report includes a more detailed history of the comprehensive plan amendment. This memo serves as an update to that staff report by providing the findings of the Planning Commission at their May 21, 2008 meeting where the CPA was approved, with changes. (Item #11, approved 7-2)

The changes recommended by the Planning Commission are as follows and have been changed in the “PC Approved Draft” that is included as part of the City Commission agenda:

1. Page 7-8: Reword Existing 2nd to last Paragraph on the page as follows: “The preservation of high-quality agricultural land, which has been recognized as a finite resource that is important to the regional economy, is of important value to this community.High-quality agricultural land is generally defined as available land that has good soil quality and produces high yields of crops. Within Douglas County these are capability class (non-irrigated) 1 and 2 as identified by the National Resources Conservation Service.”

2. Page 7-14: Remove Item 1.e under Policy 2.1:

i. “e. be located outside prime agricultural farmland as defined by United States Department of Agriculture.”

3. Union Pacific Railroad Corridor, on page 7-4, final sentence in that paragraph change to ‘When the industrial usage of a particular property ceases and is no longer practical, it is recommended those properties be converted to residential and/or neighborhood commercial uses’.

4. In the general locational criteria, on page 7-4 and page 7-14, under Policy 2.1, change the term ‘proximity’ to ‘feasible access’ with respect to transportation networks.

5. In the airport paragraph, on page 7-6, the language in the final two sentences in paragraph one, involving ‘as this area evolves into community gateway….’ Make that applicable to all properties. (This was added as an overall strategy on p. 7-2)

6. Replace the last sentence of the I-70 and K-10 paragraph on p. 7-7 with the following sentence taken from the last sentence in the paragraph under the K-10 and Highway 40 section on p. 7-7: ‘Over time, as this area develops, it will serve as a gateway to the City of Lawrence and would best be suited for Warehouse and Distribution uses, Industrial uses, Work-live Campus type centers and Industrial/Business/Research parks.’

Minutes from the May 21, 2008 Planning Commission meeting will not be available until June 9, 2008, however the audio recording from that meeting is available on the Planning Department’s website.

Recommendation:

Approve CPA-2004-02, amending Horizon 2020, Chapter 7, and adopt on first reading Ordinance 8283, if appropriate.