Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Scott McCullough, Director
CC:	Cynthia Wagner, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
Date:	For the January 25 City Commission Meeting
RE:	Boarding House Text Amendment – TA-6-17-09

On February 2, 2010 the City Commission considered the Planning Commission’s (PC) December 16, 2009 recommendation and voted 4-1 to return the text amendment to the Planning Commission for further study on the following matters.

Simplify the standard related to limiting building additions to 20% of the existing structure.
Review the parking standard and consider a standard that requires 1 space per bedroom with variances possible when larger structures are converted to boarding houses.
Discuss the processing issue of permitting boarding houses as a “permitted use” or a “special use.”

The Planning Commission considered the direction in five subsequent meetings and voted 8-1 to recommend amended language to the City Commission. By doing so, the PC effectively addressed all of the City Commission’s statements noted above.

Two issues arose during the last PC meeting. The first is related to defining the expansion of a congregate living use. Language that restricts expansion of a structure is found in new Section 20-546. The PC recommended language is:

a. At the time of its conversion to the Congregate Living use and for the life of a Congregate Living use upon its establishment, a Structure containing a Congregate Living use shall not be enlarged greater than 20% of its existing building footprint, measured at grade and including covered (roofed) decks, patios, and porches.

b. A site plan for a Congregate Living use is not eligible for approval if the building footprint, measured at grade and including covered (roofed) decks, patios, and porches, of an existing Structure proposed to contain the use has been expanded greater than 20% within three years of submitting the site plan application for the Congregate Living use.

Public comment at the PC identified a question of whether the structure could expand no more than 20% of the existing building footprint or whether the footprint was limited in its expansion to no more than 20% of the existing footprint. The two calculations yield vastly different products in that allowing the footprint to expand and maintaining the ability to go vertical with expansion would yield more building expansion than allowing only 20% of the existing building footprint. Staff drafted the language, and the PC agreed, with an expansion of the footprint in mind, and the allowance of the ability to build up, and so has taken the liberty to clarify this section of the proposal to reduce confusion in the future. This clarifies the PC’s recommended language. The new language would read:

a. At the time of its conversion to the Congregate Living use and for the life of a Congregate Living use upon its establishment, a the building footprint of a Structure containing a Congregate Living use shall not be enlarged greater than 20% of its existing building footprint, measured at grade and including covered (roofed) decks, patios, and porches.

The other issue that the PC directed staff to clarify for the City Commission’s consideration is related to accessible parking. As the staff memo to the PC noted, staff interprets the building code and Fair Housing Act to require accessibility for the congregate living use, unless the project qualifies for an exemption. The attached memo from the Building Safety Division outlines the code provisions that lead staff to this determination. In this sense, congregate living uses are no different than any other use in that certain basic site planning elements should be present – room for trash, parking and accessible routes and parking.

Action requested: Adopt ordinance number 8606, if appropriate.