Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	Lawrence -Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission
FROM:	Katherine Simmons, Planner
Date:	February 11, 2016
RE:	Rezoning request (Z-15-00471) for 1021 E 31^st – IG to IL (Gun Range)

The rezoning request referenced above was submitted to the Planning Office in September, 2015. The Planning Commission considered the request at their November 16, 2015 meeting and voted 4-2-2 to forward this item to the City Commission with a recommendation for denial.

On January 12, 2016, the day the City Commission was to consider the rezoning application, the applicant submitted a site plan for a secondary location at 711 W. 23^rd St., the Malls Shopping Center.  This location is zoned CN2 (Neighborhood Commercial) District and does not require a zoning change to accommodate the proposed use, classified at Participant Sports, Indoor and Retail Sales.   The application is considered a minor site plan and falls under the administrative approval process.

The City Commission considered the request for rezoning at their January 12, 2016 meeting and voted unanimously to return the item to the Planning Commission for further consideration.   Specific direction for reconsideration of the rezoning at 1021 E. 31^st St given by the City Commission included two items:

1) A comparative analysis of a secondary site under consideration at 711 W. 23^rd St. with the site at 1021 E. 31^st being considered for rezoning.

2) Additional discussion regarding suitability of the proposed use at the proposed location upon rezoning and potential detrimental impact to the character of the neighborhood in the context of zoning/land use requirements.

The rezoning request has not been revised; therefore, the staff report that was submitted in November 2015 has been placed back on the agenda for reconsideration at the direction of the City Commission.  In addition, a draft administrative determination of the Minor Site Plan application for the location at 711 W. 23^rd Street and a comparative table of the two properties are included for discussion.

Comparative Table
	1021 E. 31^st Street	711 W. 23^rd St.
Site Characteristics:
Zoning	IG	CS
Use currently permitted?	No- requires change to IL	Yes
Planning Process	Rezoning:  Planning Commission & City Commission followed by Administrative Site Plan.	Minor Site Plan:  Administrative
Access	Primarily Vehicular	Vehicular, Pedestrian, Bicycle
Traffic to site (volume) KDOT 24hr #s  (last updated 2013)	31^st St. - 12,015	23^rd St. – 29,600 Louisiana St. – 13,810
Pedestrian Use	Low	High
Density of Area	Low	High
Stand-alone building?	Yes	No (other tenants in building)
Neighboring Uses/Use on site.	Light Industrial, KDOT storage lot and contractor sales/service offices.	Retail, Fast Food, Dining, Pet Store, Yoga Studio, Hardware Store, Salon, Car Audio  & other strip commercial center uses.
Within a Neighborhood?	No	Yes (abuts 3 residential neighborhoods)
Property within 1000 ft. Gun Free Zone of school property?	Yes	Yes
Building location or (tenant space) within 1000 ft. Buffer Zone?	Yes	No
Approximate  distance of property to school property	760 ft. – Lawrence College and Career Center	300 ft. – Baseball field (LHS) 740 ft. – Centennial School 1300 ft. – Lawrence High 1730 ft. – Broken Arrow Elem.
Is property within the 1000 ft. Gun Free Zone.	Within buffer - 240 ft.	Within buffer -  700 ft.
Approximate Building location (or tenant space) distance to 1000 ft. Gun Free Zone.	Fully within buffer	Outside buffer by 30 ft.

Public Comment:

The School Board (USD497) has expressed concern for the safety of the students, area and the school property located at 2910 Haskell Ave (The Lawrence College and Career Center.)  The School Board is not in favor of the proposed use associated with this rezoning at this location.

Staff received a phone call from a neighbor of the 711 W. 23^rd St. (The Malls Shopping Center) property location proposed in the site plan application.   The concern was for the safety of the neighborhood adjacent to this location.  The neighbor is not in favor of the proposed gun range being located in proximity to the neighborhood.

Discussion:

Character of the area

One of the Golden factors used for the review by the zoning body is The Character of the Neighborhood.  For planning purpose this is considered in the context of land use.

The character of the area surrounding the 31^st Street and Haskell site includes industrial uses (immediate and to the northeast and northwest), school to the north, residential to the northeast, agricultural to the south and rights-of-way for city streets and K-10 Highway.  The properties south of E 31^st Street were platted and developed in the 1980’s and 1990’s.  The recent extension of E. 31^st Street and realignment of Haskell Avenue/E1500 Road as part of the K-10 highway project has modified traffic patterns and parcel sizes in the area.  This area’s character is changing with the development of the College and Career Technical Center and the Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center north of the subject request.

The character of the area for the Malls Shopping Center includes commercial to the north, west and east, school to the north (north of the commercial), and residential to the south.

Both sites have significant public investments in public education given the nearby schools but vastly different characters.  The Malls site is intended to attract commercial customers and is a high activity center intending to attract every age of life.  The 31^st St industrial site is designed to accommodate only those users of the park and the new school and training center serves high school students and adults.  Arguably, any use that is viewed as potentially incompatible with high activity centers would be better served at the 31^st Street and Haskell location.

Harm to public

There has been discussion as to just what the harm would be for a gun range/retail sales use.  The following concerns have been identified throughout the process:

Inside the building:

1) Concern for stray bullet containment.

2) Concern for nuisance noise near a neighborhood and other tenants.

3) Concern for harm-minded consumers seeking to purchase weapons.

On site, particularly in the parking lot:

1) Concern for individuals carrying unsecured weapons to the site, near a school.

2) Concern for parking lot altercations resulting in stray bullets near a school.

3) Concern for ”setting up” patrons to be out of compliance with the Gun Free School Zone Act by allowing the establishment of a gun range/sales shop within a Gun Free School Zone.

The Planning Commission seemed particularly concerned with the potential for parking lot disturbances near a school.  As reflected above, schools exist at both locations but with varying degrees of activity and potential for conflicts and poor results if a shooting occurs.  Given the possible harms, the 31^st Street location presents a site of much less activity given it is designed to accommodate a narrower degree of users.

Gun Free School Zone Act

The Gun-Free Schools Act of 1995 (within schools) and the Gun-Free Schools Zone Act (reenacted in 1996 and creating a zone 1,000 ft. around a school).

The Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) prohibits any person from knowingly possessing a firearm that has moved in or otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone. The GFSZA also prohibits any person from knowingly, or with reckless disregard for the safety of another, discharging or attempting to discharge a firearm that has moved in or otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place the person knows is a school zone. The GFSZA defines “school zone” as: 1) in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school; or 2) within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school.

Exceptions to the possession prohibition include:

• Firearm possessors licensed by the state or locality to possess the gun, whose law requires that before the person obtains a license, state or local law enforcement verify that the person is qualified to receive the license; or
• Where the firearm is:
• Unloaded and in a locked container or locked firearms rack on a motor vehicle; or
• Unloaded and possessed while traversing school premises for the purpose of gaining access to public or private lands open to hunting, if the entry on school premises is authorized by school authorities

Exceptions to both the possession and discharge bans include:

• On private property no part of school grounds.
• Where the firearm is possessed for use in a program approved by a school held in the school zone, or in accordance with a contract entered into between a school and the individual or an employer of the individual; or
• Where the firearm is possessed or used by a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity.

The Act exempts possession and firing on private property within 1,000 ft., which is the key to the act not directly prohibiting a gun range near the school.   So while neither act prohibits a gun range within 1,000 feet of a school, it appears that the consumers may have certain responsibilities to comply with the federal law.

One could reasonably argue that since both sites are affected by the Act almost the same degree (one just outside the zone and one almost outside the zone), that the Act should be provided close to equal weight when comparing the two sites and when comparing this factor to the other land use factors used to judge the rezoning application.

Staff Conclusion:

Taking into account the comparative table in this report, Staff believes the 31^st Street and Haskell Avenue site would accommodate the gun range use in a more compatible fashion than at The Malls.  The potential for parking lot conflicts, in particular, are greater at The Malls given its high activity, mix of uses and attraction of consumers of all ages.

Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the rezoning request from IG (General Industrial) District to IL (Limited Industrial) District based on the findings in the body of the original staff report and discussion of points noted in this memorandum.

PC Options:

Section 20-1303(f)(2)(i) of the Land Development Code lists the review and recommendation procedures for Zoning Map Amendments (Rezonings) following the City Commission returning the item to the Planning Commission.  The Planning Commission, after considering the explanation by the City Commission, may submit;

1) Its original recommendations with the reasons for doing so or,

2) Submit a new or amended recommendation.