CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM

Department:	Planning & Development Services		Commission Meeting Date:  Dec. 18, 2018
Staff Contact:	Becky Pepper, Planner II
Recommendations/Options/Action Requested:
Approve a text amendment, TA-18-00466, to the City of Lawrence Code, Chapters 18 & 20 regarding the use of synthetic turf and adopt on first reading, Ordinance No. 9612 and Ordinance No. 9616.
Executive Summary:		This proposed text amendment was initiated by the City Commission at their October 16, 2018 meeting to consider changing the body responsible for approving of the use of synthetic turf from the City Commission to the Planning Director. Chapter 18, Article 4, Section 18-402 of the City of Lawrence Code provides regulations regarding the use of synthetic turf. The section currently requires that no synthetic turf be installed within the city unless: (i) It is of limited, small-scale use; and (ii) After application is made for such use to the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Department, such use is specifically approved by the City Commission. Chapter 20, Article 10, Section 20-1009(b) of the Land Development Code references Section 18-402. As such, the proposed text amendment includes revisions to the applicable section in Chapter 20. The purpose of the text amendment is to change the approving body from the City Commission to the Planning Director. Previous requests for synthetic turf have met the requirement that the use be limited in scope and serve a specific purpose. Requests have also not occurred in situations where natural materials would have been more appropriate. Based on this precedent, it may be reasonable to change the approving body. Doing so would allow a more responsive and efficient review process by eliminating the scheduling delay to consider these requests by the City Commission. Like the City Commission, the Planning Director will continue to evaluate requests for synthetic turf based on their scale and their appropriateness. The proposed text amendment also clarifies the appeal process by adding language that appeals of administrative decisions shall be submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals per Section 20-1311 of the Land Development Code. This process is identical to other appeals of administrative orders, allowing the Board of Zoning Appeals to review the administrative decision to determine whether the decision was based on the code standards and would not be opposed to the general spirit and intent of the code. The Planning Commission considered this amendment at their November 14, 2018 meeting and voted 9-1 to forward the text amendment to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval.
Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor		n/a
Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source):		The item is not included in the budget or the CIP because it is related to a request to amend the text of the City of Lawrence Code.
Attachments:		Ordinance No. 9612 Ordinance No. 9616 Planning Commission Staff Report Article 10 Landscaping & Screening Synthetic Turf Code Amendment Planning Commission Minutes

Reviewed By: (for CMO use only)

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