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PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT Regular Agenda: Public Hearing Item |
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ITEM NO. 5 TEXT AMENDMENT TO CITY OF LAWRENCE CODE; SYNTHETIC TURF (BJP)
TA-18-00466: Consider a Text Amendment to the City of Lawrence Code, Chapter 18 & 20, regarding the use of synthetic turf. Initiated by City Commission on 10/16/18.
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RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the Planning Commission forward the proposed amendment to the City of Lawrence Code, Chapter 18 & 20, regarding the use of synthetic turf to the Lawrence City Commission with a recommendation for approval. |
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Reason for Request: |
The City Commission initiated this text amendment to the City of Lawrence Code, Chapter 18 & 20, at their October 16, 2018 meeting to consider revising the language of the Code regarding the body responsible for approving the use of synthetic turf.
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PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED PRIOR TO PRINTING
· None received prior to publication.
ATTACHMENTS
· Attachment A: Revised City of Lawrence Code sections
BACKGROUND
At their March 6, 2012 meeting, the City Commission approved a text amendment, TA-4-6-11, to permit the use of synthetic turf with approval by the City Commission. Prior to that decision, synthetic turf was not included in the Land Development Code as an allowed landscape material. The intent of the previous text amendment was to allow the use of synthetic turf in limited and specific situations where it is deemed appropriate.
Since the addition of synthetic turf as an allowed landscape material, Planning staff has received 6 requests, which are outlined below. The three most recent requests have been related to the use with outdoor dog areas.
· SP-14-00169; Request for the use of synthetic turf for a 20,925 square feet outdoor athletic training area at 701 E. 19th Street. Approved by the City Commission at their June 17, 2014 meeting.
· SP-14-00466; Request for the use of synthetic turf for a 3,000 square feet interior courtyard at Schwegler Elementary School. Approved by the City Commission at their March 2, 2015 meeting.
· FDP-17-00267; Request for the use of approximately 2,874 square feet of synthetic turf for golf practice purposes adjacent to the Alvamar Practice building and adjacent to the University Golf Practice Facility, associated with the Final Development Plan for Alvamar Phase 4, located at 1800 and 1810 Birdie Way. Approved by the City Commission at their January 8, 2018 meeting.
· SP-18-00169; Request to install approximately 285 square feet of artificial turf for a fenced residential dog run at a residence located at 1713 Inverness Drive. Approved by the City Commission at their May 1, 2018 meeting.
· SP-18-00356; Request for approximately 3,369 square feet of synthetic turf for a fenced outdoor play area for a dog day care/kennel facility at 1519 W. 23rd Street. Approved by the City Commission at their September 4, 2018 meeting.
· SP-18-00408; Request for approximately 6,110 square feet of synthetic turf for a fenced outdoor area for a dog day care/kennel facility at 1735 Haskell Avenue. Approved by the City Commission at their September 18, 2018 meeting.
The regulations regarding the use of synthetic turf are provided in Chapter 18, Article 4, Section 18-402 of the City of Lawrence Code. The section states that the use of synthetic turf is not permitted unless it is of limited and small-scale use, and it is approved by the City Commission.
The use of synthetic turf is also addressed in Section 20-1009(b) of the Land Development Code. That section references Chapter 18, Section 18-402(b) of the City of Lawrence Code, which states that the use of synthetic turf is permitted with approval by the City Commission.
On October 16, 2018, the City Commission initiated a text amendment to revise the language of the City of Lawrence Code changing the approval body from the City Commission to the Planning Director. Staff was also directed to outline language regarding an appeal process of the Planning Director decision.
OVERVIEW OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT
Suggested changes to the text are
shown below and noted in red. Additions are underlined and deleted text is struck through.
1. Chapter 18, Article 4, Section 18-402(b)(ii)
(ii) after
application is made for such use to the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning
Department, such use is specifically approved by the City Commission Planning Director,
with any appeal of the Planning Director’s decision
being submitted to the Board of Zoning Appeals per Chapter 20, Article 13,
Section 20-1311.
2. Chapter 20, Article 10, Section 20-1009(b)
(b) Artificial Plants
No artificial
plants or vegetation may be used to meet any standards of this section, with
the exception of synthetic turf, provided that the use of synthetic turf is
approved by the City Commission Planning Director in accordance with Chapter
18, Article 4, Section 18-402(b) of the City Code. Any
appeals of administrative decisions shall be submitted to the Board of Zoning
Appeals per Section 20-1311.
CRITERIA FOR REVIEW AND DECISION-MAKING
Section 20-1302(f) provides review and decision-making criteria on proposed text amendments. It states that review bodies shall consider at least the following factors:
1. Whether the proposed text amendment corrects an error or inconsistency in the Development Code or meets the challenge of a changing condition;
The text amendment is intended to address a changing situation and provide a more streamlined process. The purpose of the text amendment is to change the approving body from the City Commission to the Planning Director. As discussed above, since 2011 when synthetic turf was added to the City of Lawrence Code as a possible landscaping material, only 6 requests for the material have been made. Three of those requests have been made most recently in regards to outdoor dog areas associated with two dog day care centers and one residential use. Requests for synthetic turf have met the requirement that they be limited in scope and that they serve a specific purpose. Staff has not seen requests for use of the material in situations where natural materials would be more appropriate. Given this, it is reasonable to change the approval body and allow a more responsive and efficient review process, eliminating the delay to schedule these requests for the City Commission’s consideration. Like the City Commission, the Planning Director will continue to evaluate requests for synthetic turf based on their scale and their appropriateness. Additionally, this process would ensure that an appeal process identical to other appeals of administrative orders established by the Land Development Code, allowing the Board of Zoning Appeals to review the administrative decision to determine whether it was based on the code standards and would not be opposed to the general spirit and intent of the code.
2. Whether the proposed text amendment is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and the stated purpose of this Code (Sec. 20-104)
Horizon 2020 does not specifically address synthetic landscaping materials; however, it does recommend the use of natural landscaping materials. This proposed text amendment does not change the nature of if/when synthetic turf can be used. The proposed text amendment is only to change the approval body from the City Commission to the Planning Director and to provide guidance on appealing a decision. The intent is to streamline the process and to lighten the work load of the City Commission by removing the item from their agenda and making the approval process more efficient for applicants. The proposed text amendment will be consistent with the comprehensive plan in that the Planning Director will still be evaluating synthetic turf requests on their scale and appropriateness.
Conclusion
Staff recommends the Planning Commission forward the proposed amendment the City of Lawrence Code, Chapter 18 & 20, regarding the use of synthetic turf to the Lawrence City Commission with a recommendation for approval.