ORDINANCE NO. 9618

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 20, ARTICLE 13, SECTION 1301 AND SECTION 1303, CODE OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS, 2018 EDITION, AND AMENDMENTS THERETO, PERTAINING TO CONDITIONAL ZONING, AND REPEALING EXISTING SECTION 1301 AND SECTION 1303.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 20, Article 13, Section 1301 of the Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, 2018 Edition, and amendments thereto, is hereby amended to read as follows:

20-1301 general

(a) Summary of Procedures

The following table provides a summary of the procedures in this Article. In the event of conflict between this summary table and the detailed procedures in this Development Code, the detailed procedures govern.

Procedure	Review and Decision-Making Bodies				Notice
Procedure	Staff	PC	BZA	CC	[2]
Text Amendments (§0)	R	<R>		DM	N
Zoning Map Amendments (§0) [3]	R	<R>		DM	N/P/M
Planned Developments (§ 20-1303(l)(2)(v))
Preliminary Development Plan	R	<R>		DM	N/P/M
Final Development Plan	DM			<A>	M
Site Plan Review (§0)	DM			<A> [4]	P/M
Special Uses (§Article 12. 20-1305(o)(3))	R	<R>		DM	N/P/M
Zoning Variances (§0)	R		<DM>		N/M
Written Interpretations (§0)	DM		<A> [5]
Appeals of Administrative Decisions (§0)			<DM>		N/M
PC = Planning Commission BZA = Board of Zoning Appeals CC = City Commission <>= Public Hearing Required [1] R = Review Body (Responsible for Review and Recommendation); DM = Decision-Making Body (Responsible for Final Decision to Approve or Deny); A = Authority to hear and decide appeals of Decision-Making Body’s action. [2] Notices: N = Newspaper (published); P = Posted (signs); M = Mailed (See sub-section (q)(3) of this section) [3] See Section 20-308(d) for special procedures applicable to UC, Urban Conservation District zoning map amendments. [4] City Commission is authorized to hear and decide appeals of Planning Director’s decision on Site Plans. [5] Appeals processed as “Appeals of Administrative Decisions.”

(b) Authority to File Applications

Unless otherwise expressly stated, applications for review and approval under this article may be initiated by (1) all the Owner of the property that is the subject of the application; (2) the Landowners’ authorized Agent; or (3) any review or decision-making body.

(c) Form of Application

Applications required under this Development Code shall be submitted in a form and in such numbers as required by the official responsible for accepting the application. Officials responsible for accepting applications shall develop checklists of submittal requirements and make those checklists available to the public. Application forms and checklists of required submittal information are available in the office of the Planning Director.

(d) Pre-application Meetings

(1) All applicants for matters that require a public hearing are required to attend a pre-application meeting with staff. Pre-application meetings are also required whenever the provisions of this Article expressly state that they are required. Pre-application meetings shall be scheduled by the applicant to allow adequate time to review and respond to issues raised at the pre-application meeting. The meeting shall occur at least 7 Working Days before submitting an application.

(2) All other applicants are encouraged to arrange a pre-application meeting with City staff. The Planning Director will provide assistance to applicants and ensure that appropriate City staff members are involved in pre-application meetings.

(e) Application Processing Cycles

The Planning Director may, after consulting with review and decision-making bodies, promulgate processing cycles for applications. Processing cycles may establish:

(1) deadlines for receipt of complete applications;

(2) dates of regular meetings;

(3) the scheduling of staff reviews and staff reports on complete applications; and

(4) any required time-frames for action by review and decision-making bodies.

(f) Application Filing Fees

Applications shall be accompanied by the fee amount that has been established by the City Commission. Fees are not required with applications initiated by review or decision-making bodies. Appl ication fees are nonrefundable.

(g) Application Completeness, Accuracy and Sufficiency

(1) An application will be considered complete and ready for processing only if it is submitted in the required number and form, includes all required information and is accompanied by the required filing fee.

(2) Within 5 Working Days of application filing, the Planning Director shall determine whether the application includes all information required for processing (See Section 20-1301(c)). If an application does not include all of the required information it will be deemed incomplete. If an application includes all of the required information it will be deemed complete. If the application is deemed incomplete, written notice shall be provided to the applicant and the applicant’s Agent. The notice shall include an explanation of the application’s deficiencies.

(3) No further processing of incomplete applications will occur and incomplete applications will be pulled from the processing cycle. When the deficiencies are corrected, the application will be placed in the next processing cycle. If the deficiencies are not corrected by the applicant within 60 days, the application will be considered withdrawn. If an application is deemed withdrawn because of failure to correct application deficiencies, notice shall be sent to the applicant and the applicant’s Agent.

(4) Applications deemed complete will be considered to be in the processing cycle and will be reviewed by staff and other review and decision-making bodies in accordance with the procedures of this Article and the processing cycles established under Section 20-1301(e).

(5) The Planning Director may require that applications or plans be revised before being placed on the agenda of the Planning Commission or City Commission if the Planning Director determines that:

(i) the application or plan contains one or more significant inaccuracies or omissions that hinder timely or competent evaluation of the plan’s/application’s compliance with Development Code standards;

(ii) the application contains multiple minor inaccuracies or omissions that hinder timely or competent evaluation of the plan’s/application’s compliance with Development Code standards;

(iii) the application or plan cannot be approved without a variance or some other change or modification that the decision-making body for that application or plan does not have the authority to make.

(6) Applications that contain the aforementioned types of inaccuracies or that substantially fail to comply with Development Code standards shall be revised before they will be placed on agenda of the Planning Commission or City Commission.

(7) Action or inaction by the Planning Director under this section may be appealed t o the Board of Zoning Appeals.

(h) Continuation of Public Hearings

(1) A public hearing for which proper notice was given may be continued by the Board of Zoning Appeals or Planning Commission to a later date without providing additional notice as long as the continuance is set for specified date and time and that date and time is announced at the time of the continuance.

(2) If a public hearing is tabled or deferred by the Board of Zoning Appeals or Planning Commission for an indefinite period of time or postponed more than three (3) months from the date of the originally scheduled public hearing, new public notice shall be given, in accordance with the notice requirements of the respective procedure, before the rescheduled public hearing.

(3) The applicant or Landowner who requests the postponement is responsible for paying the cost of re-notification per the adopted schedule of fees for publication, and payment of re-notification costs shall be made before the item is placed on the agenda.

(i) Action by Review Bodies

(1) Review bodies may take any action that is consistent with:

(i) the regulations of this Article;

(ii) the City’s adopted Development Policy;

(iii) any by-laws that may apply to the review body; and

(iv) the notice that was given.

(2) The review body’s action may include:

(i) recommending approval of the application,

(ii) recommending approval with modifications or conditions, or

(iii) recommending disapproval of the application.

(3) The review body may recommend conditions, modifications, or amendments if the effect of the condition, modification or amendment ~~if the effect of the of the condition, modification, or amendment:~~

(i) allows a less intensive use or Zoning District than indicated in the application per Section 20-1301 (k) Lesser Change Table,

(ii) reduces the impact of the development as a means to mitigate potential adverse impacts that could be expected to occur without such conditions and may include restricting or limiting uses,

(iii) limits or restricts uses permitted in a base zoning district; or

(iv) reduces the amount of land area included in the application.

(4) The review body may recommend that the application be approved conditionally:

(i) upon the execution of a development agreement acceptable to the City Attorney and/or,

(ii) compliance with the Access Management Standards and/or;

(iii) the Community Design Manual adopted by the City Commission from time to time.

(5) Review bodies may not:

(i) recommend a greater Density of development; or

(ii) a more intensive use or a more intensive Zoning District than was indicated in the public notice.

(6) Review bodies are not required to recommend approval of the maximum Density or intensity of use allowed.

(j) Action by Decision-Making Bodies

(1) Decision-making bodies may take any action that is consistent with:

(i) the regulations of this Article;

(ii) the City’s adopted development policy;

(iii) any by-laws that may apply to the decision-making body; and

(iv) the notice that was given.

(2) The decision-making body’s action may include:

(i) approving the application,

(ii) approving the application with modifications or conditions, or

(iii) denying the application.

(iv) remanding to the review body, if any, for further consideration.

(3) The decision-making body may impose conditions on the application or allow modifications or amendments if the effect of the condition, modification or amendment:

(i) is to allow a less intensive use or Zoning District than indicated in the application per Section 20-1301 (k) Lesser Change Table; or

(ii) to reduce the impact of the development as a means to mitigate potential adverse impacts that could be expected to occur without such conditions and may include restricting or limiting uses;

(iii) limit or restrict uses permitted in a base zoning district; or

(iv) is to reduce the amount of land area included in the application.

(4) The decision-making body may approve the application upon the condition that:

(i) the applicant executes a development agreement acceptable to the City Attorney; and/or

(ii) the application is in compliance with the Access Management Standards; and/or

(iii) the application is in compliance with the Community Design Manual adopted by the City Commission from time to time.

(5) Decision-making bodies may not:

(i) approve a greater Density of development;

(ii) a more intensive use; or

(iii) a more intensive Zoning District than was specified in the public notice.

(6) Decision-making bodies are not required to approve the maximum Density or intensity of use allowed.

(k) Lesser Change Table

Pursuant to K.S.A. 12-757, the Planning Commission may adopt a “Lesser Change Table.” The Lesser Change Table is for the use of the Planning Commission in determining the hierarchy of Zoning Districts and for determining when public notification or re-notification is required. Such a table lists zoning classifications, by category, in ascending order from the least intense to the most intense. The Planning Commission’s Lesser Change Table shall identify only the hierarchy of Zoning Districts within each of the three categories of Base Districts—Residential, Commercial and Industrial. It is not intended to identify hierarchical arrangements among Districts in different categories. For example, the Lesser Change Table may classify the RS40 District as less intense than the RS20 District, but it may not classify (R) Residential Districts as less intense than (C) Commercial Districts, or vice-versa. The Lesser Change Table shall be fi led with the Planning Director.

(l) Burden of Proof or Persuasion

In all cases, the burden is on the applicant to show that an application complies with applicable review or approval criteria.

(m) Conditions of Approval

When the procedures of this Article allow review bodies to recommend or decision-making bodies to approve applications with conditions, the conditions shall relate to a situation created or aggravated by the proposed use or development. When conditions are imposed, an application will not be deemed approved until the applicant has complied with all of the conditions.

(n) Deferred Items

Once a staff report is included in a posted agenda packet, Planning Commission action is required to defer an item. If an application is requested for deferral from the next Planning Commission agenda prior to inclusion of a staff report in a posted agenda packet, the applicant may defer an item by submitting a written request to the Planning Director. For Deferred Items, the Landowner or applicant shall provide an updated property Ownership list from the County Clerk’s office for items that have been deferred from an agenda for 3 or more months. If deferred at the applicant or Landowner’s request, the cost of republication of legal notice in the newspaper shall be paid by the applicant or Landowner. If an item is deferred by the Planning Commission, no rep ublication fee will be charged.

(o) Inactive Files

For Inactive Files, the Planning Director may notify the applicant and applicant’s Agent in writing that a file has been closed when the file has been inactive for a period of time equal to or exceeding 12 months. Requests for action after a file has been declared inactive and the applicant has been notified require resubmittal as a new application. Review fees and cost of publication are required to be paid as part of the resubmittal.

(p) Inaction by Review/Decision-Making Bodies

(1) When a review or decision-making body fails to take action on an application within any time limit that is specified in or under this Article (as with an application processing cycle), that inaction will be interpreted as a recommendation of approval or a decision to approve, respectively. The Effective Date of such a “non-action” approval or recommendation of approval will be the date that action was required to have occurred under the required time limit.

(2) Time limits for action may be extended if the applicant gives written consent to the extension or the applicant submits a written request for a deferral and agrees in writing to an extension of the time for action.

(3) When a review body fails to take action on an application within any time limit that is specified in this Article, the decision-making body is free to proceed with its own action on the matter without awaiting a recommendation.

(q) Notices

The notice provisions of this section apply except as otherwise expressly stated.

(1) Content

(i) Newspaper and Mailed Notice

All Newspaper and Mailed Notices shall:

a. indicate the date, time and place of the public hearing or date of action that is the subject of the notice;

b. describe the property involved in the application by Street address or by general description;

c. describe the nature, scope and purpose of the application or proposal; and

d. indicate where additional information on the matter can be obtained.

(ii) Posted Notice

All Posted Notices shall:

a. indicate the date, time and place of the public hearing or date of action that is the subject of the notice;

b. state the language “Development Activity Proposed”, and

c. indicate where additional information on the matter can be obtained.

(2) Newspaper Notice

When the provisions of this Development Code require that “Newspaper Notice” be provided, the City is responsible for ensuring that notice is published in the official newspaper of the City of Lawrence. The notice shall appear in the newspaper at least 20 days before the date of the public hearing.

(3) Mailed Notice

When the provisions of this Development Code require that “Mailed Notice” be provided:

(i) Owner Notice; Radius

The official responsible for accepting the application shall mail notice to the record Owner of the subject property and all Owners of property located within 400 feet of the subject property. If the subject property abuts the City limits, the area of notification shall be extended to at least 1,000 feet into the unincorporated area.

(ii) Notice to Registered Neighborhood Associations

The official responsible for accepting the application shall mail notice to any Registered Neighborhood Associations whose boundaries include or are contiguous to the subject property.

(iii) Ownership Information

The applicant is responsible for providing certified ownership information. Current ownership information shall be obtained from the Douglas County Clerk. Ownership information will be considered current if, at the time of submission, it is no more than 30 days old.

(iv) Timing of Notice

Required notices shall be deposited in the U.S. mail at least 20 days before the public hearing, meeting, or date of action that is the subject of the notice. When required notices have been properly addressed and deposited in the mail, failure of a party to receive such notice will not be grounds to invalidate any action taken.

(v) Mailing Fee Established

From time to time, in order to recover mailing and notification costs incurred by the City hereunder, the Governing Body may establish a reasonable mailing fee, which fee shall be paid by the applicant.

(4) Posted Notice

(i) When the provisions of this Development Code require that “Posted Notice” be provided, the applicant shall ensure that notice is posted on the subject property.

(ii) Posted notice shall be in the form of official signs provided by the City.

(iii) Posted notice shall be clearly visible to neighboring residents and passers-by from each Public Street bordering the subject property. At least one sign shall be posted on each Street Frontage. The Planning Director is authorized to require the posting of additional signs when deemed necessary for effective public notice, but not more than one sign per 300 feet of Street Frontage may be required.

(iv) Posted notice shall remain in place for at least 20 days before the public hearing, meeting, or date of action that is the subject of the notice.

(v) During the required notice period, the applicant shall periodically check the condition of the sign and shall replace it if it is no longer legible for any reason, whether through Act of God, vandalism, defect in installation or vegetative growth.

(vi) For any application requiring posted notice, the applicant shall supplement the application with an affidavit of posting and notice no sooner than the date the sign is posted but no later than seven (7) days prior to the scheduled public hearing, meeting, or date of action that is the subject of the notice. Failure to make timely delivery of such affidavit to the Planning Director shall render the application incomplete and subject it to removal from the agenda on the hearing date, at the discretion of the Planning Commission.

(vii) The applicant shall remove notice signs required by this section within 10 days of the date that the decision-making body takes action or the date that the application is withdrawn. Failure to properly post or maintain such signs is grounds for deferral or denial of the application.

(viii) For applications that do not abut Public Streets, the Planning Director is authorized to approve an alternative form of posted notice that will be visible to passers-by.

(ix) The public may submit written statements regarding a specific development proposal that, when the written statement is submitted by the published deadline for receiving public comment, will become a part of the official record in the planning department.

(x) Parties affected by the actions of a decision making body have the right to appeal the action taken in accordance with the procedures set out in Article 13 of this Chapter.

(r) Written Findings

Unless otherwise specifically provided in this ordinance, written findings are not required for a final decision on any application. Provided, however, that any decision may be expressly made subject to the subsequent adoption of written findings and, in such cases, the decision shall not be considered final until such findings are adopted. Provided further, that where an appeal of any quasi-judicial decision has been filed in the District Court of Douglas County pursuant to K.S.A. 12-760 or K.S.A. 60-2101(d) in cases where written findings have not been adopted, written findings shall be adopted by the approving authority within 45 days of service of the appeal on the City and thereafter shall be certified to the District Court as part of the administrative record. The 45-day time period for adoption and certification of findings may be extended with the permission of the District Court.

(s) Where Ordinance Required

Adoption of an ordinance is required in the case of a zoning text amendment, rezoning and special use permit. In such instances, the decision approving the application shall not be deemed to be final until the ordinance has been published in an official City newspaper.

(t) Planning Director as Administrative Official

Except where otherwise specifically provided in the Development Code, the Planning Director shall be the administrative official charged with interpreting and enforcing the provisions of the Development Code.

SECTION 3. Chapter 20, Article 13, Section 1303 of the Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, 2018 Edition, and amendments thereto, is hereby amended to read as follows:

20-1303 Zoning Map Amendments (Rezonings)

(u) Initiation

An amendment to the zoning map may be initiated by the City Commission, the Planning Commission, or, as to Urban Conservation district, by the Historic Resource Commission; and adopted in accordance with the rules of that body. Applications for zoning map amendments initiated by the Landowner shall be filed with the Planning Director. Any proposed amendment shall follow the process set forth in this section after initiation.

(v) Application Contents

(1) An application for amendment shall be accompanied by a conceptual plan and data necessary to demonstrate that the proposed amendment is in general conformance with the Comprehensive Plan and that the public necessity and convenience; and general welfare require the adoption of the proposed amendment.

(2) The application shall include a General Location Map, which shall show the location of the property in relation to at least one intersection of two streets shown as Collector or Arterial Streets on the City’s Major Thoroughfares Map of the Comprehensive Plan.

(3) Each application for an amendment to the Zoning Districts map shall be accompanied by a certified list of all property Owner within the notification area. If such proposed amendment is not a general revision of the existing regulations and affects specific property, the property shall be designated by legal description or a general description sufficient to identify the property under consideration. In addition to a published notice, written notice of such proposed amendment shall be mailed at least 20 days before the hearing to all Owners of record of lands located within at least 400 feet of the area proposed to be altered for regulations of the city. If the city proposes a zoning amendment to property adjacent to the city's limits, the area of notification of the city's action shall be extended to at least 1,000 feet in the unincorporated area. All notices shall include a statement that a complete legal description is available for public inspection and shall indicate where such information is available.

(w) Public Hearing Notice

(0) Newspaper, posted and mailed notice of the Planning Commission’s public hearing shall be provided in accordance with Section 20-1301(q), except as noted in subsection (c)(2) of this Section. For purposes of K.S.A. §12-757, any Zoning District listed in the right-hand column of the Lesser Change Table that follows shall be considered a “lesser change” than a change to the Zoning District listed in the left-hand column of the same row of the table; in accordance with the cited section, a recommendation or action to amend the zoning map to assign the “lesser change” Zoning District to the land, rather than the Zoning District advertised in the notice, shall not require further notice. A recommendation or action to amend the Zoning Map to assign any Zoning District other than the one advertised in the notice or one included in the corresponding right-hand column of the Lesser Change Table will be inconsistent with the advertised hearing and shall require re-advertising and the holding of a new hearing, after proper notice. Such recommendation or action by the Planning Commission or the City Commission shall be construed as an instruction to the Planning Director to set a new hearing and to give notice of the proposed hearing, including the new Zoning District in the notice.

Table of Lesser Changes
Advertised/Proposed Zoning District	Districts to be Considered a “Lesser Change”
RS40	None
RS20	RS40
RS10	RS20 or RS40
RS7	RS10, RS-20 or RS40
RS5	Any other RS except RS3 or RSO
RS3	Any other RS except RSO
RSO	Any other RS except RS-3
RM12, RM12D	Any RS except RSO
RM15	RM12 or any RS except RSO
RM24	RM15, RM12 or any RS except RSO
RM32	Any RM or any RS
RMG	Any RM or any RS
RMO	RM15, RM12 or any RS
CN1	None
CN2	CN1, RSO or RMO
CD	CN1, CN2 or CC200
CC200	CN1 or CN2
CC400	CC200 or CN2
CC600	CC400, CC200 or CN2
CR	CC600, CC400 or CC200
CS	CN1, CN2 or CO
IBP	None
IL	IBP or CN2
IM	IBP or IL
IG	IL, IM, IBP, or CN2
Other Zoning Districts	Not Applicable

(2) Applications for Urban Conservation Overlay District zoning amendments shall only require newspaper notice and mailed notice of the Planning Commission’s public hearing in accordance with Section 20-1301(q)(2) and (q)(3). Any posted notice under Section 20-1301(q)(4) shall be at the discretion of the Planning Director.

(x) Staff Review/Report

The Planning Director will review each proposed zoning map amendment in accordance with the review and decision-making criteria of Subsection (g) of this Section and, if deemed necessary, distribute the proposed amendment to other agencies and reviewers. Based on the results of those reviews, the Planning Director will provide a report on the proposed amendment to the Planning Commission and City Commission. The report will include documentation proof of posting and other required notice.

(y) Planning Commission’s Review/Recommendation

The Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing on the proposed zoning map amendment, review the proposed amendment in accordance with the review and decision-making criteria of Subsection (g) of this Section and shall recommend on one of the following actions on the proposed zoning map amendment:

(1) approve,

(2) approve with conditions or modifications, or

(3) deny the proposed amendment.

The Planning Commission is also authorized to forward the proposed amendment to the City Commission with no recommendation.

(z) Conditional Zoning

Conditional zoning may be considered when a clear and specific goal, policy, or recommendation of an approved area, neighborhood, nodal plan, or the Comprehensive Plan is identified, or when a clear harm or aggravation of a negative externality to the surrounding area can be mitigated by a condition.

Conditional Zoning: The attachment of special conditions or restrictions to a rezoning. Conditions can include restrictions as to use, size, design, density or intensity, and development timing as a means to mitigate potential adverse impacts that could be expected to occur without imposing such conditions.

Conditions imposed on a rezoning are intended to mitigate adverse impacts that can be reasonably expected to occur without imposing such conditions on an otherwise appropriate land use development project. Conditions must be reasonable and further the public health, safety, and welfare of the community and consistent with the community’s comprehensive plan, or furthers an articulated community or neighborhood goal or policy expressed in an adopted area, neighborhood or nodal plan or the Comprehensive Plan.

(1) When the procedures of this Article allow review bodies to recommend or decision-making bodies to approve applications with conditions, the conditions shall relate to a situation created or aggravated by the proposed use or development.

(2) Types of conditions

Conditions must meet and/or exceed established minimum design standards.

(i) Restrict or prohibit uses permitted by right or allowed by a Special Use Permit in a Base District.

(ii) Enhance written notice requirements of proposed changes to surrounding property owners for future development, or to require governing body approval of a development application that would otherwise be subject to administrative approal.

(iii) Limit or restrict density when permitted by right in the Base District, but shall not permit residential uses in any district that otherwise prohibits residential uses.

(iv) Restrict intensity of development to include, but not limited to, Article 6 Density and Dimensional Standards and Article 5 Use Regulations.

(aa) City Commission Decision

After receiving the Planning Commission’s recommendation, the City Commission shall take one of the following actions on the proposed zoning map amendment:

(1) approve, approve with conditions or modifications, or deny; or

(2) return the application to the Planning Commission for further consideration, together with a written explanation of the reasons for the City Commission’s failure to approve or disapprove.

(i) The Planning Commission, after considering the explanation by the City Commission, may resubmit its original recommendations with its reasons for doing so or submit a new or amended recommendation.

(ii) Upon the receipt of such recommendation, the City Commission may, by a simple majority vote, approve the proposed zoning map amendment, approve it with modifications, or deny it.

(iii) If the Planning Commission fails to deliver its recommendations to the City Commission following the Planning Commission's next regular meeting after receipt of the City Commission’s report, the City Commission will consider such course of inaction on the part of the Planning Commission as a resubmission of the original recommendations and proceed accordingly.

(3) The City Commission may act by a simple majority vote, except for the following cases:

(i) action that is contrary to the Planning Commission's recommendations, in which case the decision shall be by a 2/3 majority vote of the full membership of the City Commission; or

(ii) approval, or approval with modifications, when a valid protest petition has been submitted in accordance with subsection (h) of this Section, in which case a decision approving the application shall be effective only if supported by the votes of at least 3/4 of the members of the entire City Commission.

(4) The City Commission shall:

(i) State the reasons for its decision on the minutes or official record; and

(ii) notify the applicant, and all other parties who have made a written request for notification, in writing of its decision and the reasons for its decision.

(bb) Review and Decision-Making Criteria

In reviewing and making decisions on proposed zoning map amendments, review and decision-making bodies shall consider at least the following factors:

(1) conformance with the Comprehensive Plan;

(2) zoning and use of nearby property, including any overlay zoning;

(3) character of the neighborhood;

(4) plans for the area or neighborhood, as reflected in adopted area and/or sector plans including the property or adjoining property;

(5) suitability of the subject property for the uses to which it has been restricted under the existing zoning regulations;

(6) length of time the subject property has remained vacant as zoned;

(7) the extent to which approving the rezoning will detrimentally affect nearby properties;

(8) the gain, if any, to the public health, safety and welfare due to denial of the application, as compared to the hardship imposed upon the Landowner, if any, as a result of denial of the application; and

(9) the recommendation of the City’s professional staff.

(10) For proposals that will create more than 100,000 square feet of retail space within the city: the impact of the proposed project on the retail market. Staff will provide an analysis based on the addition of the square footage to the retail market, vacancy rate trends, square footage per capita trends, and current demand trends, including but not limited to population, income, pull factors, and retail sales using the latest available city-wide retail market report.

(11) The reasonableness of conditions as determined by the following criteria:

(i) Conditions shall facilitate a clear and specific goal, policy, or recommendation of an approved area, neighborhood, nodal plan, or the Comprehensive Plan.

(ii) Conditions may be applied when a clear harm to the surrounding area or a negative externality aggravated or created by the use.

(iii) The Lesser Change Table cannot be employed to achieve the same result as a proposed conditional zoning.

(iv) Conditions may not allow an increase in intensity when otherwise restricted by the Base District.

(cc) Protest Petitions

A valid protest petition opposing a zoning map amendment may be submitted to the City Clerk within 14 days of the conclusion of the Planning Commission’s public hearing.

(1) A protest petition will be considered “valid” if it is signed by the Owner of 20% or more of:

(i) any real property included in the proposed amendment; or

(ii) the total area of real property located within 200 feet of any real property included in the proposed amendment (or 1,000 feet into the unincorporated area when the real property included in the proposed amendment abuts the city limits), excluding streets and public ways.

(2) In the case of joint Ownership, all Owners shall sign the petition.

(3) For the purpose of determining the sufficiency of a protest petition, if the proposed rezoning was requested by the Owner of the specific property subject to the rezoning, or the Owner of the specific property subject to the rezoning does not oppose in writing such rezoning, such property shall be excluded when calculating the total real property within th e area required to be notified.

(dd) Date of Effect

The zoning map amendment will become effective upon publication of the adopting ordinance.

(ee) Limitation on Successive Applications

(1) Withdrawal of an original application after it has been advertised for public hearing shall constitute denial of the application as if the public hearing had been held and concluded;

(2) A successive application shall not be accepted for a period of twelve (12) months from the date of City Commission denial of the original application unless a successive application is substantially different from the original application that was denied;

(3) A successive application shall not be accepted until 120 days after the date of the City Commission denial and then will only be accepted if substantially different from the original application. The threshold for measuring substantially different shall be based on meeting one or more of the following criteria:

a. A different Zoning District category has been applied for;

b. The same Zoning District category has been applied for and the Density of use is at least 25% greater or less that then original petition;

c. The same Zoning District category has been applied for and the intensity of use is at least 25% greater or less than the original petition; or

d. Specific responses to the reasons for denial set forth in the findings of fact by the City Commission are, in the opinion of the Planning Director, addressed in the resubmission.

(4) A new rezoning application may be submitted after at least twelve (12) months from the date of City Commission denial.

(ff) Appeals

Within 30 days of the City Commission’s decision on the zoning map amendment, any person aggrieved by such decision may maintain an action in District Court to determine the reasonableness of the final decision.

(gg) Plans

(1) A plan shall be prepared and adopted prior to review of a petition for map amendment when:

(i) No water or sanitary sewer mains exist or are planned to serve the proposed site;

(ii) The request is not consistent with adopted plans; or,

(iii) In-fill development is proposed and, at the discretion of the Planning Commission, additional information is needed specific to unanswered questions or concerns related to transportation, compatibility of land use(s), or adequacy of transitions between established and proposed land uses.

(2) Depending on the size or type of request, the plans to be prepared include:

(i) Watershed or Sub-basin Plan. This Plan will encompass an entire watershed or sub-basin.

(ii) Sector Plan. This Plan includes approximately one square mile.

(iii) Neighborhood Plan. This Plan encompasses a specific neighborhood.

(iv) Special Area Plan. This includes a Nodal Plan which plans for an area immediately surrounding an intersection. A Corridor Plan is a type of linear area plan that generally encompasses a roadway or specific feature.

Specific Issue/District Plan. Deals with a specific issue or project that does not fall into any of the above listed categories

SECTION 4. Existing Section 1301 and Section 1303, Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, 2018 Edition, and amendments thereto, is hereby repealed, it being the intent of the Governing Body that this ordinance supersede the repealed code provisions.

SECTION 5. If any section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is found to be unconstitutional or is otherwise held invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not affect the validity of any remaining parts of this ordinance.

SECTION 6. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as provided by law.

PASSED by the Governing Body of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, this ____ day of _____________, 2019.

APPROVED:

___________________________________

Lisa Larson

Mayor

ATTEST:

__________________________________

Sherri Riedemann

City Clerk

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

__________________________________

Toni R. Wheeler

City Attorney

*****

NOTICE TO PUBLISHER

Publish once and return one Proof of Publication to the City Clerk and one to the City Attorney.