The year is 2030, and Lawrence residents are taking leisurely strolls from their homes to a pedestrian-friendly street lined by multistory buildings filled with shops, condos and offices. Must be downtown Lawrence, right? Not necessarily. In a plan floated by Lawrence-Douglas County planners, those 2030 friends very well could be in a new development far south of the Wakarusa River near an extended Louisiana Street and Wells Overlook Road. But planners first want to find out what the public thinks. The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission on Wednesday will be taking public comment on whether it should start using the proposed land use map incorporating the new urbanism-type developments, or stick with a more traditional map that envisions the city developing in a more typical suburban style. City planners Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner take your questions

Planners envision mini-downtowns far from city core

Moderator

Hi folks. I’m Joel Mathis, managing editor for convergence, and your moderator today. Sheila and Dan are here, so we’ll get started a touch early.

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

Hi … this is Sheila. Hello, this is Dan.

Shelby

Can you articulate the difference between a “mini-downtown” and a strip mall?

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

A typical strip mall has one story buildings that are fronted by a large parking lot and generally only accessible by car. The TND Mixed Use Center we are talking about will have a mixing of uses, they could be residential along with the retail, or also have office uses. These Mixed Use Centers will typically have multiple story buildings and have the uses mixed within the buildings. These Centers are also set up to be pedestrian friendly so that neighbors could walk to it if they would choose to do so.

DougCounty

Why is there all of this talk of going south of the Wakarausa River? It seems to me that most folks out here live out here because they want to live in the country, and don’t relish the idea of subdivisions popping up all around them. Folks out here pushed the 59 expansion project closer to the current alignment because moving it one mile east would destroy too many farms and encourage sprawl. Wasn’t anyone in the planning department listening?

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

The Lawrence Urban Growth Area includes land surrounding all sides fot the City. The area to the south is anticipated in the long range plan so that we grow in a balanced manner as opposed to just east/west. The UGA encompasses an area that will accomodate at least 25 years of growth, so the area to the south will develop gradually as the population of the region grows.

Moderator

You may have a similar answer to this question…

buffalobill

Having a Lake without alot of developement around it really makes it a nice place to go for various outdoor activities. Wouldn’t developement around Clinton Reservoir negatively impact wildlife and peace and quiet around the the lake?

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

Development will need to be sensitive to the lake environment. The lake is a resource for not only recreation, but also drinking water. The UGA does not actually include the Corps property surrounding the lake. Upstream watershed development will need to consider impacts to the overall area.

merrill

What exactly is a “mini downtown” ?

Are there enough retail dollars in Lawrence to sustain such? How do you know or not know?

Thank You for taking the time…

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

The Mixed Use Centers identified on one of the maps are planned to be no larger than a Neighborhood Commercial Center, of which the Hy Vee at Kasold and Clinton Parkway is an example. These sites that have been identified likely won’t develop until sometime into the future when the area around it has developed enough to support the retail business.

lunacydetector

Since a lot of mud-slinging has been directed towards the possible new Wal-Mart and how it might be a detriment to the downtown and years ago a proposed cornfield mall (smaller than the current footprint of the retail stores at 31st & Iowa Street) was killed even through a court fight due to its projected detrimental effects towards the downtown, -how will a mini-downtown NOT affect our downtown in a negative manner? I can see a lot of retailers moving from the downtown to the newer replacement mini-downtown – out with the old, in with the new and easy to retrofit mini-downtown.

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

As mentioned in the previous post, the Mixed Use Centers are planned to be Neighborhood Commercial Center in scale. Downtown is a Regional Center that draws from a much larger population. The uses in a Neighborhood Commercial Center will be those uses that are more for the daily needs of the neighborhood surrounding it.

DougCounty

The main difference between downtown Lawrence and a place like Hy-Vee, south Iowa and other commercial districts is that downtown is a public space, maintained for the public at large, while strip malls and big box areas are privately owned. This means that there is no public public involvement in policies like posting flyers, having public events like parades, public gatherings, etc. The privately owned property owners can prohibit whatever it likes with no recourse since it is “private ownership.” What kind of “mini downtown” were you envisioning: public or private ownership?

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

TND principles include the provision of public spaces for gathering. Common spaces may be privately owned but would be planned for use by the general public.

DougCounty

I looked at the “2030 TND Land use Scenario–draft” map and the T2030 Future Land Use Scenario–draft” map, and I’m confused. On south Louisiana, it appears that the commercial hub in both maps is at the intersection of Louisiana and Leary Road, not Wells Overlook Road. And yet the JW articles have placed the development one mile south of there. What’s the scoop?

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

You are right. The Mixed Use Center in the TND scenario is identified on Leary Road.

Moderator

We’ll try to correct our reporting, if necessary….

Spades

I recently purchased a new home in a new subdivision in North Lawrence. The article last week spoke of expanding to the west and south of Lawrence, and I feel that the city is really turning away from and forgetting about the citizen across the river. We don’t even have a grocery store. For the most part our area is full of run-down businesses and homes. I feel that I’ve made a mistake buying a home in North Lawrence, and should have looked west or south. The only mention about this area was to lightly industrialize around the airport, which doesn’t entice me at all. What is the city going to do about their citizens across the river and the condition of the existing area?

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

The City has recently completed a Stormwater Drainage Study for the North Lawrence area and the unincorporated areas north of the City. Significant infrastructure improvements are required before substantial new development can occur in this area. However, there are a number of under-utilized commercial or industrial-zoned properties in North Lawrence that could be redeveloped when the market supports such action.

Toto12

Sheila and Dan, At what point can we begin to get serious about limiting the growth of our city? Why are we pandering to the developers? Do you understand that we are rapidly filling in all of the open spaces? Wouln’t it be nice if our children’s children could see a farm or some woods around town?

Moderator

That’ll be the last question we take today.

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

Douglas County is an urbanizing county. The decision makers have adopted policies that look to planned and managed growth. In recent years, there has been more emphasis on the need to include open space preservation with development. I believe that we will continue to see that approach in the future.

Moderator

You folks have hearings planned to discuss these plans right? Please remind us when and where those hearings will be held.

Sheila Stogsdill and Dan Warner

The proposed land use scenarios are Item No. 12 on the Planning Commission’s agenda this Wednesday night. The meeting starts at 6:30PM at City Hall. The Planning Commission will receive public comment on the future land use scenarios and continue their discussion that evening. They hope to reach consensus on a base map to be used for the Transportation 2030 update in mid-November. That base map will be used to test various transportation modeling alternatives.

Moderator

Thanks for joining us today!