A market study developed by consultant Kirk McClure is being used to evaluate new commercial zoning requests.
New retail development along certain corridors in Lawrence can be a good thing, but too much development can ruin the viability of an entire commercial district, especially if it happens too rapidly.
That's the idea behind a new planning policy Lawrence city commissioners will consider this week that uses market analysis data to determine how much new retail development a given area can absorb.
Planning director Linda Finger said the practice already has been in place for about a year, but commissioners will be asked to make it a formal policy Tuesday night by adopting a resolution.
The policy was first suggested in Horizon 2020, the long-range comprehensive plan for land use and development in Lawrence and Douglas County.
The idea is to look at the total square footage of retail space that already exists in the city's nine commercial corridors, and to use sales tax data to measure the amount of retail spending in those areas.
Then, as developers apply for zoning and building permits to put up new commercial space in those areas, city planners can use a formula to determine what impact the development would have on the surrounding district and on other retail centers in the city.
The first part of the strategy was completed last year when city commissioners accepted a "Retail Market Dynamics" report from consultant Kirk McClure, which provides a baseline description of existing retail activity in Lawrence.
If city commissioners approve the resolution Tuesday night, it would formalize a policy on how that report will be used to evaluate future commercial zoning requests.
An example of that occurred at the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission last week when Northland Ventures L.C. asked to rezone the former India School at 23rd and Harper streets as a "C-4" commercial district.
Finger said city planners looked at the developer's plans, along with data about existing commercial activity on the East 23rd Street corridor and determined the area could absorb the additional retail activity.
Planning department staff recommended against the rezoning, however, because of its potential impact on surrounding residential property.
The Planning Commission recommended approval of a rezoning to a less intense "C-2" classification.
"It's not a blackball system," Finger said. "It's not a force out. If you bump the scale so far with your development, it's not an automatic rejection. It's just one of 10 or 11 findings that are going to be made, and it doesn't carry any more weight than any of the others."
Officials say the policy is worded carefully so it cannot be used as a tool to restrain trade or protect individual businesses from competition.
It can, however, be used to protect certain retail districts, especially downtown, from becoming saturated or from having their share of the market drained by overdevelopment in another part of town.
"This analysis would be used to evaluate the potential impact on the future viability of the primary regional retail commercial center as a whole and not the potential impact on individual businesses or properties," the resolution states.
-- Peter Hancock's phone message number is 832-7144. His e-mail address is phancock@ljworld.com.
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