City officials should try to make a habit of the positive impression they left with those redeveloping the former Kmart property.

There’s some good news and some bad news in the comments of a representative of the firm developing the former Kmart building on South Iowa Street.

“The city has been phenomenal to work with,” Jodi Belpedio told the Journal-World this week. “Everybody talks about how difficult the city is, but we have had the most pleasant experience thus far.”

The good news, of course, that Belpedio’s company, Rubenstein Real Estate Co., has had a positive experience working in the city to develop the Kmart property. The bad news is that Belpedio was surprised by the city’s cooperation because “everybody talks about how difficult the city is.”

Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, perception too often is reality.

For many years, developers both inside and outside Lawrence have fed the perception that it’s difficult to get a project done here. Staff members aren’t helpful, and the information they give isn’t reliable, they say. The rules change in the middle of the project, and the approval process for various planning and building permits is slow. Developers from elsewhere have been put off by the political environment in Lawrence, which includes its share of people who shun about any project that would change the face of the city they love.

But maybe some of that perception — as well as the reality — is changing. A new task force being assembled by Mayor David Dunfield will bring together developers and others to look at the city’s planning process and perhaps make it more consistent and easier to navigate. And comments like those from Jodi Belpedio may start getting around to other people who want to do business in Lawrence.

The prospects for redeveloping the Kmart property appear to be better than most people in Lawrence could have hoped for. Traffic issues at 31st and Iowa streets, made even more complicated by accommodations for the new Home Depot development, threatened to make the Kmart corner less attractive for retail uses.

The news that the developers have received considerable interest from potential businesses and have reached agreement with the popular Bed Bath & Beyond chain to locate in the remodeled building is a welcome prospect. It’s great that South Iowa remains attractive to developers, but the city probably should brace itself for additional traffic accommodations in that area, especially if the former Kmart is replaced by four retailers, as planned.

Even though there’s still plenty of talk about Lawrence being a difficult place to do business, many retailers remain eager to enter our market. Hopefully, the city can foster the same attitude among potential business and industrial companies considering locating new facilities and new jobs in Lawrence.

City officials might profit by taking a look at the Kmart project and seeing what they did right so they will be ready to apply the same principles when working with future projects.