Lawrence’s borders are expanding at a faster rate this decade than at any time in more than 30 years.

During the first four years of the 21st century, the city has added 2,014 acres — a rate of 503 acres a year. That’s up from an average annexation rate of 329 acres a year during the 1990s, and the fastest growth since the city added an average 568 acres a year during the 1960s.

Lawrence now covers 19,946 acres of Douglas County, up from 5,156 acres in 1960.

“There’s no question that Lawrence is sprawling,” said Stephen Grabow, a Kansas University professor of architecture.

But others say that the faster pace of annexation reflects a new determination on the part of city officials to exercise control over Lawrence’s growth. Any development in newly annexed areas must conform to stricter city standards, and must wait on city services, such as water and sewer, to proceed.

“Annexation is a tool that can be used to manage growth and direct growth,” Mayor David Dunfield said last week. “I think this commission is interested in using annexation more proactively, to gain control over the nature of growth.”

New pressures

The biggest chunk of new land is more than 600 acres along Sixth Street, between Wakarusa Drive and the South Lawrence Trafficway. The city annexed the land so it could help pay to widen Sixth Street along the corridor; under the law, the land had to be within city limits in order for the city to borrow money for the project.

If taking control over land gives the city new power to control growth, some experts say it also can increase development pressures in new areas of town.

Brian Kubota leads a partnership to develop the southeast corner of Sixth Street and the SLT. Earlier this year, he told the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission that he needed to develop the land because he was now paying city property taxes on it.

“We must be ready (to develop) since the city annexed us,” Kubota said. “We didn’t ask for annexation.”

But development is dependent upon the city’s willingness to provide services.

“It doesn’t follow,” Dunfield said, “that we need to immediately provide services, because we’ve annexed.”

Kubota disagreed.

Growth pressures moving westward (12-4-03) 6News video: Westward growth faster than anticipated (12-4-03) Sixth St. and SLT pegged as latest ‘gateway’ (6-14-03) 6News video: City planners want to guide development Nodal plan for intersection of 6th Street and the South Lawrence Trafficway (pdf document)

“When the city annexes property,” he said, “it has to be ready for the property owner to make available development of the property.”

‘Piecemeal’

City Manager Mike Wildgen described the city’s annexation policies of previous decades as “piecemeal.”

“Probably the ’90s and before, when the developers were ready, they would come to the city when they were ready for utilities,” he said.

Douglas County Commission Chairman Bob Johnson agreed.

“In this community, we’ve had a tendency to not be willing to accept the facts as they’re occurring,” he said. “We’ve tended to underestimate the needs and the growth.”

The more aggressive annexation policy, Johnson said, is “based, to some extent, on the initiative of the Smart Growth forces.”

He added: “I think that’s the right thing to do.”

Wildgen agreed.

“I think we’re taking more comprehensive looks at annexations in this decade,” he said. “I think we’ve seen the value in annexing areas where we know we’ll want utilities to be.”