A potential lawsuit and town-gown clashes over the way Kansas University’s campus grows into adjacent neighborhoods may be averted thanks to last-ditch negotiations between city and university officials.

A new draft of a pact that for the first time would significantly regulate how KU builds on parts of its campus near neighborhoods has city, university and neighborhood officials saying they are generally pleased.

“I can support this wholeheartedly,” said Dr. Terry Riordan, who lives in the Oread neighborhood and is a member of the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission, which rejected a previous agreement in November. “I think it gives people around the university reasonable protection from intrusion. It isn’t perfect, but it is reasonable.”

When planning commissioners rejected the previous agreement in November, they recommended city commissioners be ready to take the university to court to ensure it complies with all city zoning regulations.

KU officials have argued that state law exempts the university from city zoning laws, and that being required to comply with them could jeopardize its mission.

The new draft agreement, which city commissioners will review at their meeting tonight, does not require the university to comply with the city’s zoning code for projects on KU’s main or west campuses.

But it calls for the university to follow several new guidelines related to parking and building heights. Specifically, the new agreement would require KU to:

l provide on-site parking for new student housing structures that are built within 150 feet of an adjacent neighborhood.

The Dennis E. Rieger Scholarship Hall is under construction in the Oread neighborhood. A lawsuit regarding how Kansas University's campus grows into city neighborhoods may be averted thanks to negotiations between city officials and the university.

l require residents of scholarship halls planned or under construction on Ohio Street to purchase a university parking pass, allowing them to park in a nearby KU parking garage.

l limit the height of most new buildings built within 150 feet of an adjacent neighborhood. A building would not be allowed to have a height that is greater than its setback from the street or public right of way.

The new agreement retains portions of previous draft agreements that would require the university to convene an ad hoc committee, which would include representatives from the city and neighborhoods, before any new project is started within 150 feet of a neighborhood. The agreement also would require the KU provost to specifically respond to any concerns raised by the committee. The agreement, though, doesn’t require the university to follow the committee’s recommendations.

The agreement also retains a requirement that off-campus KU projects must follow all city zoning requirements.

John Poertner, a University Place neighborhood resident who lives about 75 feet from KU, said he was impressed with the new document.

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“It sounds like the university is being responsive to neighborhood concerns,” Poertner said. “I think this agreement would be a significant step in the right direction. It is a good step toward cooperation.”

Neighbors have been pushing for the agreement after several high-profile disputes with KU. Specifically, members of the Oread neighborhood vigorously protested university plans to demolish several homes on Ohio Street to make way for new scholarship halls. Residents in the University Place neighborhood south of campus also had concerns about the size of KU’s recently completed recreation center, which is adjacent to several single-family homes.

Jeff Weinberg, assistant to KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway, said that after nearly two years work he was optimistic the agreement would win necessary Planning Commission and City Commission approvals.

“It has had a gestation period that has been about as long as that of an elephant, but the process has produced a good result,” Weinberg said. “It shows that we’re going to work together on whatever growth occurs at the university to ensure that it serves the community well.”

City commissioners will review the agreement at their meeting at 6:35 tonight at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets. They’re expected to refer the agreement to the Planning Commission, which would conduct a public hearing on the plan at its March 9 meeting.