Agenda highlights ¢ 6:30 p.m. Wednesday ¢ City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets

Horizon 2020 changes to be debated

Bottom line

Planning commissioners are scheduled to debate possible changes to Horizon 2020 that would create new strategies on how to plan for growth in the unincorporated parts of Douglas County. The new chapter ultimately will have to be approved by both the Douglas County Commission and the Lawrence City Commission. Douglas County commissioners have previously said they have concerns about the proposed strategies.

Background

Proposed new strategies include:

¢ elimination of the 5-acre exemption, which generally allows residents in rural areas to build a home on five acres or more without going through the platting or rezoning process. The exemption would be replaced with a 20-acre exemption.

¢ creation of a new transitional platting process. The transitional plat would allow people who own 40 acres or more near any one of the county’s cities to submit a new type of two-phased plat. The plat would allow for a low-density housing development in the immediate future and then show how the area could be developed into a higher density development if the property were annexed into the city limits.

¢ creation of new development fees if residential growth in the rural areas is found to not pay for itself.

Other business

Regular agenda

¢ rezoning 34.35 acres from A Agricultural to B-2 General Business. The property is located at the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 56 and U.S. Highway 59.

¢ rezoning 3.973 acres from A Agricultural to RS-2 Single Family. The property is located at the southeast corner of Wakarusa and Eisenhower drives.

¢ rezoning 11.165 acres from A Agricultural to RM-1 Multiple Family. The property is located at the southeast corner of Wakarusa and Eisenhower drives.

¢ preliminary plat for Glenwood Addition, a 12-lot single family and multiple family residential development located west of Wakarusa Drive and east of Eisenhower Drive.

¢ rezoning 26.711 acres from RS-2 Single Family to RM-D Duplex. The property is located north of Harvard Road and east of George Williams Way.

¢ rezoning 3.2677 acres from RM-1 Multi-Family to POD-1 Planned Office Development. The property is generally located east of Wakarusa Drive and north of Harvard Road.

¢ hear text amendments to county zoning regulations.

¢ consider adding new chapter to Horizon 2020 regarding rural planning and development.