Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday unanimously rejected a plan outlining the future of 1,200 acres of property southeast of the city limits.

The Southeast Area Plan involves undeveloped property south of Kansas Highway 10 and east of O’Connell Road. Commissioners said a small group was advocating the plan created by the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission, and that they wanted a plan the community could embrace.

“There has to be some consensus,” Douglas County Commission Chairman Charles Jones said. “If the people who own the land say it won’t work and the neighbors say it won’t work and those marketing the land say it won’t work, I have to wonder if the planning commissioners are listening.”

Based on the plan, there would be about 680 acres of land designated for industrial use, said Lawrence-Douglas County planner Sandra Day. Some developers and property owners had advocated for less industrial uses and more residential development. Residents in area neighborhoods opposed industrial zoning for land east of O’Connell Road and west of Franklin Road.

County commissioners said they had concerns about wastewater and infrastructure for the area and want the plan to address those issues. They also wanted better plans to deal with how traffic would be moved through and around the city to deal with future development in the area.

The controversial Southeast Area Plan was voted out of the planning commission on a 5-4 vote in February after about two years of work. The plan requires the approval by the city and county commissions.

Last week, the Lawrence City Commission took a pass on the plan and unanimously agreed to send it back to the planning commission. City commissioners had varying concerns regarding the proposed plan.

No dates have been set for the planning commission to start work on a new plan.