Lawrence residents should get ready for a new type of neighborhood in northwest Lawrence.

But city commissioners were deeply divided Tuesday night on whether residents should welcome the high-density New Urbanism-style development or brace themselves for a mess of traffic along West Sixth Street.

Commissioners on a 3-2 vote approved a set of rezonings and a preliminary development plan for Bauer Farm, a 43-acre commercial and residential neighborhood at the northeast corner of Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive.

“For lack of better words, this project will be a real showcase, a real entryway for this community,” City Commissioner Mike Amyx said.

The project, proposed by Lawrence architect Michael Treanor, will be an eclectic mix of uses, with single-family homes next to multifamily apartment buildings, and shops, stores and offices all within walking distance of the approximately 200 homes. The project also will include a space for the Lawrence Community Theatre and unique living arrangements such as apartments above garages and loft living spaces above retail stores.

Commissioners on Tuesday agreed that it marked a different style of Lawrence neighborhood, but some thought it created as many concerns as compliments.

“There are good things about this project, but there are others that literally scare me into voting against this project,” said City Commissioner David Schauner, who along with Commissioner Mike Rundle voted against the plan.

Both Schauner and Rundle said they had serious concerns about the amount of traffic the development would generate and how the 61,350 square feet of retail space would compete with downtown Lawrence. Both said the plan went against recommendations in Horizon 2020 and a subsequent area plan that said the site – which is in front of Free State High School and extends eastward to Folks Road – should be developed with low-intensity commercial uses.

• 6News video: Development plans spark debate at City Commission
• Bauer Farms plans (.pdf)
• More about Mapping the Future

“This is a decision everyone who drives on West Sixth Street is going to have to live with,” Schauner said. “If we say yes to it, I don’t know how we’re going to say no to anything. We ought to just let people bring projects forward and we’ll rubber-stamp them. Don’t we have any standards anymore?”

The project drew some opposition from neighbors. Alan Cowles, president of the West Lawrence Neighborhood Assn., said the plan was a poor example of New Urbanism – which emphasizes pedestrian-friendly designs and attempts to create an old-style neighborhood feel. He also had concerns that the project would create traffic problems because it would allow too much commercial development.

“All of us have been up and down 23rd Street and seen the traffic,” Cowles said. “The reason it has the traffic is because it has more development than the road can handle.”

But members of the public – especially fans of the community theater, now at 1501 N.H. – urged commissioners to approve the plan.

“You could come a little early, join a couple for dinner, maybe do a little light shopping and then walk over to the theater,” said Jane Bateman, a Lawrence resident and theater supporter. “It seems like a nice way to spend an evening.”

Treanor said he hoped to complete the design of the project and break ground by early 2007. Theater leaders said their plans were less certain because they would require a fundraising effort.