A Topeka planning official quoted in Thursday’s Journal-World seemed to be gloating a little about the possibility that his city might be growing at Lawrence’s expense.

David Thurbon, director of the Topeka Planning Department, contended that developers who might have done projects in Lawrence were moving to Topeka where infrastructure is readily available and it’s easier to get projects approved. Topeka has seen significant development activity to the southeast.

Although a sewer issue in northwest Lawrence slowed development in that area earlier this year, that problem has been resolved. The bigger issues now, according to local development representatives, revolve around time and money.

Part of the money issue is pretty much out of the government’s control. Buildable lots in Lawrence are more expensive than in Topeka; this drives up the price of finished homes. Higher-priced homes also take longer to sell because there are fewer buyers.

Where the city can help, however, is with the issue of time. The local development community has never been shy about criticizing the difficulty of getting projects approved in Lawrence. How fast a project moves forward in Lawrence is affected by a number of factors, including the city’s review process and the community’s active development watchdogs who sometimes raise issues that slow the approval process.

Time, of course, is money. Bobbie Flory, executive director of the Lawrence Home Builders Assn., and Pat Flavin, a broker for Lawrence Realty Associates, both say it’s not unusual for the development process to take two years from raw property to final approval to start building. During that time, a developer is paying taxes on the property, and costs for building on it are going up.

Many projects don’t take that long, but Lawrence has a way to go to meet the Topeka planning director’s estimate that it takes only three to six months to gain approval for a project there. Of course, Topeka probably has a much larger staff working on projects, as well as proportionally fewer projects than Lawrence has seen in its recent development boom.

Nonetheless, if Lawrence officials want to even the playing field with Topeka, their best bet is to seek ways to streamline the approval process for developers. That process currently is being reviewed, and consultants are scheduled to report on possible changes this fall.

It’s not surprising that Topeka would want to use its development boom as a reason to needle Lawrence. The competition between the two cities has been growing right along with the number of people who work in Topeka but choose to live in Lawrence. The Topeka situation, however, is a strong reminder that if Lawrence is to remain competitive, it must plan ahead for infrastructure needs and do what it can to move worthy development projects more quickly through the city’s approval process.