The Douglas County Commission is tired of waiting for a new set of rural growth regulations.

County commissioners through their attorney delivered a message Tuesday night to city commissioners: Approve a proposed set of subdivision regulations by the end of the year, or the county will dissolve a partnership that allows the city and the county to jointly plan areas of development.

“The County Commission has a serious time problem,” said County Counselor Evan Ice.

The county has had a building moratorium in place for about the last 18 months that essentially prohibits the issuance of any residential building permit on properties smaller than 10 acres.

The county put the moratorium in place to give planners time to develop the new rural growth regulations. The process, though, has taken much longer than county commissioners anticipated.

“The point is, we owe it to people to come up with timely decisions so they can live their lives,” County Commissioner Charles Jones said when contacted after the meeting.

Joint regulations

City commissioners met with Lawrence-Douglas County planning commissioners Tuesday as part of a study session on the new subdivision regulations. The regulations would eliminate the 5-acre exemption, which essentially allows property owners in the rural part of the county to get a residential building permit without going through the planning process as long as they have at least 5 acres.

The exemption would be replaced with three processes that would allow people to pull building permits without getting approval from the Planning Commission or the County Commission as long as they meet certain road frontage guidelines, have at least 10 to 20 acres of property depending on its location, and agree to build on their property in a way that will make it easier for the city to annex the property in the future. The new regulations also prohibit construction of large, densely populated residential subdivisions outside the city limits.

The new subdivision regulations must be approved by both the city and the county because of an agreement between the two bodies. That was done decades ago in an effort to help ensure coordinated planning between Lawrence and the rural areas.

County commissioners, however, could choose to dissolve the agreement, which means they could implement the new rural regulations without the approval of the City Commission. Ice said county commissioners are prepared to do that if action isn’t taken by the end of the year.

“It is a very, very strong likelihood that they are going to adopt these subdivision regulations,” Ice told city commissioners.

“I think that would be unfortunate,” City Commissioner David Schauner said of possible dissolution of the planning agreement. “It wouldn’t serve the city or county taxpayers very well.”

Clarity concerns

Adopting separate subdivision regulations would not necessarily cause the dissolution of the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission. It still could exist to administer the zoning code, which would remain a city-county document, and Horizon 2020, which is the long-range plan for the city and county.

But both sides acknowledge that dissolving the subdivision agreement could make for a messier planning process. It would create at least two sets of rules for people to follow depending on the location of their property. It also could require the creation of a Lawrence-only planning commission to deal with some items.

“We understand there could be ramifications,” Jones said. “But this is such a progressive step that we’re eager to move forward. If moving ahead progressively jeopardizes the relationship, you have to wonder how strong the relationship really was.”

Mayor Mike Amyx said he would like for everyone to stop talking about a possible dissolution of the planning agreement. He intends to take a handful of planning commissioners and city staff members to meet with Douglas County commissioners to try to hammer out differences. He said he does not support any breaking of the agreement.

County commissioners have said the new regulations benefit the city because they will make it easier and cheaper for the city to expand. For example, the regulations will make it less likely that homes or other structures are in the way of future streets or utility lines.

Some city commissioners, though, worry the proposed regulations aren’t specific enough.

“The good intentions of the county really need to be put in writing,” Schauner said.