The Douglas County Commission is trying to decide what to do about a glitch in new regulations requiring rural residential development to be on a paved road in the Lawrence Urban Growth Area.

Three townships – Wakarusa, Grant and Kanwaka – have land in the growth area, but only Wakarusa has the equipment and capability to install and maintain a paved road.

The Urban Growth Area is land around Lawrence that is most likely to be annexed in the future. The new subdivision regulations were passed last year.

To ease the requirement, county engineer Keith Browning and planning resource coordinator Linda Finger are recommending an amendment to the regulations that also would allow a “stabilized surface” road for residential developments.

A stabilized surface road would be covered with rock, such as gravel, and chemically stabilized with a dust palliative.

“I think it’s unfortunate to set a standard that can’t be met,” Commissioner Bob Johnson said during Monday’s county meeting.

Commissioner Charles Jones said he wanted Finger and Browning to come up with some cost comparisons for installing and maintaining paved roads versus rock roads with periodic dust palliative treatments.

“I think the dust palliative approach might be OK if there is a limited amount of traffic,” Jones said after the meeting. “If there is going to be a lot of growth in the unincorporated area of the UGA, I’m not sure the dust palliative program is going to work. Its effectiveness depends on the amount of traffic.”

No decision about the regulations was made.