To the editor:
There is a serious omission in the debate over the so-called Airport Industrial Park. One hundred forty years ago, Roger Pine's ancestor shrewdly selected for a farm site a rare kind of soil. This is called "Judson silt loam." It is the best of the best. According to the USDA county soil survey, "Judson" is less than one-tenth of its soil group, the "Eudora-Kimo association," which, overall, comprises only 7 percent of Douglas County. Being deep, easily tilled, well drained, ideal pH, high fertility and high available water capacity, the Pines' particular soil is rated "Capability I-1." There is no better-rated soil.
The omission I referred to is that, according to city planning staff, there is nothing in the Lawrence development code or Horizon 2020 that attaches any particular value to farmland. If the developer wanted to knock down a 140-year-old house, then historic preservation review would come into play. But when the developer wants to subdivide a historic farm and pave over the most productive soil of the region, we have no policy or criteria for review. Exceptional farmland is the heritage of our community no less than old buildings, and there should be some criteria for preservation before we throw it all away.
Charles NovoGradac,
Lawrence
Comments
snowWI 9 years ago
I agree with the article. Their are better ways to encourage more economic development without having to pave over a floodplain that should be left as agricultural land. I have no idea why these landowners are so desparate to sell land for urban development that is prone to flooding and making the taxpayers pay for the infrastructure upgrades. Very few people are fooled by this proposed project and the potential jobs it plans to generate. How can we know if it will be sucessful when other business parks are half empty or vacant.
pace 9 years ago
The land is special, worth saving as farmland, probably some pollution since Pines are chem farmers to the max but it is zoned agricultural and the zoning should not be changed.
Charles L Bloss Jr 9 years ago
You are absolutely right! We have quite enough development, and certainly do not ever need to pave over this farm and it's history. Thank you, Lynn
Richard Heckler 9 years ago
Excellent points.
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