As the Lawrence city limit has crept outward over the decades, most have come to agree that the city needs to do a better job of centralizing growth. How that is done, though, has left some developers and city leaders at odds.

A preliminary draft of policy updates to Horizon 2020, the comprehensive plan governing Lawrence growth, would put a ring around the city to prioritize infill development. For developers wishing to build outside city limits, specific community benefits would have to be met.

Nancy Thellman, county chair of the Horizon 2020 Steering Committee, said both the citizen survey done in preparation for the committee’s work and nationwide best practices show it’s important to encourage building more densely inside the city rather than sprawling out into the open areas. To do so may require some sort of incentives, she said.

“So the discussion is what might be the expectation of a developer, by the city and by the county,” Thellman said.

But some developers are concerned about the potential for a policy that would require builders to provide specific community benefits — land or housing for a public purpose — in order to use land outside city limits for development. Bobbie Flory, executive director of Lawrence Home Builders Association, said that while she agreed the city needs to limit the urban growth area, the added community benefit requirements would compound the existing requirements.

“I’m not making a judgment on whether I think those are good or bad, I’m just pointing out there is a cost to that,” Flory said. “And we have to go through, when you look at all the city regulations, and say, ‘Hey, what is really important for us to have, what can we let go of that might help lower the cost of housing in our community?'”

Managing growth

The steering committee began meeting in 2014 and in coming months will complete a draft of its policy recommendations, which ultimately have to be approved by local governing bodies. Though an official draft of the policy is yet to be proposed, a preliminary version presented to the Horizon 2020 steering committee this summer prioritized development that is within city limits and readily serviceable by existing utility, fire and medical networks.

The draft for managing future growth states annexation of new areas for development should only be considered “if the need to accommodate demand is established and if a community benefit is provided.” Potential community benefits listed include permanent affordable housing, land or building for a public purpose, land preservation or primary employment opportunities. City planners stressed that the draft is preliminary, and said it was premature to start talking about what policy language will be.

“I think (the drafts) are pretty flexible; nothing has really been determined or set up in policy form yet,” said Scott McCullough, director of planning and development. “What we’ve done so far is try to get ideas in front of our steering committee.”

Flory also noted that some of the existing infill plats are not desirable, for reasons such as terrain, location or easements, so the time frame that infill development can sustain growth is shorter than estimates. Flory said that if the community benefits are required in order to annex an area outside of the city for development, those costs will be passed onto the home buyer.

“When a developer does that, that cost is passed onto the buyer,” Flory said. “That’s just how it works.”

Flory said that amounts to home buyers paying more than their fair share.

“That home buyer has already paid for, in the price of their house, all the infrastructure that is in that subdivision, and that’s appropriate,” Flory said. “And going beyond that is asking them to pay for other public purposes that have a broader use.”

A balanced discussion

The new comprehensive plan will be updated to cover through about the year 2040, and an issue action report that lists 19 topics the policy will address — such as managing future growth, encouraging infill development and addressing quality housing for all incomes — has already been completed. Once complete, the comprehensive plan’s policies will address the issues laid out in the action report.

Thellman agreed with the overall concept that the burden of community benefits like affordable housing should be shared, but said that developers are not exempt from that.

“It can’t be subsidized entirely by the city or the county,” Thellman said. “It really needs both the cooperation and the desire of our development community to participate in this.”

At the same time, Thellman said it is important to consider all of the parties in the discussion, including developers. She said the wrong balance could cause projects to go elsewhere or cause developers to shy away altogether.

“I think we need to have a balanced discussion, being firm and resolute about needing more affordable housing units, but we also have to understand that if we put too many obstacles in the way or too many demands on the development community that we may have the opposite effect of what we’re hoping to do,” Thellman said.

When and how Lawrence grows

McCullough said the draft remains flexible, and details will become clearer as policy discussions continue. Specifically, he said the committee will consider how growth relates to other city goals such as affordable housing, commercial development, parks and recreation, and arts and culture.

“I think it’s a good question to ask ourselves,” McCullough said. “The questions surrounding growth, from my perspective, are when do we grow the city boundaries, where do we grow those boundaries and then how do we grow those boundaries, both physically and from an affordable housing standpoint and many other standpoints.”

McCullough said the approach to encouraging infill development and community benefits such as affordable housing, are also still being discussed. Whether the tool is incentives or regulations will be a part of that discussion, he said.

“I think we can expect policy statements in our comprehensive plan that encourage that affordable housing be addressed in our community, and whether that’s with a carrot or a stick remains to be discussed in the community,” McCullough said.

Timeline

The steering committee is not the only group making plans.

The City Commission is set to begin work on its first strategic plan, which going forward will be redrafted every two years. McCullough explained that the policies in the comprehensive plan will inform the strategic plan, and that both should be aligned.

“So the comprehensive plan is broader in policy, and the strategic plan is a higher-detailed plan of implementation for the comprehensive plan, with a shorter time horizon,” McCullough said.

Once a draft of the new comprehensive plan is complete, the Planning Commission, City Commission and County Commission will review it before adoption.

The comprehensive plan steering committee’s next meeting will be Oct. 10, and members are scheduled to discuss height/density policies and quality neighborhoods for all age groups. McCullough said a few additional meeting will be devoted to policy discussions, and a policy draft should be complete by early spring.