A proposed zoning text amendment that would allow shallower front-yard setbacks for new home construction met with mixed reviews Tuesday from the Baldwin City Council.

The text amendment that the Baldwin City Planning Commission approved would allow setbacks from street easements of 20 feet, rather than the 30 feet now required in city zoning code. It was before the City Council for discussion Tuesday and will be back before the Council on Feb. 21 for a vote.

Planning Commissioner Casey Simoneau said the text amendment was the result of a review of lots available in Baldwin City and trends in other communities, including west Lawrence, which have adopted the 20-foot standard. Builders were in favor of the change because it would save them from pouring an extra 10-foot of concrete for driveways, he said.

Many of the city’s few remaining vacant lots platted for residential development cannot be built on because they lack the depth to accommodate the required 30-foot setback, Simoneau said.

Baldwin City planning director Ed Courton said opening up lots for development was an advantage of the proposed change. The downside to the amendment was that it would allow construction of homes and garages that stick out 10 feet closer to the street than others in existing neighborhoods, Courton said. With the shorter setbacks, some large vehicles might overhang sidewalks, he said.

Courton said approval of the text amendment as written would make shallower setbacks a right. Therefore, property owners would not be able to protest a neighboring home being built 10 feet closer to the street than existing homes in the neighborhood, he said.

“I wouldn’t want that to happen to me,” Councilwoman Christi Darnell said. She and Councilwoman Kathy Gerstner said they would support a 20-foot setback in future subdivisions but not those already platted.

Mayor Marilyn Pearse agreed and suggested if that was the council’s majority position, the text amendment could be sent back at the meeting to the Planning Commission for revision. It soon became clear, however, there was no consensus among council members.

Councilman Tony Brown supported the amendment so that new homes could be built on lots currently sitting vacant because they lacked the needed depth. Councilman Steve Bauer said he wanted more time to investigate trends, while Councilman David Simmons wanted more community input before making any decision.

With lack of action Tuesday, the item will be on the Council’s Feb. 21 agenda. Courton said at that time the council could reject the text amendment by a 4-1 super-majority vote or send it back with recommendations for revisions. Revisions it might ask planning commissioners to consider were limiting the setback change to future subdivisions or allowing 10-foot setbacks to be considered as variances or through a conditional use permit process.

Courton said setback changes through conditional use permits and variances would give neighbors an opportunity to express concerns. Of the two, Courton recommended the conditional use permit process because variances would be nearly impossible to obtain.

The council also had a work session on possible improvements to First Street from State Lake Road to the north city limits, The street serves as eastern city limits in northeast Baldwin City.

City Administrator Glenn Rodden said the section of First Street should have been paved as a condition of the development of the large-lot subdivision to its west. Had that been the case, the cost of the road would have been passed on to the subdivision’s homeowners.

The city, Douglas County and Palmyra Township are now willing to pay for 70 percent of the street’s estimated $430,000 improvement, but would ask seven homeowners in the subdivision to pay for the remaining 30 percent through a benefit district, Rodden said.

Douglas County Public Works Director Keith Browning indicated the project could be scheduled for 2019, Rodden said.

In other business, the council:

• Delayed until Feb. 21 consideration of changes to the city’s fireworks ordinance and its special event permit ordinance. The first would increase the permit fee for fireworks stands from $100 to $200, establish a June 1 deadline for stand applications, charge a $25 fee for stands wanting temporary electoral hookups and forbid any discharge of private fireworks at public displays. The special event permit change would require that the city receive permits for events serving alcoholic beverages at least 30 days in advance.

• Approved the sale of $2.9 million in temporary notes to UMB Bank to finance the construction of the new public works building in the city’s Orange Street yard. Tom Kaleko, the city’s financial adviser, said the bank will charge 1.35 percent interest on the three-year notes.