City Commission rejects shopping development in south Lawrence

This aerial photo from Sept. 5, 2015 shows the interchange of south Iowa Street and the South Lawrence Trafficway. A shopping center project called KTen Crossing was proposed at the southeast corner of the interchange, below center.

In a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, the Lawrence City Commission denied zoning and planning changes that would have allowed for a new shopping center in south Lawrence, saying the city was not yet ready to open up land south of Kansas Highway 10 for development.

The project on the table was KTen Crossing, a nearly 250,000-square-foot shopping center proposed for the southeast corner of the South Lawrence Trafficway and South Iowa Street intersection.

KTen Crossing would have been the city’s first commercial development south of K-10, and it would have required the extension of sewer and water lines. In an opposition speech, Mayor Mike Amyx said Lawrence was not currently equipped to change the city’s long-range plans and push its boundaries farther south.

“If we jump the (South Lawrence Trafficway), I guarantee you, the property to the west, you may as well recommend it for (regional commercial) right now because we can hardly deny it,” Amyx said. “Once you take that waterline across, that will open up that entire area for development. We’re jumping the SLT, and we’re not prepared to do that.”

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Collett, the North Carolina-based group behind the project, had spent nearly two years attempting to gain approval for a shopping development in that parcel of land. The first, which never gained approval from the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission, was nearly double in size at 500,000 square feet.

For the smaller development to move forward, city commissioners would have had to approve the rezoning of about 60 acres at the intersection from residential to commercial. Further, the city’s comprehensive plan, Horizon 2020, would have to have been altered to reflect the commercial use of the land.

Horizon 2020 currently calls for the area to be used for auto-related commercial establishments in the future.

Matthew Herbert was the sole commissioner in favor of the measures.

One of the arguments heard against the development Tuesday was that it would leave areas of the city, such as the existing, empty commercial area near Rock Chalk Park — known as Mercato — underserved.

In response to that argument, Herbert said the City Commission was tasked with creating a “level playing field” and honoring the city tax base.

“Retailers know where to build retail because that’s what they do for a living,” Herbert said. “We have Mercato and we need Mercato to be successful, and we can sit and wait, or we can allow development to build where it’s told us they want to build. We’re not in the business of picking winners and losers. We’re in the business of job creation and tax base growth.

“I understand I’m speaking from a minority, I just want to make sure those thoughts get heard,” he continued. “It’s what a lot of other people are thinking, too.”

City commissioners received more than 60 pages of correspondence and heard from 15 public commenters Tuesday night both in support and opposition to the project.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission recommended the changes for approval, as did the city’s planning staff.

As justification for the development, Collett representatives argued the stores, which they said were “new to market,” would attract out-of-town shoppers and help prevent Lawrence residents from going elsewhere to spend their sales tax dollars.

Chris Challis, a project manager with Collett, has said the group received letters of intent from Academy Sports and Outdoors, Fresh Market, HomeGoods and Old Navy to locate there. Challis said Designer Shoe Warehouse and Off Broadway Shoes also expressed interest, and on Tuesday, the group showed a photo of a Barnes & Noble in a list of prospective tenants.

A retail market report Collett commissioned by Kansas City-based Richard Caplan & Associates found KTen Crossing would have added approximately $1.27 million in sales tax revenue in 2019, the year the shopping center was estimated to be fully developed.

The report also stated the development was likely to draw in shoppers from around Douglas and Franklin counties and create 442 jobs.

Ruby Armstrong, the property owner of the land on which Collett wanted to develop, asked for approval. She said she was “fearful” she would not be able to rent the land after the retirement of the farmer currently using it.

“We still have great pride in our property, and we hope this property will become useful to the entire community,” she said.

In her opposition speech, Commissioner Lisa Larsen said the development was “too big a departure” from Horizon 2020. Commissioner Stuart Boley said development south of K-10 should be more thoughtfully considered, and Vice Mayor Leslie Soden said, among other things, that she had “some real serious concerns” about encouraging development close to the floodplain surrounding the Wakarusa River.

The City Commission’s 4-1 denial Tuesday was enough to overturn the planning commission’s recommendation of approval. If two commissioners had voted to approve the changes, the issue would have gone back before the planning commission for further consideration.

City attorneys were directed to prepare findings of fact about the commission’s choice in the case there is future litigation about the decision.

Amyx said the vote may have been “the single biggest issue” to come before the current commission. He likened it to the denial of the suburban mall, dubbed the “cornfield mall,” in the late 1980s.

In that instance, the developer took the city to court in a case that then worked its way to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, where the city prevailed.

“I got sued as a commissioner because I did what I thought was right,” Amyx said. “I’ll continue to do what I think is right with any piece of property after I take all of the recommendations of my professional staff and public comment. I will make that decision.”

In other business, commissioners unanimously:

• Agreed to award a bid for approximately $3.8 million to Crossland Heavy Contractors for the project of improving the taste and odor of the city’s water.

• Approved rezoning 5,500 square feet at 311 N. Third St. from industrial to commercial, allowing for a new restaurant, Levee Café.

• Accepted two LiveWell Community Wellness grants totaling $13,283 that will be used to fund new downtown bicycle parking, as well as bicycle repair stands and pumps.

• Approved changes to plans for Bauer Farm, northeast of the Sixth Street-Wakarusa Drive intersection, allowing for another drive-thru restaurant and bank to locate to the area.

• Met for 50 minutes in closed executive session to consult with city attorneys, as well as to talk about non-elected personnel items.