Corporate retreat, mortuary among projects up for review

Posted by Chad Lawhorn January 26, 2009 at 1:49 p.m.

Corporate retreat, mortuary among projects up for review

Plans for a corporate retreat between Lawrence and Lecompton have resurfaced. Lawrence-Douglas County Planning commissioners at their meeting on Wednesday will consider a request to rezone 58 acres at northeast of the intersection of North 1800 Road and East 700 Road. The rezoning would change the property from Agricultural to General Business, which would allow for a corporate retreat to be built on the property. The project is being proposed by the development group Rockwell Farms L.C. A previous proposal in 2007 has called for the corporate retreat to include a conference center with meeting rooms and a reception area, a restaurant, a bar, a swimming pool, a commercial riding stable, and hunting and shooting areas. Previous plans also called for the retreat to include cabins that would be arranged in clusters throughout the development. The county’s planning staff has found that the proposed development likely would not disrupt surrounding property owners, in part, because there is about 300 acres of woodlands adjacent to the development that would be preserved as buffer. But staff members are recommending denial of the rezoning because Horizon 2020, the long-range plan for the city and county, does not contemplate such development for that area. Previously, the developers had sought a conditional use permit for the project. But the new application requests rezoning, which unlike a conditional use permit does not have to be renewed every 10 years. Planning commissioners will consider the rezoning request at their 6:30 p.m. meeting on Wednesday at City Hall. The decision by the planning commission won’t be final. The rezoning request will be presented to county commissioners for final approval. Planning commissioners also meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. On their agenda is a proposal to rezone a church building owned by Second Christian Church of Lawrence. The rezoning would allow for the church building to be converted into a mortuary, according to documents submitted by the applicant, Peaceful Rest Corp. The rezoning would have to win approval from Lawrence city commissioners before it could become final. To see the complete agenda for the two meetings, click here.