A power outage in west Lawrence affected more than 1,000 households and businesses Monday. According to outage information on Westar Energy’s website, 1,325 customers lost power late Monday morning. The outage was first reported at 11:49 a.m. and affected a large portion of west Lawrence in the area of Wakarusa Drive and Bob Billings Parkway, according to the website. Company spokesperson Jeremy McNeive ...
City planners could soon begin drafting changes to city code that would allow for more affordable housing options, including dividing existing residential lots to build smaller homes. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider initiating a city code amendment process for affordable housing, including a proposal to allow developers or nonprofits to build two smaller homes on a ...
The city’s interest in consolidating city and county governments has created some tension between the two governing bodies, but Lawrence city commissioners plan to continue the conversation. Lawrence city commissioners raised the topic with Douglas County commissioners during a joint meeting last month, but county commissioners said they were not interested in the possibility and that they didn’t think ...
A local committee considering a city ordinance to reduce the amount of disposable plastic products used in Lawrence is coordinating outside research and focus groups to inform its decision. The city’s Sustainability Advisory Board voted in July to make the issue of single-use plastics one of its priorities. Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability Director Jasmin Moore said after that decision, there was a lot ...
The City of Lawrence has begun working with a foundation to get more women involved in the advisory boards that help inform city decision-making. About 40 boards provide the city recommendations or oversight on a broad range of topics, including affordable housing, public transit, fair policing, economic incentives and the arts. The results of a voluntary diversity survey conducted by the city indicate that ...
At their work session Tuesday, Lawrence city commissioners all said they are interested in reducing the city’s penalties for marijuana possession, which are currently more severe than what state law requires. The city’s ordinance governing penalties for marijuana possession was adopted in 2006, and Vice Mayor Lisa Larsen said the commission’s discussion was overdue. “This is a conversation I think ...