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The City of Lawrence is preparing to update the rules that determine what type of buildings can go where in Lawrence, giving city leaders an opportunity to make code changes that will shape the look and function of the city for years to come.

The city’s land development code guides allowed land uses, building density, parking requirements and various other aspects of development, and has not been updated since 2006. A lot has occurred in the intervening 15 years, including the adoption of a new comprehensive plan for the City of Lawrence and Douglas County in 2019 and the adoption of the city’s new strategic plan this year. The update to the land development code will create regulations to implement the vision laid out in those plans, which includes more density and infill development, more affordable housing options and more walkable neighborhoods with a mix of uses, among various other goals.

Planning and Development Director Jeff Crick said the land development code is an important document, and the update to the code will set the conversation for where and how Lawrence wants to grow. He said the comprehensive plan, Plan 2040, set out the broad ideas, and the update would bring those ideas into the code.

“So it’s really kind of where that rubber meets the road of planning, to kind of say this is what our community would like to be, this is how we envision Lawrence to look, and this is where we’d like to go,” Crick said.

The city plans to hire an outside firm to assist with the code update, and public input will be collected throughout the process to develop and draft the code revision. The request for proposals includes 12 objectives, starting with implementing the goals outlined in Plan 2040. Other objectives include creating regulations that encourage infill development; advancing the availability of housing, especially affordable options; and creating regulations that are concise and consistent. The request for proposals also lays out six elements of interest for the code to address, but states additional elements could be identified and that overall goals will be solidified as the city gets public input.

Local leaders have emphasized the need for more infill development within areas that are already within city limits, and infill is among the goals of Plan 2040 and identified as a way for the city to grow more efficiently and sustainably. The request for proposals states an objective of the update is to review the land development code for existing barriers to infill development and to create regulations that encourage such development.

Commissioner Brad Finkeldei, who previously served six years on the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission, said the city says it wants infill development, but when people try to do infill projects, they run up against various barriers, and those needed to be identified and addressed.

“We want to look at those (barriers) and see, is this a code that we can confidently say encourages infill development?” Finkeldei said. “The code we have today, you can’t say that about.”

Implementing Plan 2040 also includes other changes that will affect the look and function of the city. Another goal of Plan 2040 is to integrate commercial uses into residential areas where appropriate. Currently, city code largely relegates businesses to strip malls and the city’s commercial districts, but Plan 2040 envisions more pedestrian-based neighborhoods that include businesses such as coffee shops, restaurants and professional offices within walking distance.

Finkeldei said there were lots of options to accomplish more mixed-use neighborhoods, such as making more development options available by right or via a special use permit, and the update would determine exactly how the code would accomplish the goal.

“There’s lots of ways you could get to the same result,” Finkeldei said. “That’s what has to be hammered out as we look at this.”

Another of the objectives of the update is to increase housing availability throughout the community, especially affordable housing. Crick said the goal is for the review to look at potential code changes that would help reduce homebuilding costs as a way of making housing more affordable, as well as different housing types.

More specifically, the request for proposals states the development code update gives the city the opportunity to review ways the code could foster a variety of housing — in terms of scale, size, pricing and units — to meet the needs of all community members. Along those same lines, Plan 2040 calls for encouraging a variety of housing types, such as accessory dwelling units, townhomes, live/work units, and smaller homes, and integrating medium and higher-density housing types into neighborhoods.

Crick said the update would also address the development process by creating regulations that are more concise, consistent and effective, and ensuring the code is accomplishing what the city intends. For example, he said currently the code includes different levels of site plans and different versions of permits, all with different caveats about when they apply. He said the code would be reviewed for ways to make it both more efficient and understandable for someone wishing to do a project.

“It gets very granular very quickly on some of those items,” Crick said. “So trying to streamline that to make the site planning process a little more approachable.”

Other objectives include creating regulations that encourage new and diverse economic development and industries; ensuring the code incorporates and enhances the city’s sustainability and environmental goals; and promoting additional coordination between the City of Lawrence and Douglas County development review processes in the developing urban fringe areas. The update will also bear in mind the city’s Historic Resources chapter, according to the proposal.

The proposal also makes clear that the goals of the code revision are not finalized, and will be shaped by the public input. The request for proposal states that public surveys will be conducted and public input will be gathering throughout the process, and Finkeldei said that component was key.

“This is an important conversation, but it’s a conversation that we’re going to have with the community,” Finkeldei said

Crick said the city is currently reviewing proposals from interested firms, and a recommendation will go to the commission in early 2022. As part of the update, the selected firm will assist in land use planning, infrastructure assessment, data collection and analysis, and public engagement, according to the request for proposals. Once a firm is selected, the update is anticipated to take one to two years.