photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Members of the Land Development Code Steering Committee listen to a presentation from Elizabeth Garvin with city-hired consulting firm Clarion Associates at their Thursday, July 20, 2023 meeting.

The steering committee working on new rules for where and how Lawrence should grow is getting plenty of feedback from members of the public — about topics as diverse as density, downtown development and the fear of change.

Since last August, the city has been in the process of updating the Land Development Code, which dictates city growth along with changes that could affect the aesthetics and function of existing neighborhoods and commercial areas, for the first time since 2006.

The Land Development Code Steering Committee has now passed the halfway point of a series of community input meetings taking place this week to gather input about the first revised section (or “module”) of the code, which is related to zoning districts and uses. By the time the steering committee met late Thursday afternoon, there’d been six such meetings, with more yet to come on Friday.

The feedback gathered so far, according to Elizabeth Garvin with city-hired consulting firm Clarion Associates, has generated a lot of “meaningful conversation” about topics like support for expanded accessory dwelling unit allowances in most types of neighborhoods and a desire for more specific plans for annexation.

“We’ve had very good participation; at our first meeting the room was full …” Garvin said. “The others have been bigger or smaller — no less passionate. We have a lot of people showing up to share their thoughts for the future of this community with us.”

But there have also been some concerns reflected in that input so far. For example, some people expressed support for expanded duplex allowances, but concern about the design of those structures. For others, their concerns were related to development in downtown Lawrence — some said mixed-use buildings in the area aren’t affordable and thus require incentives, and others said height restrictions on downtown buildings limit their re-development.

Others, still, expressed a “fear of change,” Garvin said.

“There are people in the community who have fear of change,” Garvin said. “That came up once or twice. Fear of change is what sends people in to tell us that the changes to the code aren’t going to work, so for us, that is something to circle in on and talk about. What are the dimensions of that and what do we need to understand about that?”

That may have to do with the types of people who emerge to offer feedback during processes like this. Lawrence City Commissioner Brad Finkeldei, the steering committee’s chair, said that often, many of the people that groups like the steering committee hear from are paying close attention. But another group of people doesn’t care quite as much, or as early on, until they see how the code could affect them directly.

At least one steering committee member mentioned a specific fear they’d heard expressed by people in the community, though — how a change to the code would affect property values. Rebecca Buford, the executive director of Tenants to Homeowners, said that’s the biggest concern she’s heard from community members so far.

“I feel like there’s an absolute wealth of knowledge that maybe we could hit that off with some education,” Buford said. “In general, over the years studies have said affordable housing, in particular, or higher density or ADUs do not reduce property values. They very seldomly do, and especially in our market.”

Early community feedback has also indicated support for reducing parking requirements, but Garvin said that’s a topic better suited for more detailed discussion during the review process for the next revised module, which will cover development standards.

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At Thursday’s meeting, steering committee members were also asked whether they found the first revised module understandable, which ended up being more of a conversation about whether members of the public are feeling any confusion about the document. Garvin said that among community members at the input sessions this week, she’s noticed more listening and idea sharing going on than people sharing any details about how much they understood the document itself.

Another steering committee member, Marci Francisco, offered up one idea that could help get a better gauge on the level of public clarity going into the review process for the next revised module — offering a list of key areas the steering committee is hoping to generate the most feedback about and an idea of where in the document a reader should go to find them.

“We just wanted to make sure that, as a group, this is going to be one of our questions for you every single time,” Garvin said. “Because if it doesn’t make sense to you as ‘code nerds,’ it is definitely not going to make sense to other people.”

The group also engaged in some discussion about some specific goals outlined in Plan 2040, the city and Douglas County’s comprehensive plan. Once approved, the updated Land Development Code will create regulations to implement Plan 2040.

Those goals ranged from the city’s standing plans for maximizing development within growth tiers — from within Lawrence to the city’s future growth area and beyond — and the efficacy and feasibility of encouraging the integration of higher-density residential development in areas that currently don’t allow for it.

The next revised module of the Land Development Code should be ready for the review process happening now by sometime in September, Garvin said.

In the meantime, there are still opportunities this week for people who wish to provide feedback about the first draft module. Round-table discussions about industrial and special districts will take place from 8 to 10 a.m. Friday. Later on, a lunch discussion about equity from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday will be the last public input session of the week.

As the Journal-World reported, the steering committee also plans to host two virtual meetings in late July, one from 8 to 10 a.m. on Friday, July 28, and the other from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Monday, July 31. More information about the Land Development Code update process is available on the project’s website.