photo by: Bremen Keasey

A lot with a few storage sheds on 645 Locust St. in North Lawrence. City Commissioners will consider approving a rezoning request that could allow development for a mixed use structure on the lot.

Lawrence city commissioners will consider a rezoning request Tuesday night that could pave the way for a new mixed-use development proposed in North Lawrence.

The commission will consider a rezoning request of 1.12 acres of land at 623 and 645 Locust St. that would shift the site from an M-3 mixed-use district to an M-2 mixed-use district. That would facilitate the development of a mixed-use building that would feature commercial uses on the ground floor, residential uses on higher floors and a restaurant.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend the approval of the rezoning request during a meeting in August, as the Journal-World reported. During that meeting, Paul Werner, an architect representing the developers, said the plans call for a three-story building. He also told the Planning Commission the site had been unoccupied for years, and the development would demolish some of the structures there while preserving other buildings on the site.

Although the site is already zoned for mixed-use development, the M-3 district requires that at least half of the site be for non-residential use, according to a city memo. Werner previously said he thought an M-2 designation would “fit the site way better” because under the current zoning, the city would require the structure to have another story of commercial space. Changing the zoning request, he thought, would better match the surrounding buildings on Locust Street.

The item is listed as part of the commission’s consent agenda, which is usually approved under one vote, but because it is a quasi-judicial item, any member of the public could request that it be removed for separate discussion.

In other business, commissioners will receive a presentation from the city’s finance department and the city’s municipal adviser about its Asset Management Plan and how it affects the city’s debt and finances.

The presentation will be during a work session and will feature reports about the city’s progress in managing its infrastructure, including street maintenance and water systems, and how it affects budgeting, according to a city memo.

The presentation will discuss ways the city can optimize some of its infrastructure through pipe monitoring and evaluation, as well as the city’s goal of reducing its backlog of street maintenance. The presentation includes a “pavement condition index” for city streets, where 0 is the worst condition, 100 is the best and anything above 70 is “satisfactory.” The goal is to have a score of 70 across the city, and the actual condition of the city’s streets right now is estimated at 62.3.

In addition to the asset management reports, the presentations during this work session will include reviewing the city’s Capital Improvement Plan process and the city’s debt service fund, and a financial review of the city’s debt practices from municipal advisory firm Baker Tilly.

According to the presentation from Baker Tilly, the financial service rating Moody’s considers general obligation bonds issued by Lawrence to have an Aa1 rating, which is a higher rating than the median of U.S. cities and is comparable to other area cities like Overland Park and Olathe. The presentation says underwriters and investors “show strong interest” in bonds issued by the city, and there are no direct indications of concerns about the “sustainability of the city’s debt.”

The presentation is for informational purposes only, and city commissioners will not vote on anything in connection with it on Tuesday.

The commission will meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at the meeting room in City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.