photo by: Bremen Keasey/Journal-World

An area south of the main parking lot for the Jayhawk Club, 1809 Birdie Wy. between two holes on the golf course in west Lawrence. City Commissioners will consider approving a preliminary development plan that would convert a vacant 17-acre parcel into an apartment complex that would have 200 units.

The Lawrence City Commission will consider approving Tuesday night a preliminary development plan for an apartment complex that would feature 200 units along a portion of the golf course at the Jayhawk Club.

The proposed project would convert a vacant 17-acre parcel just south of the main parking lot for the Jayhawk Club, 1809 Birdie Way, into a 16 building complex with a clubhouse and pool for residents. According to plans attached in a city memo, the development would include 200 units that would be a mix of one- two- and three-bedroom apartments and a parking lot that would provide 394 spaces. Plans would call for the multiple apartment buildings to be three stories high, or about 30 feet tall.

As the Journal-World reported, the development plan was first filed with the city back in May, and the proposed site for the development was previously zoned for multifamily developments — previously, a proposal to add for 96 condos and patio homes was approved, according to filings the development group made with City Hall.

In terms of how the development would be connected with the city, plans call for traffic from the proposed complex to use Crossgate Drive to head south to Clinton Parkway or to use the private street known as Birdie Way to go north and connect with Bob Billings Parkway. The proposed complex, which is located just east of hole No. 7 of the Jayhawk Club’s golf course, would also mean that the tee boxes for the hole would have to be relocated.

photo by: City of Lawrence/Journal-World

A site plan shows the proposed layout of an apartment complex at the Jayhawk Club in west Lawrence. The proposed complex would be placed between the fairway of the No. 7 hole to the west and the No. 13 green to the east.

Although the site’s zoning would allow for the development, the proposal has not been without pushback. The item was considered by the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission back in September, with planning commissioners voting 4-3 against approving the preliminary development plan.

During that meeting, about a dozen residents spoke during public comment and urged caution against the proposed development. Many expressed concerns about how the plans could exacerbate drainage and stormwater problems in the neighborhood. Others felt that the increased traffic that would come from the complex would further degrade the roads, which many said were in worse shape because of impact from water runoff.

Because the Planning Commission had voted against approving the plan, city commissioners would require a supermajority of four votes to approve the plan. They could either vote to approve the development plan outright or approve the application with modifications or conditions. The commission could also deny the application with a simple majority, or vote to remand the application back to the Planning Commission for further consideration.

photo by: Adams Architects/City of Lawrence

A rendering shows the proposed design of an apartment building for a new complex at the Jayhawk Club in west Lawrence.