photo by: City of Lawrence/MG2

A proposed Costco for northwest Lawrence is shown in this rendering. This is a view from Mercato Drive.

Planning Commissioners on Wednesday night approved one piece of the puzzle for the development of a Costco store in west Lawrence.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a final plat for the Mercato 4th Addition — the commercial area south of Rock Chalk Park — where Costco wants to bring its store to Lawrence. With this approval, the final plat would include a new north-south road and would split the surrounding areas into nine separate lots, according to Ellie Mullins, a planner with the city.

As the Journal-World reported, plans filed with City Hall indicate the wholesale retailer intends to build a 160,000 square-foot, full-service store with a full deli department complete with a kitchen for the chain’s famous rotisserie chickens, a bakery, a floral department, a produce section, and an automotive shop that will focus on tire sales, among others. The development would include a 24-pump Costco fueling station.

Matthew Gough, a lawyer representing the development, told the Planning Commission this is the “next subsequent step” in developing the commercial offerings area. He noted that alongside the Costco development, that surrounding sites have been purchased by companies, including by the Oklahoma-based ice cream and hamburger chain Braum’s and Truity Credit Union.

Along with seeking the approval of the new plat, the developers were requesting that the Planning Commission waive certain requirements for pedestrian easements and the length of blocks. Gough said this would still meet all of the commission’s criteria because the west side of the development is bordered by a “steep slope” and a stormwater area justifies the approval as is, and the lot will have walkways from the store’s entrance to other connecting streets.

Gough said the subdivision existed for the purpose of bringing in large retail development, and after working many years to bring in an anchor like Costco, “time is of the essence” now that development is in the works.

The commission’s vice chair, Jane Eldredge, said she was happy to see this development coming and thinks it will be great for Lawrence residents.

“This is a lot of hard work and I’m so excited to see this coming to fruition,” Eldredge said.

In other business, Planning Commissioners approved a request to rezone approximately 0.91 acres along Tennessee Street to allow for higher residential zoning.

Commissioners voted unanimously to rezone three lots — 1800, 1825, and 1845 Tennessee St. — from R-3 residential zoning, which allows for medium density, to R-4 residential zoning, which allows for high density.

Drew Bealby, a planner with the city, said the applicant had plans to build about 20 units on the site, while the maximum the previous zoning would have been 15 units.

Chris Cunningham, who was representing the developer’s request, noted that the two southern most lots had been vacant for “quite some time” and changing the density would allow the developer to get “a couple more units” in the space right on the corner of Tennessee and 19th Streets.

Commissioner Gary Rexroad said he drove by the lot and felt the new zoning was not inconsistent with “the majority of the area” and the opportunity to build housing “seems like a good thing” to him.