photo by: City of Lawrence/MG2

The entrance of a proposed Lawrence Costco store is shown in this rendering.

On the timeline for a Costco store in northwest Lawrence, city planning staff says the ball is mostly in the developers’ court right now.

The Journal-World asked the Planning and Development Services department about what approvals were still needed before Costco could start construction on its proposed store in the Mercato development just south of Rock Chalk Park. Planner Ellie Mullins told the Journal-World via email that there is little left for the City Commission to approve at this point, and that most of the approvals that are still needed can eventually be given by city planning staff.

But she also couldn’t give a timeline estimate, because at this point, the planning department isn’t actively reviewing any plans for the development. Rather, it’s mainly waiting on the developers to make changes and fixes that staff had requested.

For one thing, planners still have to give their final approval to the site plan, which Mullins said they initially reviewed in November and which the developers are still revising. When the developers submit the revised version of the plan, Mullins said planning staff would typically take around five business days to review it, and would then approve it “if all code requirements have been addressed.”

The developers will also have to get approval to exceed maximum setback requirements for the Costco building; that is scheduled to be considered by the Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday evening.

The other things planners are waiting on right now are some conditions associated with the final plat.

As the Journal-World reported in December, the Planning Commission did unanimously approve the plat. However, that approval had some conditions attached. These include some edits to the plat, as well as the submission of some other documentation such as revised drainage and traffic studies.

“The applicant is currently in the process of addressing conditions,” Mullins said. “When these are resolved, proposed rights-of-way and easements may be dedicated to and accepted by the City Commission, the plat can be signed, and then finally recorded at the Register of Deeds.”

That procedural move by the City Commission is the only approval that the commission still needs to provide for the project, Mullins said. There are no more approvals required from the Planning Commission either, and the rest of the approvals can be done by city staff.

Once the plat and site plan approvals are done, Mullins said the next step would be the commercial building permits. “These may be submitted at any time but may not be released until the plat and site plan approvals are complete,” she said. The developers will also need a Land Disturbance Permit, which according to the city’s website is a new requirement under the recently updated Land Development Code that has to do with erosion and stormwater runoff.

As the Journal-World has reported, plans filed with City Hall indicate that Costco intends to build a 160,000-square-foot, full-service store with a full deli department and kitchen, a bakery, a floral department, a produce section and an automotive shop that will focus on tire sales. The development would also include a 24-pump Costco fueling station.

Once the approvals do arrive, construction could move rapidly. Costco is known for being efficient at building stores, and Costco’s building contractor touts that it takes 110 days on average for a store to open after construction begins.