PUBLIC HEARING ITEM:
ITEM NO. 8: RS-2 & PCD-2 TO C-5; 2.63 ACRES; 3300 IOWA STREET (BPD)
Z-05-21-04: A request to rezone a tract of land approximately 2.63 acres from RS-2 (Single-Family Residential) District and PCD-2 (Planned Commercial Development) District to C-5 (Limited Commercial) District. The property is described as being located at 3300 Iowa Street. Submitted by Landplan Engineering for Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust and Lawrence Cashways, LLC, are property owners of record.
Current Zoning and Land Use: RS-2 (Single-Family Residence) District; stormwater detention area.
PCD-2 (Planned Commercial Development) District with use restrictions; storage area for a lumberyard retail store (Payless Cashways site). The lumberyard is vacant.
Surrounding Zoning and Land Use: RS-2 to C-5 portion of the request
RS-2 to the north, east, and south; stormwater detention area.
C-5 (Limited Commercial) District to the west; developed with an existing Wal-Mart store.
A (Agricultural) District further to the east and south; undeveloped with row crops.
PCD-2 to C-5 portion of the request
A to the east; undeveloped with row crops.
PCD-2 (Planned Commercial Development) to the south; developed with a vacant lumberyard retail store.
C-5 to the west; developed with a car dealership. This area is to be redeveloped and is part of the
C-5 to PCD-2 rezoning request (Z-05-20-04) and preliminary development plan (PDP-05-04-04).
C-5 to the north; developed with an existing Wal-Mart store.
Reason for Request: To facilitate the expansion of the existing Wal-Mart store and the redevelopment of the vacant Payless Cashways site.
I. ZONING AND USES OF PROPERTY NEARBY
Staff Finding - The subject property is located on the east side of Iowa Street between W. 33rd Street and the right-of-way for the proposed eastern leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT).
The zoning to the north, west, and south of the subject properties is commercial (PCD-2 and C-5). The zoning to the east of the subject properties is A (Agricultural) a County zoning district.
The properties to the north, west, and south of the subject properties are developed with a Wal-Mart store, the Crown Chevrolet/Toyota Auto Dealership, and the vacant Payless Cashways site. All of these properties are within the incorporated city limits of the City of Lawrence.
The properties to the east are undeveloped with row crops and are not with in the city limits.
II. CHARACTER OF THE AREA
The subject properties are located in the City’s most intensively developed Regional Commercial Center. The subject properties are located in an area designated by Horizon 2020, the City/County Comprehensive land use plan, as the S. Iowa Street (23rd Street to K-10) commercial area. Horizon 2020 designates the S. Iowa Street area as a Regional Commercial Center. The area between W. 31st Street and K-10 is where the City’s “large format” retail stores are located. There has been a large amount of retail development in this area in both the form of new construction and redevelopment. Area stores include Home Depot, Target, J C Penney, Kohl’s, and the stores occupying the redeveloped K-Mart building.
The zoning in the area is primarily C-5 and PCD-2. Likewise the primary uses surrounding the subject properties are commercial in nature.
The area to the east of the property is not within the city limits and is undeveloped. It is anticipated that this area will come into the incorporated area of the City and be developed in an urban manner.
The primary access to the subject properties is via either W. 33rd Street or Iowa Street by way of W. 34th Street to a north/south frontage road fronting the subject properties. Stoplights provide access control at both W. 34th Street and W. 33rd Street. However, the existing W. 34th Street access is very poor. W. 34th Street has a very short throat area for vehicle queuing between Iowa Street and the frontage road. This short throat length does not provide the necessary stacking distance and greatly hampers access to and from the subject properties.
The proposed redevelopment of the Wal-Mart, Crown/Toyota Dealership, and the Payless Cashways site greatly improves the access to the subject properties via W. 34th Street.
Staff Finding - The character of the area is primarily retail commercial. The undeveloped property to the east is anticipated to be urbanized in the future. Access to the subject properties is currently hampered by the W. 34th Street access point. This access will be improved as part of the redevelopment of the subject properties.
III. SUITABILITY OF SUBJECT PROPERTY FOR THE USES TO WHICH IT HAS BEEN RESTRICTED
The property to the east that is currently zoned RS-2 serves as a stormwater detention area. The RS-2 zoning district is a suitable zoning classification for the current use that is occurring on the property. However, it typically not appropriate to locate a Single-Family Residence zoning district, such as RS-2, directly adjacent to a commercial district
The property that is currently zoned PCD-2 is a vacant retail lumberyard store. The PCD-2 rezoning ordinance that was published for this property restricts the uses to the single use as a lumberyard. Since the property was developed as a lumberyard, the PCD-2 with restrictions zoning district is a suitable zoning classification for this property.
Staff Finding - Both properties that are part of this rezoning request are suitable for the uses to which they have been restricted.
IV. LENGTH OF TIME SUBJECT PROPERTY HAS REMAINED VACANT AS ZONED
Staff Finding - A portion of the subject property has been zoned C-5 since 1991 and the PCD-2 portion has been zoned in that manner since 1993.
V. EXTENT TO WHICH REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS WILL DETRIMENTALLY AFFECT NEARBY PROPERTY
In addition to this rezoning request, the applicants have submitted a rezoning request for C-5 to PCD-2 (Z-05-20-04), a preliminary development plan (PDP-05-04-04) for the redevelopment of the Payless Cashways site, and a site plan (SP-05-29-04) for the expansion of the existing Wal-Mart store. The purpose of these requests is to facilitate the expansion of the existing Wal-Mart store and redevelop the Payless Cashways store for the Crown Chevrolet/Toyota Dealership.
Approval of this rezoning request and the requests that accompany it will allow for the expansion of an existing retail building and the redevelopment of an existing retail building. The subject properties are located in an area that is designated by the comprehensive plan as a Regional Commercial Center, which is the largest and most intense retail center classification in the comprehensive plan.
The majority of the nearby properties are already developed with commercial uses and it is anticipated that the undeveloped properties to the east will develop in an urban pattern. The approval of this rezoning will allow for the redevelopment and expansion of the subject properties in a manner that is similar to the surrounding area; therefore, removal of the current zoning restrictions will not have a detrimental affect on nearby property.
Staff Finding – Approval of this rezoning request will not have a detrimental affect on nearby property.
VI. RELATIVE GAIN TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE BY THE DESTRUCTION OF THE VALUE OF THE PETITIONER’S PROPERTY AS COMPARED TO THE HARDSHIP IMPOSED UPON THE INDIVIDUAL LANDOWNERS
Evaluation of this criterion weighs the benefits to the community-at-large versus the benefits to the owners of the subject property. Benefits are measured based on anticipated impacts of the rezoning request on the public's health, safety and welfare.
If this rezoning and the accompanying Preliminary Development Plan and rezoning request is approved, the property owner(s) will be able to redevelop a vacant commercial site and expand an existing retail store. An important component of the redevelopment proposal is the reconfiguration of the access to the subject property from Iowa Street at 34th Street. Currently this access point is inadequate and is a traffic safety concern. The proposal presented by the applicant in the Preliminary Development Plan improves the 34th Street access and the traffic movement for the entire site.
The Payless Cashways site is part of the overall development proposal that includes this rezoning request. The Payless Cashways site has been vacant for a number of years. Part of the applicant’s proposal is for the redevelopment of the Payless Cashways site for the purpose of housing the Crown Chevrolet/Toyota dealership.
Approval of this rezoning request will facilitate the expansion of the applicant’s retail store and not reduce the value of the applicant’s property. Approval of this rezoning and the accompanying preliminary development plan and rezoning request will provide a gain to the public health, safety and welfare by improving the traffic flow in and around the subject property and providing a tenant for the vacant Payless Cashways site.
Staff Finding – The rezoning of this property will not destroy the value of the subject property or impose a hardship on the landowner.
VII. CONFORMANCE WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Horizon 2020 is the comprehensive plan for the City of Lawrence and the unincorporated portion of Douglas County. An evaluation of the conformance of this rezoning with the City’s comprehensive plan is based on key features, goals, policies and recommendations of the plan.
One of the strategies of the comprehensive plan is to encourage the infill and/or redevelopment of existing commercial sites.
“• Encourage infill development and/or redevelopment of existing commercial areas with an emphasis on Downtown Lawrence and existing commercial gateways. Sensitivity in the form of site layout and design considerations shall be given to important architectural or historical elements in the review of development proposals.” (Horizon 2020, page 6-1)
This rezoning proposal is part of a larger proposal that includes the redevelopment of the vacant Payless Cashways site, which is part of the gateway to the existing south Lawrence commercial area.
The subject property is part of the S. Iowa Street Regional Commercial Center. Horizon 2020 defines the S. Iowa Regional Commercial Center as the area between W. 23rd Street and K-10 with approximately 1.3 million square feet of gross commercial space.
“K-10 provides a physical barrier and edge to the commercial corridor (S. Iowa Street Corridor) that has developed. Additional retail commercial uses shall not occur south of the highway, …
In general, development and redevelopment along the Iowa Street segment shall emphasize consolidated access, frontage roads, coordinated site planning and design, and high quality development.” (Horizon 2020, pg 6-14)
This rezoning request does not propose to extend the commercial uses south of K-10. This request is part of a larger proposal that will consolidate access points and provides the ability to coordinate the site planning of three existing commercial sites (Wal-Mart, Crown Chevrolet/Toyota, and Payless Cashways).
Policy 3.2 in the Commercial Land Use chapter of Horizon 2020 states “the city shall develop reasonable design standards for new and redeveloped commercial areas…” (pg 6-29) Currently, a subcommittee of the Planning Commission is reviewing possible design criteria for commercial developments within the City. These criteria have not been reviewed or adopted by either the Planning or City Commission. This rezoning request is for C-5, which limits the ability of the City to review the architectural design elements of the development proposal. A rezoning request for PCD-2 would allow the City more specific review authority over the proposal’s architectural design elements. Since the design criteria have not been adopted, it would be inappropriate to require this proposal to comply with design criteria that are still being considered by a subcommittee. However, the applicant should be aware of the design criteria that are being discussed and that it would show good community faith for the entire development proposal to meet the design criteria, where possible.
Horizon 2020 recommends that Regional Commercial Centers have no more than 1.5 million gross square feet. Approval of this proposal will not cause the S. Iowa Regional Commercial Center to exceed 1.5 million gross square feet.
Policy 3.11(A) in the Commercial Land Use Chapter states,
“Proposals to create any shopping district that, when considering the entire node will result in greater than 150,000 gross square feet of commercial building space shall include an independent market analysis.” (Pg 6-36)
The only additional retail commercial square footage created by this proposal is the expansion of the existing Wal-Mart store. The proposed expansion will increase the existing building to approximately 218,000 gross square feet. This is an increase of 96,000 gross square feet which is smaller than the 150,000 gross square feet threshold established in Horizon 2020. Therefore, an independent market study is not required. The applicant has provided a market study that does state that the City of Lawrence market can absorb the additional commercial space that will be created by this proposal.
Staff Finding - This rezoning request is in conformance with the City’s Comprehensive land use plan, Horizon 2020.
STAFF REVIEW
This rezoning request is part of a larger proposal that includes the expansion of the existing Wal-Mart store and the redevelopment of the vacant Payless Cashways site. To facilitate the expansion of the Wal-Mart store, the existing Crown Chevrolet/Toyota dealership will be removed. The removal of the Crown store will allow Wal-Mart to expand to the south. The expansion of the store to the south will require the current recycling facility to be relocated to an area that is now part of the Payless Cashways site. The PCD-2 to C-5 rezoning request is proposed for that area of the Payless Cashways site where the Wal-Mart recycling facility will be re-located.
The RS-2 to C-5 portion of this rezoning request is for an area that is east of the Wal-Mart store. The site plan (SP-05-29-04) that was submitted in conjunction with the Preliminary Development Plan and rezoning requests shows a portion of the semi-trailer turnaround area on property that is currently zoned RS-2. A semi-trailer turnaround area is not an allowable use in a RS-2 zoning district. Rezoning this property to C-5 will allow for the property to be used as part of the semi-trailer turnaround area.
The Crown Chevrolet/Toyota dealership will be relocated the vacant Payless Cashways site. The Preliminary Development Plan (PDP-05-04-04) and rezoning request (Z-05-20-04) deal with the proposal to redevelop the Payless Cashways site. If these two rezoning requests and the Preliminary Development Plan are approved, it will allow for the expansion and redevelopment of all three sites (Wal-Mart, Crown Chevrolet/Toyota, and Payless Cashways). While all three sites are to be redeveloped as a joint project, one site (Wal-Mart) will have conventional zoning (C-5) and the Crown Chevrolet/Toyota site (the old Payless Cashways) will have a Planned Unit Development zoning (PCD-2).
Because of the two different zoning designations, the site plan approval process and timeline for the two sites is different. The Wal-Mart expansion will require rezoning approval and site plan approval. The rezoning request will be considered by both the Planning and City Commissions. The site plan will considered by only the City Commission. The Crown Chevrolet/Toyota site will require a rezoning approval and approval of Preliminary and Final Development plans. The rezoning request will be considered by both the City and Planning Commissions. However, unlike the Wal-Mart site plan, the Crown Chevrolet/Toyota preliminary development plan will be considered by both the Planning and City Commissions.
While both sites have different approval processes to follow, the two sites are tied very closely together because of their proximity and need to coordinate traffic flow in and around both sites. Since both sites are linked so closely together, staff recommended to the applicants that they submit a rezoning request for PCD-2 and submit a development plan that encompasses the entire site.
Rezoning of the Wal-Mart site to PCD-2 will cause the applicant to retro-fit the existing parking lot area to meet PCD development standards. This requirement could create a hardship for the applicant; specifically, the requirement of a 30 foot periphery setback for the parking lot area along 33rd Street. However, a PCD-2 zoning classification would better facilitate integrating the expanded Wal-Mart site and the redevelopment of Payless Cashways site. PCD-2 zoning will also allow the City to have better control of the uses that may occupy both sites.
While PCD-2 would better facilitate the coordination of the development of both sites, the two sites can still be integrated even though one site (Wal-Mart) is proceeding through the site plan process and approval for the other site (Crown Chevrolet/Toyota) will be via the development plan process. The integration of the two sites is more difficult with two sets of review criteria and the two different processing schedules.
One of the important components to the integration of the Wal-Mart and Crown Chevrolet/Toyota sites is the need for cross access easements to insure proper traffic flow between the two sites. Another important aspect for the entire redevelopment proposal is the elimination of the existing frontage road that is to the west of the existing Wal-Mart, Crown Chevrolet/Toyota, and Payless Cashways sites. The applicant has been in discussions with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) regarding the vacation of the frontage road. It appears that KDOT is willing to vacate the frontage road right-of-way. In addition to the need for cross access easements, the City Utilities department has commented on the Wal-Mart site plan that it may be necessary to dedicate additional utility easements. All of these issues (cross access and utility easements and vacation of the frontage road right-of-way) will be addressed during the replatting of the subject property and the adjacent Crown Chevrolet/Toyota and Payless Cashways properties.
The subject properties are within an area that is designated by Horizon 2020 has a Regional Commercial Center. Regional Commercial Centers are the most intensive shopping centers that are allowed within the community. C-5 zoning permits commercial uses that are typically present in intensive retail commercial areas. While there maybe a desire to restrict the uses allowed on the Wal-Mart site, C-5 zoning is an appropriate zoning classification for a Regional Commercial Center.
PROFESSIONAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Planning Staff recommends approval of the rezoning of 2.63 acres from RS-2 (Single-Family Residential) District and PCD-2 (Planned Commercial Development) District to C-5 (Limited Commercial) District based upon the findings of fact presented in the body of the Staff Report and the forwarding of it to the Lawrence City Commission with a recommendation for approval subject to the following conditions: