-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara and David

Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 10:19 AM
To: bjwalthall@ci.lawrence.ks.us
Subject: University zoning letter

Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods

P.O. Box 1553, Lawrence, KS 66044

December 12, 2004

Mike Rundle, Mayor
Members
Lawrence City Commission
City Hall
Lawrence, KS 66044

RE: ITEMS 5 (b) Receive Planning Commission recommendations concerning proposed Zoning Map; and (c) Receive and discuss Planning Commission recommendation concerning draft City/University of Kansas land use cooperation agreement.

Dear Mayor Rundle and Commissioners,

We are encouraged that the University of Kansas has responded positively to some of the concerns we raised in our November 14 letter to the Planning Commission on the "Cooperation Agreement between the City of Lawrence, Kansas, and the University of Kansas" (hereafter Agreement).  However, because KU's revision of the Agreement has not been reviewed by the Planning Commission, we recommend that you first forward it to it to that body for comment and recommendation.  In the meantime, we believe that the best course of action is for the City to follow the Planning Commission's unanimous recommendation and adopt the U District as presented (after correcting an error on the proposed U District map, as noted below).  This would also serve to establish a district to which a Cooperation Agreement could be applied.

In comparing the U District map posted on the City's website as recently as December 11 with the text of Section 20-218 of the proposed Land Development Code, we found what we believe to be a substantial error.  Section 20-218 (g) (1) of the proposed Code states that the Compatibility Use Buffer Area is "measured from the boundary of the U District inward toward the center of campus."  However, as depicted on the map "Proposed U District with 200 [ft] Buffer", the Buffer Area appears to be external to the campus boundaries of both the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University.  Before this portion of the zoning map is adopted, the U Districts should be redrawn so that the map depicts the Buffer Area accurately, as described in the text of the proposed Code.  The greater part of the buffer is 150 feet, perhaps necessitating a change in the title of this map, but the map should depict areas in which the buffer is to be extended "where a stream, street, railroad, Building, or other substantial horizontal, natural or human-made feature lies within 200 feet of the U District."

If, at some future date, the City and KU can come to a mutually beneficial Agreement that provides the University more flexibility while protecting the City and its neighborhoods, we believe that U District-zoned properties owned by KU and/or the University of Kansas Endowment Association could be included as a special "KU Overlay" district under provisions of the proposed Code.  However, an Agreement between the City and KU that does not provide any means that actually promote neighborhood stability, such as the draft unanimously opposed by the Planning Commission, will always be a bad deal for neighborhoods adjacent to the KU campus.  In the long run, we believe it will be a benefit to both the City and KU that there are stable, safe neighborhoods along the periphery of campus.  The residents of these neighborhoods are the ones who will continue to provide the greater part of that stability, through home ownership and maintenance, but they in turn deserve some assurance that development adjacent to their homes is relatively predictable and compatible with residential uses.

Thank you for your consideration of these matters.

Sincerely,



David Geyer
President, Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods