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PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT SUMMARY
REGULAR AGENDA - NON-PUBLIC HEARING ITEM |
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ITEM NO. 8A: ANNEXATION OF 13.3626 ACRES; SOUTHEAST OF LAKE ESTATES SUBDIVISION, NORTHEAST OF 22ND TERRACE (SLD)
A-10-05-04: Annexation request for approximately 13.3626 acres, located southeast of Lake Estates Subdivision, between E 920 Road and Lake Alvamar. Submitted by Peridian Group, Inc., for Lake Estates at Alvamar, LLC, applicant. Chris Earl, Mark A. & Marsha G. Buhler, Yankee Tank Investors, and Alvamar, Inc., property owners of record. |
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STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the requested annexation of approximately 13.3626 acres located north of Clinton Parkway and west of Lake Alvamar and forwarding it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval subject to the following conditions:
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Applicant’s Reason for Request: |
“To facilitate residential development”. |
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KEY POINT Request is for annexation of 13.3 acres for residential development · Subject property is located within the immediate Urban Growth Area. · Annexation request is consistent with growth management policies. |
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COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CONSIDERATION
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ASSOCIATED CASES/OTHER ACTION REQUIRED
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PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED PRIOR TO PRINTING · Francois Henriquez, adjacent property owner inquiring about future development and annexation plans for the area including streets, sewer and water improvements. Letter dated 12/8 regarding opposition to development proposal and alternative recommendations for land use. · Doug Garber, property owner to the north, inquiring about ability to annex property not immediately adjacent to the city limits. Letter dated 12/9 regarding barricade proposal of E 920 Road. · George & Judy Paley, 1448 E 920 Road, expressing concern about traffic issues and development of the area in ways they did not expect. |
NON-PUBLIC HEARING ITEM:
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ITEM NO. 8A: |
ANNEXATION OF 13.3626 ACRES; SOUTHEAST OF LAKE ESTATES SUBDIVISION, NORTHEAST OF 22ND TERRACE (SLD) |
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A-10-05-04: Annexation request for approximately 13.3626 acres, located southeast of Lake Estates Subdivision, between E 920 Road and Lake Alvamar. Submitted by Peridian Group, Inc., for Lake Estates at Alvamar, LLC, applicant. Chris Earl, Mark A. & Marsha G. Buhler, Yankee Tank Investors, and Alvamar, Inc., property owners of record.
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GENERAL INFORMATION |
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Current Zoning and Land Use: |
GENERAL INFORMATION A-1 (Suburban Home Residential) District; platted, existing, undeveloped rural residential lots.
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Surrounding Zoning and Land Use: |
A-1 (Suburban Home Residential) District to the north and west; existing rural residential homes.
RS-E (Single-Family Residence Estate) District to the east and southeast; (The Sanctuary, Plat not recorded) undeveloped.
PRD-1 (Planned Residential) District to the southeast; (The Ridge at Alvamar, Plat and Development Plan not recorded) undeveloped.
RM-1 (Multiple-Family Residence) District to the south; developing 4-plex housing.
RM-2 (Multiple-Family Residence) District to the southwest; undeveloped. |
Site Summary |
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Gross Area: |
13.36 acres |
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Proposed RS-2 (Single-Family Residence) District |
3.6 acres |
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Proposed RM-D (Duplex Residential) District |
9.72 acres |
STAFF REVIEW
Annexation Procedure and General Location:
The site is generally described as being located west of Lake Alvamar (formerly known as Yankee Tank Lake) and north of Clinton Parkway. Kansas Law [K.S.A. 12-510 et. seq.] provides for annexation by ordinance of the City Commission. Lawrence City policy requires the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission review all annexation requests in excess of ten acres. Upon annexation, the property is required to be rezoned to a compatible city classification. Related rezoning requests have also been submitted for RS-2 and RM-D Districts.
Site Characteristics:
The subject property is adjacent on the south and east sides to the existing city limits. The site is undeveloped and is a previously platted rural residential subdivision. This property was included in the original preliminary plat of the area know as Yankee Tank Subdivision. Steep slopes and significant vegetation characterize this area.
The Yankee Tank area is one of the most studied areas in the community, includes multiple approved preliminary plats and has consistently been included in utility and long range planning documents including the Western Development Plan, Plan 95 and Horizon 2020. The land use projections have continued to be refined as the area has developed and final plats have been submitted for review since the mid-1970’s. Much of the area is within the Yankee Tank Sewer Benefit District that initially extended sanitary sewer service to this area and provides the framework for other utilities and development of the area. As an addendum to this report, an area map/plan and brief text outline of the subject property and its relationship to the surrounding area is provided.
Infrastructure and Utility Extension:
City Water: The applicant has indicated City water will be extended along Clinton Parkway and north along Lake Point Drive to the subject property. This line will be extended in the future as the surrounding area is annexed into the city limits, providing a looped system to the north that will intersect with the line along Bob Billings Parkway (W. 15th Street).
Sewer: The subject property is part of the Yankee Tank Sewer Benefit District. This property will be served by public sewer.
Private Utilities: Telephone, cable, electric and gas service will be extended to serve the subject property.
Public Right-of-Way: The subject property is adjacent to an existing county road right-of-way (E 920 Road). The southern portion of this road will be fully incorporated upon annexation and designated as a local street. The north segment of E 920 Road will remain as the local street connection for the surrounding area until such time as the abutting properties are annexed and additional street right-of-way is acquired.
The southwest portion of the subject property is also proposed as new right-of-way to extend the collector street network (22nd Terrace) within this area (refer to preliminary plat drawing).
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN:
The subject property is located within Service Area 1 of the Urban Growth Area as shown in Figure 9 of Horizon 2020. This area is anticipated for development in the near future, coincident with the improvements, construction and extension of major utilities and streets. Horizon 2020 indicates that this area is suitable for development. Key features of the plan include[1]:
· The Plan promotes development in the Urban Growth Area through an adopted annexation policy which anticipates well-planned development of fringe areas.
· The Plan defines urbanizing areas of the county and directs development to these areas.
· The Plan recommends the protection and preservation of extensive floodplains and riparian ways throughout the planning area. These resources often are a constraint to urban development.
· The Plan promotes the maintenance of a strong and clear distinction between the urban and rural characters of Lawrence/Douglas County. The Plan defines areas anticipated to receive new urban growth near existing urban areas and establishes parameters for non-farm development in Douglas County.
· The Plan encourages the conservation of sensitive natural and environmental features and discourages development where two or more features exist in combination or would result in costly public improvement projects.
· The Plan defines the limits of the UGA for the planning period. Through adoption of an annexation policy, development can be anticipated to occur in areas most easily served by public facilities and services and future development can be scheduled in concert with planned infrastructure improvements.
The focus of this discussion will be the overall annexation as it relates to growth management. Land uses are defined generally for Service Area 1. The details of density and specific land use recommendations are provided in the staff reports for the related rezoning requests.
Growth management is defined in Horizon 2020 as the primary tool for ensuring timely and orderly growth. This tool includes establishment of an Urban Growth Area, service delivery areas and specific annexation policies.
Annexation Policy number 1 states that the “City of Lawrence will actively seek voluntary annexation of land within the Urban Growth Area as development is proposed”. This annexation is the third phase of a series of development proposals initially begun in 2002 along Clinton Parkway to the South Lawrence Trafficway. The subject property is immediately contiguous to existing city limits on the south and east sides. Contiguity, as recommended per Annexation Policy number 2, is provided for in this application. The Comprehensive Plan supports a proactive annexation plan that ensures adequate facilities and services. The Plan specifically recommends annexation of “areas which are needed to complete sewer or water line extensions for a closed (looped) system” per Growth Management Goal 3, Policy 3.2.a.
As discussed above, the proposed request is consistent with the location recommendations for annexation and sewer and water infrastructure can be extended to serve this area.
Other Development Issues:
· The plan does not address other public services such as police, fire, library, or government services as they relate to annexation. It has been noted that the subject property and remaining surrounding area are outside of the current urban fire protection response area. Additional planning will be required for public facilities to implement improvements to serve the areas covered by the Urban Growth Area as it is annexed into the City.
This issue has been discussed at the staff level and recognition of on-going planning efforts by other City service departments will continue. There is no specific site selected for a future fire station at this time that would cover this area.
· The collector and local street network for the area west of Yankee Tank Lake and East of the SLT will be facilitated through annexation of the subject property, along with rezoning and the subdivision plat process. A complete connection of the collector street network will not be provided until additional properties to the west are annexed and redeveloped to allow 22nd Terrace to be extended to the west and connect to the existing frontage road (E 902 Road). In the interim the only north/south connection will be along the local street E 920 Road located along the western boundary of the subject property. This issue is also discussed in the Preliminary Plat report.
· The development of the subject property includes a consideration of adequate timing of providing the necessary infrastructure (i.e. the collector street connection). The concern was framed for the applicant in a meeting with staff as follows: should the subject property be allowed to develop without a full connection of 22nd Terrace to the frontage road? The concern is that no time frame for annexation and right-of-way acquisition has been established by the City for this area beyond inclusion in the Urban Growth Area. There was no conclusion to this issue at the staff level. Without the dedication of right-of-way for the collector street traffic between Clinton Parkway and Bob Billings Parkway will use the existing local streets and roads. The drawback to the right-of-way dedication is that it is not within the boundary of the subject property and would likely result in the loss of existing housing stock.
SUMMARY OF LAND USE AND REQUEST:
The subject property is located within the area anticipated for low-density residential development. Horizon 2020 supports a definitive approach that utility services and major street improvements should be in place prior to development. Municipal utilities can be extended to serve this area. A more detailed discussion of the appropriate land use is included in the rezoning reports Z-10-50-04 and Z-10-51-04. The Comprehensive Plan indicates that expansion of the city limits in this area is anticipated and expected. As part of the annexation process, compensation of fees for the Rural Water District is required and is reflected as a condition of approval.
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Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the requested annexation of approximately 13.3626 acres located north of Clinton Parkway and west of Lake Alvamar and forwarding it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval subject to the following conditions:
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1. Compensation of fees for the Rural Water District as applicable prior to publication of the ordinance. |