PUBLIC HEARING ITEM:
PC Staff Report
07/27/05
ITEM NO. 15: CONSIDER AMENDMENT TO HORIZON 2020 – CHAPTER 13 (RURAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT) (DRG)
CPA-2005-04: Consider an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan, Horizon 2020, which proposes to incorporate into the plan a new chapter pertaining specifically to rural planning and development of the unincorporated areas of Douglas County. This draft chapter has been prepared by members of the Rural Planning Committee (RPC), a subcommittee appointed by the Chair of the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission. This item was initiated by the Planning Commission at their June meeting. The draft chapter and other associated background documents related to the chapter are posted on the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Office website, file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/cfolkmann/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Planning%20Commission%202005/PC%20Staff%20Reports/July%202005/www.lawrenceplanning.org.
STAFF REVIEW
Included as part of this staff report is the proposed draft Chapter 13 (Rural Planning and Development) as recommended by the RPC. Staff reviewed this amendment based upon the comprehensive plan amendment review criteria listed below [identified in Chapter 13 (Implementation) of Horizon 2020 {note that this chapter will be renumbered as Chapter 14 once the rural planning chapter is adopted}].
In addition to the Chapter 13 draft, the following supplemental materials prepared by the RPC are provided:
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT REVIEW
A. Does the proposed amendment result from changed circumstances or unforeseen conditions not understood or addressed at the time the Plan was adopted?
The proposed amendment is a result of changing circumstances that have occurred since the comprehensive plan was first written. Soon after the adoption of Horizon 2020, it became clear to members of the Planning Commission and their staff that additional attention needed to be given to rural planning and development policy issues affecting the unincorporated areas of Douglas County. The Chair of the Planning Commission appointed a committee (RPC) to review the existing rural development regulations and, if warranted, make recommendations regarding improvement. The RPC started working on this matter approximately 3 years ago. It became immediately evident to the committee that Horizon 2020 needed a new element focusing specifically upon planning and development issues facing the rural areas of the county. From this new element, any future recommended changes to the zoning and subdivision regulations pertaining to the unincorporated areas of the county that might follow would have their basis in policy.
B. Does the proposed amendment advance a clear public purpose and is it consistent with the long-range goals and policies of the plan?
The proposed amendment is an advancement of a clear public purpose and is consistent with the long-range planning goals and policies of the community. It is clear from the work of the RPC that Douglas County is a community in transition. Continued growth is anticipated to happen in every city within the county as well as in the rural areas of the county for the foreseeable future. At the same time, there is a need to keep some of our rural areas protected from random residential housing development to preserve traditional farming operations and natural assets. Striking a balance between these competing interests is the difficult challenge this new element to Horizon 2020 endeavors to accomplish.
C. Is the proposed amendment a result of a clear change in public policy?
The proposed amendment to Horizon 2020 is a response to a change in public policy. As the Cities of Lawrence, Baldwin City, Eudora, and Lecompton, and unincorporated Douglas County continue to grow and expand, there is greater emphasis on a need to identify, preserve, and protect the urban growth areas surrounding each city. Rural density developments near a city can become a costly community challenge to assimilate into the urban fabric without a set of rules and regulations governed by a reasonable set of standards for rural development. This element to Horizon 2020 represents the thoughts and ideas collected by the RPC during the past 3 years from numerous fact finding meetings they held with citizen groups, elected and appointed officials of each city, many townships, rural water districts and rural fire departments. In addition, the RPC considered how other counties around the country have approached similar issues and studied the solutions they chose to address their identified issues.
PROFESSIONAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION