October 4, 2005
The Board of Commissioners of the City of Lawrence met in regular session at 6:35 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers in City Hall with Mayor Highberger presiding and members Amyx, Hack, Rundle, and Schauner present.
With Commission approval Mayor Highberger proclaimed October 9 – 15 as “Wellness Opportunity Week” and “Kansas Family and Community Education Week”; and the month of October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” and “Arts and Humanities Month.”
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to approve the City Commission meeting minutes of September 20, 2005. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to receive the Planning Commission meeting minutes of August 22-24, 2005; the Hospital Board meeting minutes of August 17, 2005; the Hospital Board meeting minutes of August 17, 2005; the Lawrence Alliance meeting minutes of August 10, 2005; the Convention & Visitors Bureau Board meeting minutes of August 23, 2005; and the Lawrence Douglas County Health Board meeting minutes of July 18, 2005. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to approve claims to 395 vendors in the amount of $1,536,885.13 and payroll from September 18, 2005 to October 1, 2005 in the amount of $1,522,610.34. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to approve the Drinking Establishment Licenses for Alvamar Country Club, 1809 Crossgate Dr.; Conroy’s Pub, 3115 West 6th, Suite D; Tanner’s Bar & Grill, 1540 Wakarusa Dr., Suite L; the Retail Liquor Licenses for The Wine Cellar, 2100 A West 25th; Jensen Retail Liquor, 620 West 9th; the Class A Club License for VFW Post 852, 138 Alabama; and the Class B Club License for Brandon Woods Club, 1501 Inverness Drive. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to concur with the recommendation of the Mayor and appoint Carol von Tersch to the Board of Zoning Appeals/Sign Code Board of Appeals, to a term which will expire September 30, 2008; reappoint Ray Chao and Ernesto Hodison to the Human Relations Commission additional to terms which will expire September 30, 2008; and appoint Phil Hemphill, Helen Hartnett, Robert Moseley to terms that will expire December 31, 2005, appoint Sara Taliaferro, Shirley Martin-Smith, and Loring Henderson to terms which will expire December 31, 2006, and appoint Captain Ed Brunt and Kim Gouge to terms that will expire December 31, 2007, all to the Community Commission on Homelessness. Motion carried unanimously.
The City Commission reviewed the bids for Large Sanitary Sewer Line Cleaning and Inspection for the Utilities Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
Ace Pipe Cleaning $73,553.00
Utility Maintenance Contractors $141,270.80
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to award the bid to Ace Pipe Cleaning, in the amount of $73,553. Motion carried unanimously. (1)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to authorize negotiations with Burns and McDonnell for an engineering services contract to complete the preliminary design report for the Kaw Water Supply and Transmission Improvement. Motion carried unanimously. (2)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to place on first reading Ordinance No. 7928, amending Section 14-304 of the City Code, raising the jurisdictional limit for theft from $500 to $1000. Motion carried unanimously. (3)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to place on first reading Ordinance No. 7934, allowing the temporary sale, possession, and consumption of cereal malt beverages on the west side of South Park on October 22, 2005 as part of an “Love from Lawrence” fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Motion carried unanimously. (4)
Ordinance No. 7919, rezoning (Z-10-50-04) a tract of land approximately 2.999 acres from A-1 (Suburban Homes Residential District) to RS-1 (Single-Family Residential District), the property is generally described as being located southeast of Lake Estates Subdivision, between East 920 Road and Lake Alvamar, was read as second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (5)
Ordinance No. 7920, rezoning (Z-10-51A-04) a tract of land approximately 2.09 acres from A-1 (Suburban Homes Residential District) to RS-1 (Single-Family Residential District), the property is generally described as being located southeast of Lake Estates Subdivision, between East 920 Road and Lake Alvamar, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (6)
Ordinance No. 7921, rezoning (Z-10-51B-04) a tract of land approximately 7.49 acres from A-1 (Suburban Homes Residential District) to RS-2 (Single-Family Residential District), the property is generally described as being located southeast of Lake Estates Subdivision, between East 920 Road and Lake Alvamar, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (7)
Ordinance No. 7931, rezoning (Z-07-44-04) a tract of land approximately .99 acre from M-1 (Research Industrial District) to RO-2 (Residence-Office District), the property is generally described as being located between East 19th and Homewood Streets, east of Bullene Avenue, and commonly known as 927, 931, and 935 Homewood Streets; and, 934 and 938 East 19th Streets, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (8)
Ordinance No. 7933, establishing “no parking” 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., on school days along both sides of Madeline Lane between 9th Street and Yale Road, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (9)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to approve an alteration to a plat condition regarding building permits for Monterey Bluff’s Subdivision, north of Peterson Road, west of Monterey Way extended. Motion carried unanimously. (10)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to authorize the Mayor to sign a Release of Mortgage for Justin Crockett, 1602 Cadet Avenue. Motion carried unanimously. (11)
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said that he and the Mayor had just returned from their trip to Washington D.C. to meet with the Legislative Delegation staff members. (12)
REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
Receive request for an exception to the building permit moratorium from Greg Seibel to move the house from 1503 Haskell to 1313 Haskell. Ordinance No. 7841 establishing the building permit moratorium expires November 24, 2005. Consider directing staff concerning expiration of moratorium.
Greg Seibel, applicant, said he was trying to save one of Lawrence’s historic houses. The house was located at 1503 Haskell Avenue where a development was under construction. He said he was requesting to move that house to 1313 Haskell Avenue which was within the Burroughs Creek Corridor where there was currently a moratorium on granting building permits. He said he was requesting an exemption from that moratorium in order to move that house to 1313 Haskell Avenue. The construction would involve foundation and basement work and moving the house to that location.
He said his request went before the Burroughs Creek Study Committee and the committee recommended that the City Commission approve a building permit to proceed with this project. He said some of the goals for the moratorium were to support in-fill development, preserving the character of the neighborhoods as they currently existed, and preserving the historic character of the area and this project would clearly meet all those goals.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment.
Dennis Brown, Lawrence Preservation Alliance (LPA), said pending the Commission’s approval, this would be a nice success story for the Lawrence community. He said a solid, older house that was currently in development’s way would get a new lease on life just two blocks away. The LPA had been involved in an advisory networking capacity since March on this issue and they were relieved and pleased that a solution had been found. He said as usually was the case with community successes, many people deserved a public thank you. Greg Seibel who would use the house as his personal residence had shown great determination throughout a long process. East Lawrence resident, Israel Bermudez, agreed to sell his vacant lot. James Grauerholz and Michael Almon helped set up negotiations between Bermudez and Seibel. He also thanked Lynn Zollner of the City’s Planning staff and Allen Belot, project architect for the development at 15th and Haskell who held fast to a firm belief that this housing resource should not be lost to the Lawrence community. He said Belot had allowed them as much time as he possibly could to work through that process to a positive conclusion.
He said he was sure the City Commissioners had noticed that time and again, good things happen for this community when different people worked together for a common goal. He said the Lawrence Preservation Alliance was pleased to help.
Mayor Highberger said it looked like a great project and he appreciated Seibel’s efforts to preserve some of the local architectural heritage. He said this project was consistent with the purposes for which the Burroughs Creek Corridor group had established and he strongly supported the project.
Vice Mayor Amyx said in Seibel’s letter, he noticed that Seibel just found out about the moratorium. He asked if Seibel needed additional information on what was involved in moving a house.
Seibel said he was involved in a house move from Ohio Street to Kentucky Street and he did not have any questions.
He said he forgot to mention that the developers wanted to be out of that location by the beginning of November which was why he was asking for an exemption and not waiting for the moratorium to expire.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to approve the requested exception to the building moratorium. Motion carried unanimously. (13)
David Corliss, Assistant City Manager/Legal Services Director, said the building permit moratorium would expire at the end of November of this year and staff wanted to continue to monitor the progress. He said Michelle Leininger, Planner, had a timeline on the progress from the study committee and staff wanted to make sure this issue was on the City Commission agenda in early November so if there was a need for the Commission to consider extending the moratorium, the Commission would have ample time. He said it was likely that not all the recommendations of the study committee would be implemented and the City Commission might want to think about the fact that the moratorium might expire before the recommendations from the study committee were in place.
Commissioner Schauner asked if that was an issue the Commission might want to consider in extending the moratorium for a short period of time so that there was no unintended overlap.
Corliss said that was the question that he was posing which was the value the Commission placed on the moratorium as opposed to a gap. He said the Commission did not need to act at this time, but he wanted to forecast that issue as a future agenda item.
Michelle Leininger, Planner, said she did not foresee that there would be a lot of problems with the plan being completed and it would come before the City Commission before the moratorium expiration. As part of the plan there would be few requests for rezoning. The committee would be meeting on October 12th to discuss the plan and after they had addressed the plan, staff would begin the process of contacting those property owners that the committee was recommending for rezoning. She said staff was going to request the initiation of the rezoning at the time that staff brought the draft plan to the Commission as part of the approval of the draft plan.
Consider Traffic Safety Commission denial of the request to establish NO PARKING along the west side of Lawrence Avenue from 150 ft. north of Bob Billings Parkway to Applegate Court. Motion carried 4-1-1.
Chuck Soules, Director of Public Works, presented the staff report. He said currently there was no parking on the east side the entire length of Lawrence Avenue and there was no parking on the west side of the road, from Bob Billings Parkway, north 150 feet. He said the concern was the parking along the curve and when people were driving south or north that paved area was only 26 feet wide. He said the Traffic Safety Commission reviewed the request on June 6th and moved to deny the request by a 4-1-1 vote.
The neighborhood had been before the City Commission at one time to request that parking be restricted. He said as a result, the parking was restricted on the south, 150 feet. He said also, the neighborhood was told if that restriction on parking was not working, to bring the issue back to the Traffic Safety Commission. He said the TSC was concerned about where the vehicles would relocate and that removing the parking would increase the speed of traffic.
Mary Debicki, representing the Applegate Homeowners Association, said they were asking that no parking be allowed on either side of that stretch of Lawrence Avenue from Bob Billings Parkway to Applegate Court. She said the problem was that the people who turn in from Bob Billings Parkway could not see beyond that curb. She said they had spent time measuring every garage and every driveway in order to show that the people who lived in those townhomes had sufficient room to park in their garages which was a requirement for residents at Applegate at the Orchards, and/or on their driveways. She said even if there were four unrelated persons and four cars, they would have plenty of room to park their cars.
She said an even bigger problem came from drivers turning onto Lawrence Avenue especially large trucks, service vehicles, and snow plows that had knocked down enumerable mail boxes. She said one of the neighbors pointed out that in the original plat for this part of Lawrence Avenue that it was meant to be a four-lane road and that was before Kasold had been designed and at that time it would have been fine to have parking on one side of the road, but the road at this time was very narrow and very heavily traveled.
She said they were asking the City Commission to reconsider the 1999 ruling and place parking restrictions back on Lawrence Avenue.
Richard Quinn, Lawrence, said he measured the distance from the outside of a pickup parked on Lawrence Avenue to the end of the other side of the street and the distance was 17 feet. He also measured the width of his car which from mirror to mirror which was 7 feet. He said because of the width of that street, there would be no place for that on-coming traffic to go.
He said they would appreciate the City Commission’s consideration on their request and hoped to they would consider the request in a favorable light.
Alan Hawkins, Lawrence Avenue resident, said he was almost involved in a collision on Lawrence Avenue and it convinced him that parking would be a hazard at that location. He asked the City Commission to disallow parking on Lawrence Avenue.
Commissioner Rundle asked Soules if there was anything in the staff report that was relevant to this issue in terms of warrants.
Soules said no, that it was a collector street. He said he drove down Lawrence Avenue and the road was tight. Typically, collector streets were wider, but this street was long ago. He said by today’s standard, collector streets would be 36 feet wide.
Vice Mayor Amyx said basically that was a residential street acting as a collector street.
Soules said a residential street was typically 27 feet back to back.
Vice Mayor Amyx said in the mid-1980’s the Commission, at that time, considered a request for removing parking on the west side of Lawrence Avenue. He said a lot of the discussion was the same except that the traffic had increased along the south end of Lawrence Avenue and Bob Billings Parkway. He said it was a reasonable request to consider and he wholeheartedly supported the request.
Mayor Highberger asked if there was any traffic or accident data.
Soules said no, not at this time.
Commissioner Rundle said he had heard this issue three times now. The persistence of the problem and the perception of the neighbors led him to believe to go ahead and take those additional steps.
Commissioner Hack said the neighbors were correct in that the City Commission needed to reconsider the TSC ruling and establish the “no parking” on the west side of the street.
Commissioner Schauner said he agreed with everything that had been said. He said the apex of that curb made it such that on-coming traffic was difficult to see and the geometry of that street did not lend itself well to parking on the west side.
Mayor Highberger said he would reluctantly disagree with his fellow Commissioners. He said he shared the Traffic Safety Commission’s concerns that removing parking on that street would cause an increase in traffic speeds.
Nancy Hawkins, Lawrence Avenue, said concerning the three way stop sign at 13th and Lawrence Avenue sometimes cars roll through that stop sign. She said when there were cars parked on the west side of Lawrence Avenue it did slow the traffic down from the top of the hill all the way down and there would be more cars parked further up Lawrence Avenue when the residents in the townhomes who were renters have guest or parties, but she thought that would slow the traffic down short of having a policemen sitting at Applegate Court with a radar gun.
Commissioner Schauner said one of the earlier speakers commented on the number of people living in a household and he was wondering if they had compliance with the 3 unrelated persons in those townhouses. He said it seemed if there were a legal number of residents at that location, parking in driveways might not be an issue.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said that staff would check on compliance, but it might not be zoned RS-1 or RS-2.
Commissioner Schauner said he walked that neighborhood and those driveways did permit two deep parking not counting the garage.
A member of the public said those driveways could hold 6 cars, plus to cars in the garage.
Commissioner Rundle said this issue was a matter of trade off. He said it sounded as though this situation had a lot of undesirable aspects as it was and if it was a result of causing some higher speeds, they were ahead by addressing problems that exited in terms of sight lines.
Moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to direct staff to prepare an ordinance prohibiting parking along the west side of Lawrence Avenue from 150 feet north of Bob Billings Parkway to Applegate Court. Motion carried unanimously. (14)
Consider a motion to recess into executive session for the purpose of: a) consultation with an attorney for the city on matters which would be deemed privileged under the attorney-client relationship; and 2) discussion of possible acquisition of real estate. The justification for the executive session is to keep attorney client matters privileged and to keep possible terms and conditions of possible real estate acquisition confidential at this time.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to recess into executive session 25 minutes for the purposes of: 1) consultation with an attorney for the city on matters which would be deemed privileged under the attorney-client relationship; and 2) discussion of possible acquisition of real estate. The justification for the executive session is to keep attorney client matters privileged and to keep possible terms and conditions of possible real estate acquisition confidential at this time. Motion carried unanimously. (15)
The Commission reconvened in regular session.
Moved by Rundle, seconded by Schauner, to adjourn at 8:10p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
_____________________________
Dennis Highberger, Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
1. Bid – Large sanitary sewer line cleaning & inspection to Ace Pipe Cleaning for $73,553.
2. Engineering Service Contract – Kaw Water Supply & Transmission Improvement to Burns & McDonnell.
3. Ordinance No. 7928 – 1st Read, amend 14-304, jurisdictional limit for theft from $500 to $1,000.
4. Ordinance No. 7934 – 2nd Read, temp sale of CMB, W side of S Park, Oct 22, “Love from Lawrence” , benefit for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
5. Ordinance No. 7919 – 2nd Read, rezone – (Z-10-50-04) 2.999 acres, A-1 to RS-1, SE of Lake Estates Sub, between E 920 Rd & Lake Alvamar.
6. Ordinance No. 7920 – 2nd Read, rezone – (Z-10-51A-04) 2.09 acres, A-1 to RS-1, SE of Lake Estates Sub, between E 920 Rd & Lake Alvamar.
7. Ordinance No. 7921 – 2nd Read, rezone – (Z-10-51B-04) 7.49 acres, A-1 to RS-2, SE of Lake Estates Sub, between E 920 Rd & Lake Alvamar.
8. Ordinance No. 7931 – 2nd Read, rezone (Z-07-44-04) .99 acre, M-1 to RO-2, E 19th & Homewood, E of Bullene Ave, 927, 931 & 935 Homewood & 934 & 938 E 19th.
9. Ordinance No. 7933 – 2nd Read, “no parking” 9 am to 3 pm, school days, both sides of Madeline Ln between 9th & Yale.
10. Plat – Alteration condition, bldg permits for Monterey Bluff’s Sub, N of Peterson, W of Monterey Way.
11. Mortgage Release – 1602 Cadet Ave., Just Crockett.
12. City Manager’s Report
13. Building Permit Moratorium – House move 1503 Haskell to 1313 Haskell.
14. TSC – “No parking” W side of Lawrence Ave from 150’ N of Bob Billings Pkwy to Applegate Ct.
15. Executive Session – possible acquisition of real estate.