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PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT Regular Public Hearing Item |
PC Staff Report
09/28/05
ITEM NO. 20: COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT – CHAPTER 9 – PARKS, RECREATION, AND OPEN SPACES (PGP)
CPA-2005-02: Hold public hearing on Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA) to Horizon 2020, Chapter 9 – Parks, Recreation, and Open Space. This chapter was considered at the May 25th Planning Commission meeting and referred to the Parks and Recreation Committee for further review.
STAFF REVIEW
Included as part of this staff report is a memo from Bonnie Johnson, Ad Hoc Park Committee Chair and the proposed amendment to Chapter 9 (Parks, Recreation, and Open Space) as recommended. Staff reviewed this amendment based upon the comprehensive plan amendment review criteria listed below [identified in Chapter 13 (Implementation) of Horizon 2020].
A. Does the proposed amendment results from changed circumstances or unforeseen conditions not understood or addressed at the time the Plan was adopted?
The proposed amendment is a result of the changing circumstances that have occurred since the comprehensive plan was first written. At the time Horizon 2020 was written, there was no comprehensive parks and recreation master plan. In 2000, the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan (PRCMP) was adopted (three years after the City adopted Horizon 2020). The proposed amendment is intended to bring better consistency between the two plans.
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. Parks, recreation, and open space is an important component in any community, and the proposed amendment gives Douglas County and the City of Lawrence a clearer look at how to maintain and enhance its existing park, recreation, and open space areas and how to appropriately identify new areas.
The proposed amendment identifies four cornerstone natural areas that should be considered the anchors of the park, recreation, and open space system; encourages the development of a greenway/greenbelt system of community connections and linkages; emphasizes the importance of maintaining the existing system; encourages cost-effective expansion (acquisition of new areas and development of new and existing areas) of the existing system when unique opportunities arise; and promotes better coordination and cooperation in park planning between various public service entities, especially the Parks and Recreation Department, the Planning Office, and the Lawrence School District.
For unincorporated Douglas County, the proposed amendment acknowledges that maintaining existing recreational opportunities and establishing new ones should be coordinated with other public service entities (school districts, rural water districts, fire districts, local communities, etc.) wherever possible. The amendment further encourages Douglas County to become more active in land acquisition for passive recreational uses and natural open space purposes, in conjunction with park, recreation, and open space planning policies of the communities within the county (Baldwin City, Eudora, Lawrence, Lecompton).
C. Is the proposed amendment a result of a clear change in public policy?
The proposed amendment to Horizon 2020 is in response to an expressed need to ensure consistency between the community’s comprehensive land use plan and its comprehensive parks and recreation plan. Prior to this proposed amendment, two sets of information existed related to park planning, that in Horizon 2020 and that in the PRCMP. With the approval of this amendment, one set of information will be found in both plans, minimizing the confusion that exists today (of which plan takes precedence).
PROFESSIONAL STAFF RECOMMENDATION