October 11, 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 Vice Mayor Amyx presiding and members, Hack, Rundle, and Schauner present. Mayor Highberger was not present.
With Commission approval Vice Mayor Amyx proclaimed October 14th, 15th, and 16th as “Knights of Columbus Helping People with Mental Disabilities”; and October 20th as “Lights on Afterschool Day.”
The Vice Mayor also presented the City of Lawrence and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Foundation Award to BG Consultants.
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to approve the City Commission meeting minutes of September 27, 2005. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to receive the Board of Plumber and Pipe Fitters meeting minutes of August 17, 2005; the Lawrence Arts Commission meeting minutes of May 11, 2005, June 8, 2005, August 10, 2005, and September 14, 2005; and the Hughes Carnegie Center Group meeting minutes of September 26, 2005. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to approve claims to 290 vendors in the amount of $1,240,269.86. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to approve the Drinking Establishment Licenses for Mass Street Deli, 941 Massachusetts; The Phoggy Dog Bar & Grill, 2228 Iowa; the Retail Liquor License for Linda’s Liquor, 1540 Wakarusa, Ste: F; and the Caterer’s License for New School Catering, 2223 Haskell Avenue. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to concur with the recommendation of the Mayor and appoint to the Community Commission on Homelessness, Jane Faubion to a term that will expire December 31, 2007 and Katherine Dinsdale to a term that will expire December 31, 2006; and appoint to the Neighborhood Resources Advisory Committee, Curtis Harris to a term which will expire December 30, 2006. Motion carried unanimously.
The City Commission reviewed the bids for 3rd Street, Alabama to Illinois, Street and Storm Sewer Improvements for the Public Works Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
Engineer’s Estimate $70,612.75
LRM Industries, Inc. $72,153.72
R.D. Johnson Excavating Co. $87,361.65
Linaweaver Construction, Inc. $95,393.60
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to waive the Engineer’s Estimate and award the bid to LRM Industries, in the amount of $72,153.72. Motion carried unanimously. (1)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to place on first reading Ordinance No. 7935, establishing “no parking” along the west side of Lawrence Avenue from 150 feet north of Bob Billings Parkway to Applegate Court. Motion carried unanimously. (2)
Ordinance No. 7928, amending Section 14-304 of the City Code, raising the jurisdictional limit for theft from $500 to $1000, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (3)
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, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (4)
As part of the consent agenda it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to approve a Temporary Use Permit Upon Review (TUPR-10-31-05) for a patio sale at Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road, subject to the following conditions:
1. Temporary sign permit must be obtained from Neighborhood Resources Office, if temporary signs are used;
2. If signs are displayed in conjunction with this use they shall comply with City sign regulations and shall not be located on public right of way. Signs for this activity can only be displayed during hours of operation;
3. The sale must be contained within the area delineated by the patio wall to prevent interference with pedestrian traffic.
Motion carried unanimously. (5)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to concur with the Planning Commission’s recommendations to approve the Final Plat (PF-08-32-05) for Mt. Blue Addition No. 3, a replat of Lot 2 and 3, Mt. Blue Addition N. 2 containing approximately 4.249 acres, located south of K-10 Highway and east of Franklin Road; and accept the dedication of easements and rights-of-way subject to the following conditions:
1. Submittal of a downstream analysis for wastewater services and approval of this analysis by the City’s Utilities Department prior to scheduling of the Final Plat on the City Commission’s agenda for acceptance of easements and rights-of-way.
2. Provision and approval of public improvement plans prior to the recording of the Final Plat with the Register of Deeds Office;
3. Pinning of the lots in accordance with Section 21-302.2 of the Subdivision Regulations;
4. Execution of a Temporary Utility Agreement;
5. Provision of the following fees and recording documentation:
a. Copy of paid property tax receipt;
b. Recording fees made payable to the Douglas County Register of Deeds;
c. Provision of a master street tree plan.
d. Provision of street sign fees.
Motion carried unanimously. (6)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to authorize the Mayor to sign a Release of Mortgage for Harold Barnes, 447 Elm Street. Motion carried unanimously. (7)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to authorize the Mayor to sign a Release of Mortgage for Susan Church, 3010 Harvard Road. Motion carried unanimously. (8)
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
During the City Manager’s Report, Mike Wildgen said concerning the recent tragic fire incident at the Boardwalk Apartments, there had been tremendous teamwork with staff and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms along with all the resources provided by the Federal Government. He said the local response to this incident was excellent.
Also, another fire that took place of a lesser magnitude was handled and managed well.
Commissioner Hack said the City needed to thank Fire/Medical and Police Officers for their efforts.
Wildgen said staff was compiling a list of all those who had helped with this effort and those people would be receiving thank you letters on behalf of the City.
Vice Mayor Amyx said observing, first hand, the amount of hard work and effort conducted by City staff and other parties was incredible.
Commissioner Schauner suggested the City buy a small display ad from the newspaper to thank, on behalf of the Community, all those who helped with those efforts as a public display of appreciation. (9)
REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
Receive staff report regarding the train horn rule.
Jonathan Douglass, Management Assistant, presented the staff report. He said at the request of residents of North Lawrence, City staff had been studying the possibility of creating a train horn quiet zone.
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) calculated a risk index for every railroad crossing which was determined by traffic and train counts, speed, and safety measures that were present at the crossings. He said when a quiet zone corridor was proposed, the risk level of all those crossings were averaged to give a risk index for the entire corridor. The corridor that staff had studied started from 3rd Street through 9th Street in North Lawrence. If a quiet zone were established, train horns would not need to be routinely sounded as trains approached those crossings within the corridor. He said to get the average risk index of the corridor low enough to qualify, by FRA rules for a quiet zone, safety improvements would need to be made at those crossings at 3rd, 4th, and 7th Streets.
He presented aerial photos to the City Commission that depicted the crossings and discussed the improvements that would need to be made in order to qualify for a quiet zone.
He said there were two sets of tracks at the crossing on 3rd Street. The tracks to the south were only used to turn trains and would be exempt from the need to sound horns as long as the railroad agreed to use flag crews anytime trains would cross. At the other crossing a median would need to be installed approaching the crossing which would prevent people from driving around the gates when they were closed. The FRA rule required medians to extend 100 feet from the gate arms in both directions from the crossing. He said because of the second set of tracks, it was right at 60 feet which was the minimum length that a median could be according to this rule. In order to bring the risk index for this crossing down, a 100 foot median would need to be installed and a 60 foot median between those two sets of tracks. Other small improvements would be curb and guttering and pavement thickening along that stretch. The total cost for those improvements was approximately $25,000 for those crossings.
The pedestrian crossing at 4th Street, in order to qualify for the quiet zone, would need to be permanently closed. Those sidewalks would be removed and a “no crossing sign” would need to be placed at that location. He said the North Lawrence Improvement Association indicated that approximately 6 to 8 students use that crossing during the school year. If that crossing was closed, those students would need to cross at either 2nd or 3rd Streets. He said the association expressed their support for the closing of that crossing.
At 7th Street, a median would need to be installed. He said there were 60 and 100 foot medians that stopped just short of that intersection. He said one issue to consider concerned a heating and air conditioning business in that area. He said their parking lot had one-way traffic and had parking places that were angled to serve that one-way traffic. He said the property owner’s concern was that traffic going west on the south section of Maple Street, the traffic would be unable to turn left at 7th because the median went all the way to the crossing gates. Therefore, traffic might be cutting through that parking lot. The owner suggested making a certain stretch of Maple Street, up to the first residence, a one-way street, but staff had not researched that idea. The property owner was supportive of creating a quiet zone, but would like the City to take some steps to prevent cut-through traffic through his parking lot. The improvements at 3rd and 7th Streets would cost approximately $50,000.
He also said there was a possibility of creating a partial quiet zone which would be for the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. He said it would require the same improvements to all those intersections that he had discussed. The only difference would be if the City Commission wanted the trains to continue sounding their horns throughout the daytime hours when there would probably be more traffic.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked Douglass to explain the procedures the City would have to go through to establish a quiet zone.
Douglass said the first step would be to make all of those improvements to those intersections which would bring down the risk level to an acceptable level according to federal rules. He said because those improvements could be done without any problems, the City did not need to make special application to KDOT or FRA. A notice of intent would need to be published to create a quiet zone and that notice would be sent to the railroad, KDOT, and FRA. He said there would be a 60 day comment period from the time of that notice being sent out to voice any concerns. Also, the public could make comment at anytime. Once that comment period was over and the improvements were implemented, staff could publish a notice of establishment that would cite the date in which those horns would not need to be sounded. He said the City was the public authority in this case and the City would need to establish that notice. He said there was one crossing in the County at 9th Street just outside the City limits which could be included if the County was interested in this issue. He said the County could either send out notices jointly with the City or they could simply designate the City as the filing authority. He suggested making a presentation to the County Commission to see if they were willing to go along with that idea.
Commissioner Schauner asked if the City would need to make all of those improvements in order to get the risk threshold low enough to qualify.
Douglass said yes, the improvements that he had outlined would need to be completed. He said there were other things that could be done to qualify, but making those improvements by far was the cheapest way. He said if they installed four quadrant gates at all those crossings, the City would qualify, but the costs were much greater.
Commissioner Schauner asked if those students walking to school and making the crossing at 4th Street were at additional risk of going to the next crossing either 3rd or 7th Streets in order to cross the tracks.
Douglass said there were some sidewalks in the area, but he had not completed an inventory of where those sidewalks were located, but there were probably some areas where those students would be walking on the street.
Commissioner Schauner asked what needed to be done to close the pedestrian crossing.
Douglass said the path would need to be torn out and a “no crossing” sign placed at that location. He said at the end of the road was a sign that indicated that road no longer went through.
Vice Mayor Amyx said obviously if there were 6 or 7 students using that crossing, the signage might not be working.
Wildgen said that area was a road crossing at one time. The pedestrian crossing had been a legal crossing for some time.
He said there were no sidewalks on Maple Street to the north, but there were sidewalks on Locust that went east to west.
Commissioner Schauner asked if the City would have increased liability by closing the pedestrian crossing.
David Corliss, Assistant City Manager/Legal Services Director, said the liability standards were from the tort area of the law, personal injury. The general area would be negligence and the key in a negligence action would be the “standard of care.” He said the Federal Government and KDOT were essentially establishing this “standard of care” or perhaps it had been changed somewhat with this new horn rule. He said they had established a “standard of care” that indicated that if certain alternative warnings for the motoring public were established it would be appropriate for trains to remove the horn sound as a type of warning device because there would be alternatives established. He said if those regulations were followed, he thought that in Kansas, there would be protection from claims because they would be following the appropriate “standard of care” and they would not be negligent because they would have followed those regulations.
The issue of pedestrian access was something that there was not really a lot of case law. There were obviously some court decisions regarding liability for vehicles at train intersections for pedestrians. He said he was not aware that there were any court decisions or “standard of care” that would probably provide for safe crossings for pedestrians over rail areas, but staff would need to look further into that issue. If passing at an intersection where vehicles were allowed and following the same standards for vehicles, he assumed that would probably be appropriately safe.
Vice Mayor Amyx called for public comment.
John Wysocki, President of Artful Marketing, LLC, said one of the events that they had put on earlier this year was a series of art market/art fairs which happened at the Depot. He said it would be wonderful if the City could institute a quiet zone or a quieter zone in the area that had just been described because it would attract more wonderful outdoor events to the depot facility.
Ted Boyle, President of North Lawrence Improvement Association, said approximately two years ago, the subject of this quiet zone was brought forward to the Association’s attention by new residents that had joined the North Lawrence Improvement Association. He said those residents were concerned about the train horns and could not sleep at night. He said he had also received calls from people who were intending to buy property in North Lawrence and those people were also wondering what could be done about those train horns. He said they believed that a quiet zone would enhance North Lawrence and would also increase planned residential and commercial development in North Lawrence.
He said the North Lawrence Association believed that those supplementary editions to the 3rd Street and 7th Street crossings would make it a safe environment for pedestrians and truck and car traffic.
The 4th Street crossing came about when the railroad closed that road that went from Locust to Maple because the crossing was located by the elevators in North Lawrence. He said it was a trade off to close that vehicle crossing for improvements on the 8th Street crossing. He said now the railroad did not condone any pedestrian crossing where there were no traffic crossings. The North Lawrence Improvement Association would like to see that crossing closed. The sidewalks on the north side of the tracks were remnants of sidewalks that at one time accompanied the street.
He said the North Lawrence Improvement Association and the residents of North Lawrence would like to see the quiet zone instituted and they believe it would encourage planned development in North Lawrence, residential and commercial. He encouraged the City Commission to sign-off on this quiet zone.
Wayne Zachary, Laidlaw Transit, said his concerns would be the school bus crossings in the North Lawrence area. He said they had approximately 10 to 12 buses that cross those tracks daily. He said their concern was that one of the warning signals for a school bus driver was the horn. He said school buses in Kansas were required, under Kansas statutes, to stop at all railroad crossings, open their window and door to reduce all the noise and ascertain that there was no train coming.
He said he was not opposed to a quiet zone for certain hours of the day, but they would be very concerned about reducing or eliminating the horn requirements during school or bus time hours. He said perhaps, if the City Commission could look at an overnight reduction in the horn requirement that would be satisfactory or acceptable, but they recommended allowing those horns to be blown during prime business hours. He said they were not the only people required to stop because other hazardous material type of vehicles were required to stop at those crossing as were other public transportation types of vehicles. He encouraged the City Commission to look at that side of the issue, dove-tailing off of Commissioner Schauner’s comment about the liability issues. He said in the litigious society that we live in today we need to be concerned about not removing any aspects of safety that someone might question at a later date after a tragic accident.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked what he meant by prime business hours.
Zachary said their buses operated from 6:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. in the evening which were prime school bus hours and probably prime business hours. He said they had 4 regular school bus routes and approximately 6 to 8 special needs bus routes that crossed those tracks 2 to 3 times daily.
Commissioner Hack said if the bus drivers were required to stop before crossings, she asked if those bus drivers would stop regardless of whether or not they heard a horn at those crossings. She asked what difference a horn would make to bus driver that was stopping anyway.
Zachary said that horn would let the bus driver know that there was a train in the area. He said many times those bus drivers hear those horns prior to the lights flashing and the gates closing which made those bus drivers aware that a train was approaching. He said bus drivers did not attempt to cross tracks when they sensed that there was a train in the area because there was too much risk such as transmission failure, motor failure, or some type of difficulty that might make that bus stall.
Commissioner Rundle said with Laidlaw being a national company, he asked whether Zachary had any experience with quiet zones in other communities.
Zachary said no, he did not. He said this was all new to him. Again, he was not opposed to the quiet zone, but there were concerns from an aspect of safety at a school bus crossing.
Vice Mayor Amyx said he had seen in the news recently that there were several smaller communities in the state that had opted into quiet zones. He suggested staff find out information from those communities.
He asked if the City had to follow the same type of rule in stopping at those crossings.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said yes.
Commissioner Schauner said he could support a quiet zone in the off hours. He said putting the safety of children and other pedestrians in the hands of a formula, developed by the railroad agency did not strike him as particularly good policy. He said from 6:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m., horns should be sounded and this Commissioner should give every pedestrian and every bus driver every chance to see a train and avoid the possibility of a bad accident. He also suggested that it they did close the 4th Street pedestrian crossing that they look into making sure there was a sidewalk for those children going to school. He said the $50,000 figure for doing those retro-fits might be little short because the City needed to make sure there were sidewalks for those children. He said he did not want to be a person casting a vote to essentially put children in the street to get to school.
Commissioner Hack said putting those improvements in would benefit those crossings whether there was a quiet zone or not because it would prohibit people from skirting around those tracks. She said she appreciated Zachary’s comments because the idea of those train horns making bus drivers aware a train was approaching before hand was something that made perfect sense. She concurred to remove the pedestrian crossing on 4th Street and make sure that those children were able to walk to school safely. She said the quiet zone from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. made a lot more sense than placing children or bus passengers in jeopardy.
Commissioner Rundle asked if it was typical for those partial quiet zones to be those particular hours plus weekends.
Douglass said the FRA had standardized their rule to avoid confusion for the actual train operators. He said the rule for a quiet zone could only apply for 24 hours or from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. seven days a week.
Commissioner Schauner said his only concern about a partial quiet zone was that if people were used to hearing a horn during the daylight hours, those people would expect to continue to hear that horn 24 hours a day. He said he wondered if they were creating some additional risk during the quiet zone because of people’s expectation of hearing a horn.
Commissioner Rundle said following on that idea, he asked if signage would be required.
Douglass said signage would be required at each crossing.
Vice Mayor Amyx suggested that the Commission receive the report and send the report to staff with updates to all improvements like the sidewalks.
Commissioner Rundle asked if it would be overkill to send this report to the Traffic Safety Commission.
Wildgen said no. He said sidewalks in some areas would be a challenge.
Vice Mayor Amyx suggested that Boyle give staff information concerning what route those children take to the school.
Wildgen said the school district might have a better handle on the route those children take to school.
Boyle said there was a crossing guard at 4th and Locust Streets and a sidewalk along 3rd and Locust on the north. He said there needed to be a crossing guard to escort those children across Locust Street to cross the railroad tacks. The crossing guard had been kind enough in that she checked the tracks before she sent the kids across the tracks. He said Locust Street was a busy street and it was necessary to have a crossing guard. He said if the 4th Street crossing was closed, those children could walk down the south side of Locust Street and those children would not need to cross the street until 3rd Street. He said there had never been any sidewalks on Maple, Perry, Lincoln, or Lyon Streets, but there was a sidewalk on the south side of Locust Street and the kids would not need to cross on 4th Street, but at the intersection by James Gang Automotive and a crossing guard could be placed at that location.
Vice Mayor Amyx suggested that the Traffic Safety Commission review the recommendations made by the public and the City Commission.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to send the report to the Traffic Safety Commission. Motion carried unanimously. (10)
Receive report from Economic Development Board concerning open space in Lawrence/Douglas County.
Roxanne Miller, Chair, ECO2 and member of the Economic Development Board, presented the report. She suggested that this item was incorrectly stated and that this issue concerned the Economic Development Board recommendation on open space.
She said Lawrence and Douglas County were under pressure in two significant ways. The industrial park space was almost depleted and it took time to put plans together to complete a park and have the park ready for tenancy. They had prepared and submitted to the City Commission an industrial park recommendation for that time period. For practical reasons, they submitted the industrial report in June and they did receive a request from both the City and County Commissions for both recommendations, but even those recommendations were presented separately, the Economic Development Board considered this one recommendation coming together
The rapid growth that had occurred in the City and County had brought about pressure for open space preservation. She gave examples through particular projects that were currently being pursued in the community. She said just as they had came to know a need for a variety of industrial parks to meet the needs of business in this community, there was also a need to preserve a variety of landscapes in this City and County.
She said she would like to help the Commission imagine what could be created through economic development to respond to this pressure for industrial park development and open space preservation to build something that would help sustain this community and to continue to be a community that attracts.
She presented the categories of open space that were developed through the ECO2 Commission and the work groups that had worked on their projects. The categories of open space were not listed in any relevant importance, but rather just each one was a category that was considered essential.
She said in completing their task, they analyzed the following:
1) Open Space (OPEN SPACE) in Douglas County
a. Categories of Open Space under ECO²
i. Trails
ii. Natural Resources
a) native prairie
b) mature forest
c) wetlands
d) riparian lands (adjacent to streams, rivers and lakes); and
e) habitat for protected species
iii. Agricultural Land
iv. Scenic Lands
v. Historic Sites
vi. Lands Promoting Integration/Connectivity
b. Methods of preserving Open Space
i. Buy land
ii. Buy Conservation Easement
2) Initial Open Space Projects funded through economic development
a. Will leverage other funding for projects
i. Landowner (bargain sale)
ii. Federal & State funding
a) T-21 (trails/bridge)
b) FRPP (conservation easements on prime agricultural land)
iii. Private Grants
b. Broad support for projects in our community and projects already underway.
3) Open Space Priorities in Douglas County
a. Open Space projects in Douglas County that meet ECO² Open Space criteria and goals
i. Two Rivers Trail
a) Open Space categories met: trails, riparian lands, scenic lands and land promoting integration
b) First Phase of Trail Plan
(i) Pedestrian bridge over Kansas River at 8th & Oak
(ii) Trail segments
§ Kansas River to 11th Street
§ 11th Street to 23rd Street
§ 23rd Street to 31st Street
§ 31st Street to Wakarusa River
(iii) Future Phases – Emerald necklace around Lawrence, along the rivers, connecting the rivers with Clinton Lake, Lawrence and Eudora.
ii. Black Jack Battlefield
a) Open Space categories met: historic sties, native prairie, trails and riparian lands
b) Historic battlefield and home. The site where in 1856, abolitionist John Brown defeated encamped proslavery fighters. House of Robert L. Pearson, built in 1880s
c) Native Prairie
d) Prairie Restoration
e) Creeks and spring water
f) Trails
g) Education
h) Community support began in 2002, the site was purchased in 2003.
iii. Prairie project
a) Open Space categories met: native prairie, trails, historic site, riparian lands and lands promoting integration
b) Near Lone Star Lake, 150 acres
c) Native prairie
d) Restored prairie and riparian areas – what did the land look like before settlement
e) Historic school house nearby to be donated and moved. Also has bleeding Kansas history; adjacent road links California trail with the Oregon Trail; 1 ½ miles from Ft. Sanders which was burned.
f) Trails to be developed on site and off site by other historic significant and to Lone Star Lake
iv. Baldwin Woods
a) Open Space categories met: mature forest, historic site and lands promoting integration
b) 100 acres proposed for CE
c) Adjacent to KU Breidenthal Reserve
d) High quality forest
e) Sandstone cliffs
f) Historic significance
b. Evaluation of Open Space Project with ECO² Open Space Tools. The recommended Open Space projects were reviewed with the ECO² Open Space Tools (see Appendix A) and received favorable evaluation.
She said their recommendation for the period of 2005 through 2015 for each industrial park the companion open space investment be $5 million. Based on an assumption of one industrial park we recommend:
$5 million for Open Space between 2005 and 2015 with funding in the following manner:
Existing Open Space Projects (2005 – 2015)
٭ $2,350,000 of the total projects costs of $8,000,000. (30% of total)
● $1.5 million to Two Rivers Trail – First Phase. Funding for pedestrian bridge over Kansas River, total estimated cost for first phase is $5 million.
● $300,000 to Black Jack Battlefield Project – Funding toward land & CE acquisition cost, total project cost estimate $1,700,000
● $250,000 to Prairie project – Funding toward land purchase, total estimated project cost $1 million.
● $300,000 to Baldwin Woods Project – Funding of purchase of conservation easement, total estimated project cost of $300,000.
$2,650,000 for future Open Space Projects (2005-2015)
She said she was suggesting as the City Commission considered this recommendation, to also consider a commitment for funding and how that funding could be brought about, not just the open space, but an overall commitment.
Vice Mayor Amyx said he appreciated all the work the Board did.
Commissioner Hack asked if Miller was presenting this information to the County tomorrow.
Miller said the County Commission meeting was cancelled, but they had rescheduled this item to be placed on their agenda Monday, October 24th, at 8:30 a.m.
Wildgen said at one time there was some discussion to make this a study session item.
Vice Mayor Amyx said the study session was a good idea, but he also suggested looking at this idea in the City Commission’s goal setting session.
Commissioner Rundle echoed what was already said. He said it was a very ambitious work agenda.
Vice Mayor Amyx called for public comment.
Commissioner Hack said she echoed what had been said and that there had been an incredible amount of work.
Commissioner Rundle said this issue had been an important process and he wanted to recognize that all of the underlying goals were tied to growth. There were people who continually emphasize that division of opinion in the community, but he thought this issue had been a very unified effort, unified in vision of community and coming together and purpose in fostering a healthy growth in this community. He said while industrial space, infrastructure, and additional economic development tools were very critically important, anyone who studied economic development knew that equally important were those things that contributed to the quality of life including such things as preservation and planning for open space. He said this idea might seem challenging to people, but it was important to keep this idea in focus when the City Commission discussed their goals later in the year and try to put energy into keeping this momentum going.
Commissioner Schauner added his thanks for the work that had been done. He said time was of the essence because the ground and/or opportunities would not be there forever. The sooner they could get this not just in their goal setting session discussion, but also on the radar screen for the City’s 2007 budget discussions, the better. He said he did not know if they could do all this at once, but they needed to begin to move forward with a commitment to realizing a long-term vision.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to receive the report. Motion carried unanimously. (11)
Receive request for amendment to the City’s sign code from a number of auto dealers in Lawrence.
Junior Brubeck, Jim Clark Motors, presented the proposed amendments. He said when the auto dealerships received their letters notifying them of their violation of the code using balloons as a promotion or display source for their vehicles on their lots, at that point he contacted City staff to ask what could be done to rectify that situation. A meeting was held with the new car dealers to discuss this issue with the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and City Manager. He said it was suggested that they put together what would be acceptable to them that would permit dealers to utilize balloons, flags and banners. He said they were asking the City Commission to be able to promote their product on their lots to make it attractive and an inviting environment.
He said they had presented information to the City Commission concerning their request to use that type of advertising and also a list of contributions that their dealership made to the City in taxes, employment, and charitable contributions.
He said buying locally was one of the most important things in his business and he had personally promoted that type of thinking for a long time. He said they were in a very competitive business and their competition was with the dealers to the east and west. He said they were only asking for a way to promote their product on their premises and make it an attractive environment to show their cars.
He said they would like to operate within the City Code. The way the code was written now, everyone that had an open house, carwash, or a banner and balloon was in violation of the City Code. He said a simple change in the code could correct the problem.
Myles Schnaer, Crown Chevy-Toyota, said he was not present to debate whether balloons were or were not legal. He said he would like to commend the City and Chamber of Commerce for the recognition of Cecil Kingsley’s company because he epitomizes what business were all about, not only in Lawrence, but in the area. He said Kingsley was also a very heavy advocate for doing business in Lawrence.
He also commended the City for working with him and Wal-Mart on their convoluted project that would hopefully be completed in the near future. He said when working together to accomplish something that meant something to the community, they could work together to make it happen. He said he thought the City and the surrounding area would be proud of what they were finishing in South Lawrence.
He said when he first came to Lawrence eleven years ago people were telling him to be aware of the politics in Lawrence because nothing would get done, but he begged to differ with that thinking. He said if doing things the right way, a person would be rewarded and they as business people were looking toward the help of the laws and ordinances that were in the community.
John Wysocki, President of Artful Marketing, LLC, said in their particular case, which was related to the Lawrence Art Market, they wanted to have the sign code amended to allow for the display of their sign more than once during a 30 day period, but ultimately they received the City’s permission for the sign to be displayed as a “sign of community interest.” However, it seemed there was a request before the City Commission by car dealerships in town to amend the sign ordinance to allow balloons to be utilized by those groups and other businesses. With respect to his Art Market series of art fairs that was held at the depot, they sorely wished that they could have displayed a variety of banners, flags, pennants, balloons, and other devices to draw attention to their events and create a more festive atmosphere, but the sign ordinance did not allow for such things.
He said as his capacity of an artist, he simply did not understand why such a joyful, colorful, little item like a balloon could not be used without regulation since the very nature of most balloons was that they were temporary in nature. He said given the current state of the world it seemed they could not have enough colorful and joyful things to bring a smile to people’s faces.
Bill Muggy, Jayhawk Bookstore, said the only issue he had was the fact that perhaps there was a winking at a gnat and forgetting that it was an elephant’s rear-end that was being ignored. He said there were 28 pages of miscellaneous sign codes that were confusing, antiquated, and capriciously taken into account and only brought to mind in the event that there was an anonymous complaint and a staff’s whose expectation was to regulate it, was really minimal at best. He said he wanted to second all the comments of all those businessmen who wanted to strive to do business within Lawrence, who contribute thousands of dollars through taxes and employees.
Commissioner Schauner said one of the conversations that he remembered staff having concerning this issue with this Commission and prior Commission’s was an interest in looking at the sign ordinance not just with respect to balloons, but signs generally. On the one hand he was very supportive of the idea of minimizing signage. One of the things that visually distinguished Lawrence from other places, whether it was Kansas City or Topeka, was the lack of a lot of that visual distraction. The other problem was there should not be an ordinance that a lawyer would need to be hired to understand. He said he would like the Commission to take a look at the City’s sign ordinance rather than looking it a gnat at a time, he said let’s take a look at the elephants rear-end and take a look at the ordinance and see what they could do to make it more user friendly, consistent, and more even handily enforced. He said he was not really complaining about staff particularly, but as he drove around he saw a lot of signs that he thought were out of compliance as well. He said he was concerned about the sign ordinance as an entity and that was worth looking at, not with a goal of having more visual things, but having a more consistent sign ordinance that was more easily understood and more easily enforced was a direction he would like the City Commission to take.
Commissioner Hack said the whole issue of the sign ordinance was a period of difficult times. She said she agreed in making the sign ordinance more concise and allowing fewer exceptions. However, the issue before them she would like to address rather than lumping that issue in the sign ordinance. She said she would like staff to discuss with those business owners a minor change to the ordinance.
Commissioner Rundle said this sign ordinance had been around for a long time. He said the character of our streetscape was marketedly different to the good because of the existence of the City’s sign ordinance. He said he thought it was a good suggestion to look at the overall ordinance to bring the ordinance up-to-date. He said he was not so sure the City’s sign ordinance was the longest in the area and there other communities nearby that had an equally long ordinance, but that did not mean they could not address the ordinance to bring it up-to-date, more user friendly, and more understandable.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked about the timeframe of the sign ordinance because he would like staff to present a staff report to the City Commission whether it was on a temporary basis with the banners and balloons.
Wildgen said almost every decade, the City has revised the sign ordinance. He said the current version of the sign ordinance had worked the longest. He said balloons were not illegal. It was the fact that balloons were temporary and temporary signs were only allowed once a year for a 30 day time period. If the Commission wanted to deal with the temporary nature of this issue, Brubeck had a suggestion for that idea. He said height and size of the balloon did not need to be defined. He said they could get a temporary permit for balloons, but it was for a limited time. He said the business owners were suggesting 4 times a year for 10 days.
He said the other issue would be if a balloon was considered a sign. If a balloon was not considered a sign, then it could be taken out and balloons would not be regulated at all.
Vice Mayor Amyx suggested that the City Commission direct staff to meet with those businessmen to work out some of that temporary language so that the entire ordinance would not need to be re-written and also look into Commissioner Schauner’s suggestion.
Wildgen said the development code was changing and the sign ordinance would need to be melded together with other code changes in the next six months.
Commissioner Schauner said he wanted to make it clear that the sign ordinance, though not perfect, had produced a significantly improved visual streetscape in the Lawrence community as compared to many other places. He said he did not want to backtrack on that because it was a real community asset.
He said he did not have a particular objection to a limited usage of balloons whether governed by the current sign ordinance or not.
Vice Mayor Amyx again suggested that staff meet with the businessmen and draft the appropriate language regarding the usage of balloons on a temporary basis and bring that language back to the City Commission in ordinance form. He also suggested setting a time in the future to work with total sign ordinance.
Wildgen said in the 1970’s that City Commission focused really hard on the way signs were seen in this town.
Brubeck said their issue was not about changing the sign ordinance, but about marketing their product. He said the outline that the businessmen came up with was a simple solution and if the City Commission could allow that outline on temporary basis until the City Commission reworked the sign ordinance, he thought everyone would be happy.
David Corliss, Assistant City Manager/Legal Services Director, said staff could provide the City Commission with a recommendation.
Wildgen added that staff had to be careful about how they would administer that recommendation.
Corliss said he wanted to echo the comments about the importance of rewriting the City’s sign code. He said it was not so much making substantive changes to the sign code, but to improve it from an enforcement standpoint, but also improve the code from the susceptibility of a legal challenge to the sign code. He said when he had talked to his municipal attorney colleagues they had stories where their sign code had been challenged. Their sign codes, in many cases, were in a lot better shape than the City of Lawrence’s. He said when he looked at some of the provisions in the City’s sign code, he was concerned. He said staff had not had the chance to get to that section of the code. He said the time that he had that was devoted to something that was not an immediate request was working with Linda Finger, Planning Director, on the development code which he understood was a priority and needed to be adopted. He said they would need to make some changes to the sign code just to reflect the changes in the zoning district, but staff needed to get to the sign code just from a standpoint of protecting what the City had right now.
Moved by Hack, seconded by Schauner, to direct staff to prepare an appropriate ordinance for an amendment to the City’s sign code. Motion carried unanimously. (12)
Conduct a public hearing to consider the vacation of right-of-way for Rawhide Lane north of 25th Terrace as requested by Bryan Sorenson and Clyde Mosher.
Chuck Soules, Public Works Director, presented the staff report. He said the platted right-of-way existed between Bryan Sorenson and Clyde Mosher. However, the street could not extend north due to existing structures.
The waterline exists within the right-of-way which dead ends and the Utility Department wanted to remove this section of main at some point and have agreed to work with Sorenson to remove the line.
All utilities were notified and staff had received no complaints about this issue.
Vice Mayor Amyx called for public comment.
Upon receiving no public comment, it was moved by Hack, seconded by Rundle to close the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously.
Moved by Hack, seconded by Rundle, to approve the Order of Vacation of right-of-way for Rawhide Lane, north of 25th Terrace. Motion carried unanimously. (13)
Conduct a public hearing to consider the vacation of a portion of the right-of-way for 16th Street.
Chuck Soules presented the staff report. The request was for a vacation of the south 20 feet of right-of-way on 16th Street between Kentucky and Tennessee to relocate the sidewalk closer to the street. The sidewalk was brick and would be reconstructed. He said all utilities were notified and SBC did have a cable within the existing right-of-way, but did not object to the vacation if an easement was retained.
Vice Mayor Amyx called for public comment.
Commissioner Rundle asked if the SBC line was in the area that was being vacated.
Soules said the SBC had not pinpointed that line.
Commissioner Rundle asked what would happen if the line was found to be in right-of-way.
Soules said SBC knew the line was in the right-of-way, but they did not know if it was in that south 20 feet.
Tom Hoffman said this was by far the widest right-of-way in the neighborhood. Several years ago when he started to look into this issue, a person in the Planning Department was very helpful in digging back through records to find out why there was this huge right-of-way. Apparently, at one point, K.U. had thought that this was going to be an entrance to the University and that was why it was so wide.
He said they would like to put in planting along that area to make it look nice because it was in the middle of a rental district which sometimes tended not to look so nice unfortunately.
He said one of the reasons they would like to move the sidewalk out was that those sidewalks were close to the houses and yards right now and this area was not far from the bars and it made for a great place to toss beer cans that ended up in their backyards. He said the Kennedy’s lived on the corner and people actually cut through his backyard going over the fence in two places. He said they thought if they could move the sidewalk out and put in some plantings would help take care of that problem.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, asked if there was a brick sidewalk at that location.
Hoffman said yes. He said they would move the sidewalk over and leave it as a brick sidewalk.
Wildgen said the neighborhood would appreciate that they left the sidewalk brick.
Kevin Kennedy, property owner in the area, said the sidewalks on Tennessee and the north side of Kentucky were both concrete, but the sidewalk on the south side of Kentucky was brick and they would like to continue to use that brick. He said because they had old gravel driveways, they would also want to replace the old gravel with a paved driveway. Because of the design, they would have some brick left over that they would use to make up for some of the changes they were proposing on the way the sidewalk ran.
Because of the current placement of the sidewalk, they could not park their cars on the property side and would solve that problem and allowed them to park two cars on that side of the sidewalk.
Part of this issue was related to some extensive remodeling that they had been doing with their house at 16th and Kentucky. He said they added 1,000 square feet to their house and at that time two years ago they came before the Historic Resources Commission and they approved the design and that design included the sidewalk, at least in the proposed design being moved out as part of the project. The addition matches the architecture of the original house perfectly and they did a complete face lift to the outside of the house. He said they made every effort to try to bring back the historic beauty of the 1910 arts and crafts style house and their addition enhanced that arts and crafts feel which was very much about exposing the natural structural elements, but also the natural environment around the house.
He said they had gone through several iterations of the bureaucratic processes talking to various officials and thought they had everything taken care of and as of yesterday when they received a phone call letting them know that there might be some concerns and the Historic Resources Commission might want to review the whole process more carefully. He said they existed in two environs the Maupin House and Presley House. He said for the Maupin House the historic zones were already identified and they were in the administrative zone for that house and for the Presley House they were not defined so the whole 500 foot perimeter needed to be considered and 3 feet of that was onto the property and he was not even sure on the sidewalk. He said his house did not actually exist in that environs and yet it came under historic review. He said he also had a Model T garage.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said it was an action of the governmental body and those homes had to be reviewed when in that area.
Kennedy asked if that was when the actual 500 foot line did not come on to the property, but it came onto the public part of that land.
Wildgen said for practical purposes the 500 foot was the notice area and most people think of that as the environs, but actually the world was the environs. He said it probably could be done administratively, but he did not want to guarantee that. He said they would close the hearing and then take the action at a later time once they had received those comments.
Kennedy said he was very sensitive to the historic issues and he tried to live up to that ideal. He said Tom Hoffman and Lee Blackledge had actually received awards from the Historic Resource Commission for their efforts for restoring their rental properties. He said they were fortunate to have a landlord living in their area who guts and completely restores most of his places back to whole houses and Hoffman was making as much of an effort as he was to try to make this part of the Oread Neighborhood as attractive as possible.
It was moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to close the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to refer the proposed right of way vacation to the Historic Resources Commission or the Historic Resources Administrator, as appropriate. Motion carried unanimously. (14) PUBLIC COMMENT:
John Wysocki, President of Artful Marketing, LLC, said on behalf of Lawrence’s City drivers, he strongly objected to the decision that had been made by the City concerning traffic calming circles. Since it allowed traffic to potentially flow against what was essentially a one-way traffic pattern and cause accidents. In addition, authorizing drivers to flow against traffic, never mind about the mechanisms used that would educate drivers about the new ordinance, would lead to confusion in drivers about the rules for turning left at all such traffic islands.
He said Ordinance No. 7906 concerning traffic rules for traffic calming devices was placed on first reading by the City Commission on August 23, 2005 and subsequently adopted at a later meeting. The ordinance stated in part that:
“Whenever practicable a vehicle intending to turn left at a traffic calming circle shall drive to the right of the center of the circular intersection until reaching the desired street, however, a vehicle may make a left-turn in front of the center of the intersection after yielding the right-of-way to pedestrians and all traffic lawfully using the intersection, or to traffic so close to the intersection as to constitute an immediate hazard.”
At the August 23rd meeting, Toni Wheeler, Staff Attorney presented the proposed ordinance on behalf of City staff for which the minutes stated in those minutes:
“She said this ordinance was an attempt to modernize the Standard Traffic Ordinance by including definitions for devices that were in use in this community such as the roundabout and traffic calming circle. The ordinance also deleted a reference to Rotary Traffic Islands which were not in use in this community and were rarely used in design today. The ordinance clarified that traffic was to stay to the right in roundabouts however, for traffic calming circles an individual could make a left turn in front of a traffic calming circle if it was safe to do so.”
He said this was not an issue of semantics (i.e. whether the ordinance should be applied to what was only construed to be traffic calming circle, roundabout or a rotary traffic island, but rather one of foolishness that City staff had shown in even considering the motion of traffic flowing against traffic and opening itself up to potential lawsuits, perhaps based on negligent “if” and “when” traffic accident were to happen as a result of this ordinance having been instituted. That emergency vehicle should be allowed to negotiate such a traffic impediment by turning left was not in question since such vehicles must be allowed to do so to save lives that might be in the balance. Permitting ordinary vehicles and those drivers to turn left, potentially against on-coming traffic, was just shear lunacy.
It was very clear from state law that traffic must flow around the roundabout in one direction only. Kansas Statute 8-152:
“A vehicle passing around a rotary traffic island shall be driven only to right of such island.”
He said City staff could not understand how state law should be applied in the case of the City’s traffic calming circles was unfathomable.
Rather a rotary traffic island comprised of a large island structure that was built into the ground and typically constructed out of masonry and referred to as a roundabout or as series of temporary linked metal barriers simply placed on top of the pavement to act as a “traffic calming device” which was referred by the state as a “mini circle,” the same law should apply.
He said from his research into how the City Commission ended up approving the new ordinance that allowed left hand turns at traffic calming circles, it seemed obvious that such decision was based solely on the opinion expressed by the City’s Transportation Traffic Engineer, David Woosley, at a Traffic Safety Commission meeting on June 6th. Minutes of that meeting referred to his response to a question that Traffic Commissioner Brune posed as:
“Did the legal department ever decide whether or not it is legal to turn left in front of a traffic calming circle? Woosley advised that it appears that it is, but this ordinance clarifies it so there is no question.”
Unfortunately, due to a technical glitch none of the other comments made at the meeting about this topic was recorded or reported.
He said when he asked Woosley by email to clarify his comment since his answer as reported could be construed as being ambiguous, Woosley responded:
“Basically my understanding was that the city code and state code do not address traffic calming circles so that the movement would be legal since there is no prohibition.”
Finally, that it should be legal to undertake an action that appeared not to be explicitly prohibited was simply an absurd point of view for Woosley to have taken and one without merit. For example, because there was no prohibition against committing suicide should not mean that it should be legalized. Therefore, he requested that the City rescind the ordinance and consider replacing such traffic impediments with other means such as four way stops to achieve the same purpose “calming or slowing down traffic.”
Vice Mayor Amyx said he had discussed this matter with the Mayor and the Mayor had also indicated some concern about this issue. He suggested that staff ask the Mayor if he would like to place this issue back as an agenda item.
Wildgen said he would be glad to ask the Mayor and suggested that the TSC also be notified. He said they had asked for staff comment on this issue because there were other discussion points on this matter.
COMMISSION COMMENT:
Commissioner Hack commended Lisa Patterson and Mike Wildgen for their work on the City’s service guide.
Commissioner Schauner suggested that, at some future date, he would like to have a study session to discuss, based on last night’s Planning Commission meeting, development pressure for the corner of 6th and the SLT that might be inconsistent with the nodal plan that the prior Commission adopted for that intersection. He said he would like to include some discussion about how they could set up a process for approving subdivisions in the northwest area in a way that would be consistent with approving a total aggregate number of residences in that area that would be consistent with the City’s ability to handle sewage and other traffic issues that might come about in that area.
He said there was a Northwest Area Plan that talked about estate sized lots in a particular place in higher densities to the south of that area and as the Commission received requests for approving subdivisions one at a time, he was concerned that whatever was at the end of the trail, there would not be any density left. He said he would like to have a longer range, transparent approval process for how the aggregate would be arrived at.
Vice Mayor Amyx said if the Commission was going to get into a situation of deciding matters a lot at a time, he had a concern about that process.
Commissioner Schauner said he did not want make decisions lot by lot, but he wanted to know how many residences that area would handle in terms of everything from sewage transit to street construction. If the Commission was just going to approve those lots until there was no ground left, that was not very good long-term planning.
Commissioner Hack said she did not think that was not a good idea, but she agreed with Vice Mayor Amyx that she was not willing approve lots piece by piece.
Vice Mayor Amyx suggested setting a date for that discussion when the Mayor returned.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to adjourn at 9:10p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
_____________________________
Dennis Highberger, Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
1. Bid – 3rd , Alabama to Illinois Street & Storm Sewer to LRM for $72,153.72.
2. Ordinance No. 7935 – 1st Read, “No Parking” W side of Lawrence Ave 150’ N of Bob Billings Pkwy to Applegate Ct.
3. Ordinance No. 7928 – 2nd 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. TUPR – (TUPR-10-31-05) patio sale Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Rd.
6. Final Plat – (PF-08-32-05) Mt. Blue Add No. 3, 4.249 acres, S of K-10 & E of Franklin.
7. Mortgage Release – 447 Elm, Harold Barnes.
8. Mortgage Release – Susan Church, 3010 Harvard Rd.
9. City Manager’s Report.
10. Train horn rule discussion.
11. ECO2 Report – Industrial/Business Park sites.
12. Sign Code – Auto Dealers
13. Public Hearing – Vacation, Rawhide Ln N of 25th Terr.
14. Public Hearing – Vacation, 16th St.