PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT

Regular Agenda – Public Hearing Item

PC Staff Report

11/14/05

ITEM NO. 10:           C-5 to RO-1A; .53 ACRE; SOUTHEAST CORNER OF W. 7TH AND ARKANSAS STREETS (ML)

 

Z-09-53-05: A request to rezone a tract of land approximately 0.53 acre from C-5 (Limited Commercial District) to RO-1A (Residence-Office District).  The property is generally described as being located at the southeast corner of W. 7th Street and Arkansas Street [700 Arkansas & 704-704 ˝ Arkansas].  Initiated by the City Commission on September 27, 2005 based on recommendations in the HOP District Plan.

 

STAFF RECOMMENDATION:  Staff recommends approval of rezoning approximately one-half acre from the C-5 District to the RO-1A District and forwarding it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval based on the findings of fact found in the body of the staff report.

 

Reasons for Request:

 

To follow the recommendations of the HOP District Plan to zone property to the current use based on the neighborhood association task force study and recommendation.

 

KEY POINTS

  • RO-1A District zoning will create appropriate transitions from commercial to single-family residential uses.
  • The RO-1A zoning complies with the permitted uses of the proposed district.

 

GOLDEN FACTORS TO CONSIDER

CHARACTER OF THE AREA

  • The area is characterized by a mix of residential and commercial uses. There are commercial uses directly to the north and west, the remaining area is a variety of residential densities.

CONFORMANCE WITH HORIZON 2020

  • The rezoning of this area from the C-5 District to the RO-1A District is consistent with several Horizon 2020 residential policies.

 

ASSOCIATED CASES/OTHER ACTION REQUIRED

·         Z-09-54-05: C-5 to RO-1; .34 acres; north of W. 7th Street, 640 Arkansas Street

·         Z-09-55-05: RM-1 to RO-1; .35 acres; north of W. 7th Street, 630-632 Arkansas & 634-636 Arkansas Streets

·         Z-09-56-05: RO-2 to O-1; 1.52 acres; south of W. 6th Street, 1015 W. 6th Street

·         Z-09-57-05: RM-1 to RS-2; 2.11 acres; south of W. 6th Street between Missouri and Illinois Streets

 

PUBLIC COMMENT RECEIVED PRIOR TO PRINTING

  •  None Received

 

 

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Current Zoning and Land Use:         

C-5 District; single-family home and duplex.

 

Surrounding Zoning and Land Use:

 

         

C-5 District to the north; motorcycle repair and sales shop.

 

RS-2 (Single-Family Residential) District to the south and east; Single-family homes.

 

C-5 District to the west; bar and duplex.

 

I.         ZONING AND LAND USES OF SURROUNDING PROPERTIES

 

The properties directly south and east of the subject property are zoned RS-2 District and are developed with single-family and duplex uses.  The property to the north is zoned C-5 District and is motorcycle repair and sales shop. The properties to the west are zoned C-5 District and include a bar and a duplex.

 

Staff Finding – The request is to rezone approximately .53 acres from the C-5 District to the RO-1A District. The subject property currently includes a single-family home and a duplex. The areas surrounding the subject properties are zoned C-5 District and RS-2 District. As part of the HOP District Plan recommendations, the neighborhoods were to study the relation of the land use and the zoning of the properties identified in the plan, which are included in the particular neighborhood association and located within the study area of the HOP District Plan.  The plan recommended that zoning buffers between uses be utilized, where appropriate.

 

II.       CHARACTER OF THE AREA

 

Staff Finding – The area is a part of the original town site plat and characterized by a variety of densities of residential uses and neighborhood commercial uses. The parcels directly surrounding the subject property are zoned for commercial and residential uses. The subject property is located within the Lawrence city limits.

 

III.      SUITABILITY OF SUBJECT PROPERTY FOR THE USES TO WHICH IT HAS BEEN RESTRICTED

 

The subject property is currently zoned for commercial use. According to the City’s Zoning Ordinance, the C-5 District is “…designed to permit and encourage the grouping, in defined areas along highways, of certain retail activities and services intended primarily to service, and be dependent upon, the motoring public.” The minimum lot size for the C-5 District is 15,000 square feet and the C-5 district requires a minimum of 1,000 square feet per dwelling unit (43 units per acre) for residential development.

 

The request is to rezone the subject property to the RO-1A District, which requires a minimum lot area of 6,000 square feet and requires a minimum of 2,000 square feet per dwelling unit (21 units per acre) for residential development. The general purpose of the residence-office district is “…to primarily provide mixed use areas for professional offices, medical and dental clinics and similar types of uses that are compatible with and can be located adjacent to or in combination with single, duplex, or multiple-family residential uses without undue harmful effects to the residential uses.”

 

Staff Finding – At one time, W. 7th Street was the location of Hwy 40 and the C-5 District may have been appropriate for the commercial uses that have developed in the area since then.  Currently the two properties have residential uses on them.  These two properties, as currently zoned, would be difficult to redevelop as commercial properties because of their size.  This zoning would allow residential and professional office redevelopment subject to any additional applicable regulation in the Zoning Ordinance.  These lots are 5,850 square foot platted lots.  The majority of the surrounding property is residential.

 

IV.       LENGTH OF TIME SUBJECT PROPERTY HAS REMAINED VACANT AS ZONED

 

Staff Finding - The property has been zoned C-5 District since the adoption of the 1966 City of Lawrence Zoning Ordinance.

 

V.        EXTENT TO WHICH REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS WILL DETRIMENTALLY AFFECT NEARBY PROPERTY

 

Staff Finding – As this area is abutted by single-family and low-density multi-family development to the east and the south, the rezoning of this area is not anticipated to detrimentally affect nearby property. The rezoning should enhance the existing neighborhood and provide a transition between the commercial and lower-density residential uses. The RO-1A district will allow for the redevelopment of residential and professional uses.  It is important to note that the requested

RO-1A District is more restrictive than the current C-5 District.

 

VI.             RELATIVE GAIN TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE BY THE DESTRUCTION OF THE VALUE OF THE PETITIONER’S PROPERTY AS COMPARED TO THE HARDSHIP IMPOSED UPON THE INDIVIDUAL LANDOWNERS

 

Evaluation of this criterion includes weighing the benefits to the public versus the benefit of the owners of the subject property. Benefits are measured based on anticipated impacts of the rezoning request on the public health, safety, and welfare.

 

Staff Finding – If the property retains its C-5 District designation, it could redevelop with any of the following permitted uses, among others: retail stores, and automotive services (auto service shops, drive-thru restaurants).

 

With the rezoning of this property to the RO-1A District, two residences will be zoned residentially, instead of commercially. Approval of the rezoning request will protect the public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring that high-traffic commercial uses will not filter into the neighborhood but will allow a higher-density residential and professional office uses as a transition between the commercial and residential uses.

 

VII.     CONFORMANCE WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

 

The subject property is located south of W. 7th Street and east of Arkansas Street. The following Horizon 2020 goal and associated policies support the rezoning application:

 

 

 

RESIDENTIAL LAND USE GOALS AND POLICIES

Medium –and Higher-Density Residential Land Use

 

GOAL 3:  Compatible Transition from Medium and Higher Density Residential Development to both More Intensive and Less Intensive Land Uses (Page 5-25)

Policy 3.1:  Use Appropriate Transitional Methods (Page 5-25)

Policy 3.2:  Medium Density Residential Development as Transitional Uses (Page 5-26)

         

Staff Finding – The rezoning conforms to several Horizon 2020 policies related to medium and higher-density residential uses. This property will act as a buffer between the high density residential and low density residential uses.  The process of the HOP District Plan and implementation of the plan has allowed the neighborhood to update the zoning of the area to match the current use.  The subject properties’ rezonings will allow for the appropriate transitions in the area between commercial uses and low-density residential.  This will help to keep the commercial to the existing sites.

 

 

STAFF REVIEW

The subject property is located south of W. 7th Street and east of Arkansas Street. As previously stated, land uses surrounding the property include single-family homes, duplexes, and triplexes, a bar, and a motorcycle shop. Without a residential zoning for the subject area, the property will maintain a commercial district zoning, while the properties directly east and south will be residentially zoned. The proposed zoning will be consistent with the current uses and be allowed to redevelop as residential or professional office uses subject any applicable regulations in the Zoning Ordinance.  It is also important to note that the application conforms to several Horizon 2020 policies.