Notes
Slide Show
Outline
1
Is Lawrence Ready for 8th & Penn?
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Overview
  • This is a new type of development – we are the guinea pigs.
  • Current zoning codes and regulations do not apply, and are being retrofitted to allow this development to proceed.
  • We have an opportunity to have a great mixed use redevelopment that fits the historic working class neighborhood that is East Lawrence!



3
How will they get where they are going?
A look at the traffic impact of 54 units plus 6400 ft of retail/commercial on the west side of Penn, plus all of zone 1.


4
Traffic Impacts:
Zone 3 Alley Towards NYS
5
Traffic Impacts:
8th & New York
6
Traffic Impacts:
11th & New York
7
Traffic Impacts:
11th & Delaware
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Traffic Impacts:
Hobbs Park Playground to Zone 1
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Traffic Impacts:
11th Street at Rails to Trails Crossing
10
Design Guidelines
  • Page 5 – Intended goals of design document:
  • “Exterior scale, massing, design, and arrangement” do not create linkages with the rest of EL. (goal 2)
  • Does not “maintain the unique identity of EL”. (goal 4)
  • Does not meet the goals of the current Horizon 2020. (goal 6)
11
Design Guidelines
  • Page 9 – Transition zone – west side of Penn. should be a buffer zone between high density residential & commercial in  Zone 1 to the rest of the largely single family neighborhood.
  • Transition zone recommendation from planning staff ignores the commercial space that is in addition to the residential on west side – these should be evaluated together for their combined impact.


12
Design Guidelines
  • The density of zone 3 keeps being referred to as “between RM2 and RM3”, but this totally ignores the fact that zoning of this type does not includes commercial/retail anywhere else.
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Additional Recommendations for Design Guidelines
  • Additional landscape screening to lessen impact of parking, lighting, or noise on neighboring residential properties.
  • No cell phone tower placement (page 12)
  • Affordable housing component MUST be written into design guidelines.
  • Rails to Trails – get it all the way to the river safely?
14
Definitions?
  • Green Space
  • Open Space
  • Green Building
  • Shared Parking
  • Pedestrian Friendly
  • Environmentally Friendly
  • Critical Mass
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Nationally Significant Historic Homes with a Parking Lot in the Backyard?
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Mitigating Impact on Neighbors
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Zone 3 Existing Alley
23? Parking Places on East Side of Alley.
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Parking
20?  “Shared” Spaces on 9th
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Parking
  • Residential parking must be tied to number of bedrooms.
  • Shared parking must be proximal, the residential parking must be immediately adjacent to residences.
  • Shared parking works with offices, but there is no way to guarantee that nightlife businesses will not be using the shared parking.
  • Nightlife businesses will require 100 - 200 + cars per night to support their viability. “Minimal traffic impact”?


20
Existing Curbs in Zone 2
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Costs to Taxpayers?
  • Extending Delaware St.
  • Sewer upgrades
  • Storm drains
  • Lighting
  • Street, alley & curb improvements
  • Restoring Pennsylvania St. to brick
  • WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS?
  • WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS?
22
Gentrification Impact
  • 8 to 10 percent increase in valuations this year alone in EL – the highest in Lawrence.
  • Lower income renters and elderly are already impacted.
  • The displaced homeowner may make a great deal more than their original purchase price, but not enough to purchase a comparable home.
  • Small locally owned businesses are affected as well.
  • C5 zoning property taxes are higher than RS2.


23
Gentrification Strategies
  • We need strategies to create and maintain economically and socially diverse communities that are stable over the long term. Typical gentrification impact falls unfairly on lower income residents.
  • A solution? 20 % of redevelopment should be purchased by Lawrence Land Trust for permanently affordable housing.


24
Zoning
  • There is no way to condition the uses of C5 zoning.  There must be a way for the neighborhood to restrict uses, or the zoning should not be approved.
  • Neighbors have experienced too much lack of enforcement on existing zoning to believe there won’t be problems!
  • New development code is an opportunity to correct this.
25
Stricter Planning Requirements:
  • We need the 8 ft. greenspace for parking lot setbacks recommended by HRC. Planning commission reduced to 3 ft. Neither one appears in Harris “planning action list” from planning staff at all. Where is this currently?
  • Sidewalks and setbacks are delineated in design guidelines, but have already been partially altered in the approved platting.
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Middle Ground!
  • Residents really appreciate the historic preservation aspects of Zone 1. Harris has had a lot of input on this section and has followed through on a lot of it.
  • We appreciate the developer’s willingness to consider affordable housing options – this has been important to EL since day one of the long term planning.
  • There is widespread support for some level of density in zone 3 – no one wants just single family housing.