Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Jonathan Douglass, City Clerk/Assistant to the City Manager
CC:	Scott McCullough, Planning and Development Services Director Sheila Stogsdill, Assistant Director, Planning and Development Lynne Zollner, Historic Resources Administrator Ernie Shaw, Interim Director of Parks and Recreation Mitch Young, Park District Supervisor Crystal Miles, Forestry/Horticulture Manager Tarik Khatib, Chief of Police Teri Pierce, Parking and Animal Control Manager
DATE:	February 6, 2013
RE:	Weekday Farmers Market Proposal

On January 3, 2013, the City Commission received a request from the Lawrence Farmers Market for the use of the public right-of-way on the west side of the 800 block of Rhode Island Street (between the street and the parking lot) for its Tuesday and Thursday markets. City staff has analyzed the request and recommends consideration of other options instead. Various options are identified in a table at the conclusion of this memo. Of the options identified, city staff generally favor Lot 17 (SE corner of 6^th and Massachusetts), the city parking lot on the SE corner of 2^nd and Locust, or South Park adjacent to Law Enforcement Center parking lot.

Background

With the redevelopment of the building located at 1040 Vermont Street, the City Commission approved addition of long term parking to the city’s Parking Lot #10 on the 1000 block of Vermont Street. Since that change was decided upon, the city and the Lawrence Farmers Market have been discussing new potential locations for the Tuesday Farmers Market, which has been held in Lot #10.The weekday Farmers Market season runs from the beginning of May to the end of October. City staff have suggested various possibilities, which are all included on the table of options later in this memo.

The Farmers Market has experimented with various non-downtown locations in recent years, but they have a strong desire to keep both weekday markets (Tuesday and Thursday) downtown and at the same location. An earlier proposal the Farmers Market submitted to staff was for the use of a western portion of Lot 8 (highlighted in yellow on the attached map). Due to the heavy use of that portion of the lot on weekday afternoons, staff discouraged the pursuit of that location.

The Farmers Market has settled on the proposal received by the City Commission on January 3 as their preferred option. On January 2, staff from the City Manager’s Office, Planning Office, Parks and Recreation Department, and Parking Control met with representatives of the Farmers Market to discuss details of the proposal.

I mailed a letter to adjacent properties and tenants, Downtown Lawrence, Inc. and the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association soliciting comments on the proposals. The East Lawrence Neighborhood Association generally had concerns about screening between the neighborhood and the parking lot, and adjacent businesses had concerns about the loss of long-term parking for their employees. Downtown Lawrence, Inc. would like to see the markets stay in downtown, but they did have concerns about the loss of parking on the east side of downtown, especially since the parking pressure has increased since the library began operations at 700 New Hampshire Street. Correspondence received to date is attached.

Analysis of the request

Screening – When staff initially met with the Farmers Market, the Market expressed a desire to remove at least some of the hedge row along the eastern edge of the parking lot to accommodate vendor tables and to allow vendors to carry their goods and equipment straight through from the parking lot to the market area. The Farmers Market did not want any of the trees removed; they view the trees as a valued feature of a potential Market location.

The hedge was originally installed at the request of the neighborhood to screen the homes from the parking lot and commercial area across the street. East Lawrence resident KT Walsh commented at the January 3 City Commission meeting that removal of the hedge would be concerning to the neighborhood. The hedge is intentionally large, up to six feet tall and filling most of the space between the parking lot and the sidewalk (see attached photos). To accommodate any vendor activity in that space most of the hedge would need to be removed, eliminating the screening it provides. Smaller plantings could be installed but would be less effective as a screen, and may not thrive because the overhanging trees are already grown and because the upcoming summer is expected to bring drought conditions once again.

Other plantings could be placed close to the street, but their height would be limited to 36 inches, much shorter than the hedges next to the parking lot.

Surface/Turf Issues - If the Farmers Market finds a benefactor to fund the improvements, they may eventually request permission to put down some kind of hard surface or pavers in the requested area. For at least the first season they would simply set up on top of the mulched surface west of the sidewalk and on the grass south of the sidewalk. The intent is to have the customer traffic on the sidewalk and only the vendors and their wares on the grass or mulch. The Farmers Market could potentially use the requested area during their Saturday market as well if authorized by the city.

City staff has several concerns related to the turf. The existing mulch is not a suitable surface for foot traffic. It will get kicked into the sidewalk and parking lot, and if the area is watered both the mulched and grassy areas will become muddy (there are about 25-30 irrigation heads in the area). Parks and Recreation staff is also concerned about compaction of the soil around the trees and other plantings, which forces air out of the soil and stresses root systems. This is the reason the city code requires a root protection area preventing the placement of construction or other materials within ten feet of the trunks of street trees. This particular urban environment is already stressed for the existing trees, and staff fears that additional traffic may be detrimental to their health.

The sidewalk through this area is not very wide. The intent of the Farmers Market is for the vendors’ setups to front the sidewalk and for customers to stay primarily on the sidewalk. Due to the limited width of the sidewalk, strollers and wheelchairs may have difficulty navigating through the area when the market is in operation.

Parking and Loading – The Farmers Market would like to have the 9 non-handicap parking spaces along the eastern edge of the lot reserved for their vendors to park shortly before and during the weekday markets (Tuesday and Thursday 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.).

The last annual parking capacity counts, taken in 2011, showed Lot 8 (both east and west of the alley) to be on average 57% full (or 44 spaces empty) on Monday-Friday afternoons. A more recent Tuesday afternoon count (taken at 2:15 p.m. on October 30, 2012) found only five open spaces on the half of the lot west of the alley, and twelve open spaces east of the alley. If spaces were to be reserved for the weekday Farmers Market, small signs could be installed on the meter poles reading something like “No parking, May-October, 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.” These are long term parking spaces, so many of the drivers likely park there in the morning and stay all day because they work downtown.

The Farmers Market anticipates 10-12 vendors during the weekday markets, so nine reserved spots would not accommodate all vendors. It may be useful to put up signs indicating something like “5 minute parking, loading zone” on the west side of Rhode Island to allow vendors to legally park and unload their vehicles.

The Farmers Market also indicated that the proposed location is workable without fewer or even no reserved parking spaces, but that they prefer some reserved parking.

Agreement vs. Permit – In past years, the Farmers Market has obtained Temporary Use of Public Right-of-Way permits for the use of the two city parking lots downtown. Staff believes that a more appropriate instrument would be an agreement between the Market and the city for the use of parking lots or right-of-way.

Approval process and staff recommendation regarding the request – This request has been discussed with the Historic Resources Administrator, but this request or any of the other contemplated locations would likely require formal review by the Historic Resources Administrator for any permit or agreement granted.

A sign permit would be necessary to put a Farmers Market sign at the Rhode Island entrance to Lot 8. The sign would be located on city property rather than on the right-of-way. It is not anticipated that Planning Commission review would be necessary. The use of the right-of-way by the Farmers Market can be allowed if the City Commission grants approval to staff to negotiate and execute an agreement with the Farmers Market, subject to the Historic Resources Administrator’s review. However, after an initial review of the request, Planning and Historic Resources staff would consider the proposal to be a fairly significant encroachment on the adjacent neighborhood. Removal of the hedge or parts thereof removes a buffer between the parking lot and the neighborhood. Any removal of the hedge is semi-permanent, because it would be hard to regrow it now that the trees are mature size. Use of the right-of-way east of the hedge, even if the hedge remains intact, brings commercial activity significantly closer to the residential neighborhood. If the health of the grass/trees/landscaping suffers due to the increased traffic and reduced ability to water, the impact of the Farmers Market use is extended beyond the few hours per week that they are actually operating. City staff has analyzed the request from the Farmers Market and recommends consideration of other options.

Summary of Options

The table below summarizes some options that staff has identified, including staying at the current Tuesday market location, and the Farmers Market request to use the right-of-way on the 800 block of Rhode Island. Other options may also exist and warrant consideration.

Of the options identified, city staff generally favor Lot 17 (SE corner of 6^th and Massachusetts), the city parking lot on the SE corner of 2^nd and Locust, or South Park adjacent to Law Enforcement Center parking lot.

Parking capacity numbers cited below are from 2011, the most recently available counts. The counts are Monday – Friday afternoon averages.

Location	Pros	Cons
Lot 10, current location, 1000 block of Vermont (map) – CURRENT LOCATION	Tuesday market is already here. No new impact on trees or turf.	Lot is used for long term parking. Approximately 22 spaces lost. Average 44% full (likely significantly different since redevelopment at 1040 Vermont). No public restrooms.
Lot 10, short term spaces, 1000 block of Vermont (map)	Mostly short term spaces (only 5 are long term). No new impact on trees or turf. Thursday market is already nearby.	Approximately 40 spaces lost. Average 44% full (likely significantly different since redevelopment at 1040 Vermont).
800 block Rhode Island (proposal from Farmers Market)	100 E 9^th project may include public restrooms. Shares location with Saturday market: unified identity/location/marketing. Uses smallest number of public spaces of any of the identified options.	Lot is used for long term parking. Approximately 10 spaces lost. Average 57% full. Turf and screening issues.
Lot 8 East, 800 block of Rhode Island, in parking lot only (map)	No new impact on trees or turf. 100 E 9^th project may include public restrooms. Shares location with Saturday market: unified identity/location/marketing.	Lot is used for long term parking. Approximately 24 spaces lost. Average 57% full.
Lot 8 West, 800 block of New Hampshire, portion of western lot (map and diagram)	100 E 9^th project may include public restrooms. No new impact on trees or turf. Shares location with Saturday market: unified identity/location/marketing.	Lot is used for long term parking. Approximately 20 spaces lost. Average 57% full.
Lot 9, southwest corner of 10^th and Vermont (map)	Within sight of current Tuesday market location. Lot is more lightly utilized than Lot 8 or 11. No new impact on trees or turf.	Lot is used for long term parking. Approximately 38 spaces lost. Average 53% full. No public restrooms.
Lot 11, north of the Carnegie Library (map)	Public restroom at Carnegie Library. Parking for customers available on street and in lot across street. No new impact on trees or turf.	Lot is used for long term parking. Approximately 19 spaces lost. Average 90% full. Bus transfer hub is going nearby, already taking away parking.
Lot 16, Rhode Island just south of the Riverfront Parking Garage (map)	Lot is almost empty all the time. Average only 6% full. 43 spaces total available. Abundant parking for customers nearby. No new impact on trees or turf.	Visibility for market is lower. No public restrooms (but City Hall is nearby).
Lot 17, SE corner of 6^th and Massachusetts (map)	Lot is short term parking, and lightly used (25 spaces available and only averages 22% full). Public restrooms nearby at City Hall. No new impact on trees or turf. Abundant parking available for customers at Riverfront Garage.	Customers may cross the street at locations other than the light or the midblock crossing.
2^nd and Locust, just north of the Kansas River levee (map)	Lot is very lightly used. Parking for customers available at Depot across the street. No new impact on trees or turf.	Lot is outside downtown (Farmers Market and DLI both want the market to stay in downtown). No public restrooms (but Depot is nearby).
South Park, east side, adjacent to Law Enforcement Center parking lot (map)	Lots of space available for the market, and the number of parking spaces used could be limited or expanded as much as the county would permit. The Parks and Rec department is not as concerned about the stress on the trees and turf here as they would on the 800 block of Rhode Island. The trees are more mature and the market can be moved slightly from week to week to reduce the impact.	Parking lot is owned by the county, so their permission would need to be obtained (the city enforces the metered parking along the edge of the park).
Constant Park, Tennessee north of 6^th St (map)	Customers could park in lot, vendors could park along South Powerhouse Rd, and vendors could set up along the sidewalk through the park. Turf could be impacted, but the area is less stressed than the 800 block of Rhode Island.	No public restrooms. Location is on the periphery of downtown.
Library Plaza, 700 block of Vermont (renderings), future option	Lots of parking for customers nearby. Space is designed as an outdoor gathering place. Synergy with library and pool nearby. Public restrooms available at garage and in library.	Not available for 2013 markets (library construction anticipated to be complete by Spring 2014). Farmers Market is hesitant to commit to this location until they can see it as built.
As yet unidentified private lot	No impact on publicly available parking.	There may be costs to Farmers Market.

Action: Direct staff to negotiate an agreement with the Lawrence Farmers Market for use of city property or right-of-way, if appropriate.