CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM

Department:	Planning & Development Services		Commission Meeting Date:  August 21, 2018
Staff Contact:	Jeff Crick, Planning Manager
Recommendations/Options/Action Requested:
Initiate a text amendment to the Land Development Code to incorporate a stream corridor protection article, and direct staff to develop an ordinance that will outline a process to permit and review development in accordance with this amendment.
Executive Summary:		On June 14, 2011 the Lawrence City Commission adopted comprehensive plan amendment CPA-2008-7 (City Ordinance 8592 – County Resolution 11-11) appending Chapter 16: Environment to Horizon 2020: The Comprehensive Plan for Lawrence and Unincorporated Douglas County.  This chapter includes a policy to, “Develop stream setback regulations for both the City of Lawrence and Douglas County to establish stream corridors which provide a buffer that stabilizes stream banks, reduces erosion, preserves riparian areas, mitigates flood hazards, and ensures water quality.” (Policy 1.2(a), p. 16-5) Streams, wetlands, and water bodies are indispensable and fragile natural resources with significant development constraints due to high groundwater, flooding, erosion, and soil limitations that can often be threatened by encroachment into their natural water courses.  When this encroachment occurs, it can have a detrimental and sometimes expensive effect on public safety and public infrastructure investments, while also causing an adverse environmental impact on these natural resources. Stream corridor protections would provide numerous benefits to adjacent property owners along these water bodies and also property owners downstream.  Principally, those benefits include reducing flood hazards and other potential flood-related damages to life and properties, improving water quality, and maintaining natural wildlife habitats.  These natural water courses have developed their own ways to handle flooding and erosion with natural features providing floodwater storage and conveyance, while helping to increase water quality, ensuring stream stability and protecting related infrastructure investments. This proposed text amendment would create a stream corridors protection article within Chapter 20: Land Development Code.  This proposed text amendment would promote the prevention of sediment, nutrient, and pollutant loads from entering streams by maintaining stream buffers based on the physical and hydrology characteristics of each water course, while protecting public safety and public infrastructure investments throughout the community. This proposed text amendment would be reviewed by the Planning Commission with final action to be considered by the City Commission.
Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor		Safe, Healthy, and Welcoming Neighborhoods Innovative Infrastructure and Asset Management Core Services Sound Fiscal Stewardship
Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source):		There is no fiscal impact to the City.
Attachments:		None.

Reviewed By: (for CMO use only)

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