Meeting Information
CONSENT AGENDA
(1) (a) Consider approval of Commission Orders; and
(b) Consider approval of an EDC Easement Agreement (Craig Weinaug)
(c) Consider approval of Cereal Malt Beverage License for Clinton Marina Parking Lot Special Event (Clerk’s Office);
(d) Consider authorizing full payment ($16,681.97) of the KDOT Tower Lease Agreement for years 2013 - 2027 as part of the new Douglas County P25 800MHz Radio Project. (Scott Ruf);
(e) Consent Agenda approval of Chip Seal contract with Vance Brothers, Inc. Project No. 2014-1
Chip Sealing various County roads (Keith Browning)
REGULAR AGENDA
(2) Consider awarding construction contract to low bidder for Project No. 2012-14, Route 458 improvements
from E 1050 to US-59 highway (Keith Browning)
(3) Z-14-00072: Consider a request to rezone approximately 87 acres from IG (General Industrial) District to County A (Agricultural) District, located at 2200 Noria Rd and 4600 E 23rd St. Submitted by Barber Emerson, for Economic Development Corporation of Lawrence and Douglas County, property owner of record. (PC Item 1B; approved 9-0 on 5/19/14) David Guntert is the Planner.
(4) (a) Consider approval of Accounts Payable (if necessary)
(b) Appointments
Douglas County Senior Services Board of Directors – (1) vacancy 04/2014
Fire District 2 (5) positions
Fire District 3 (5) positions
Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging Board of Directors – (2) vacancies
Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging Tri-County Advisory Council – (2) vacancies
Lawrence-Douglas County Advocacy Council on Aging (5) - vacancies
(c) Public Comment
(5) Adjourn
Thellman called the regular meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, 2014, with all members present.
AGENDA 06-18-14
Thellman moved approval of the following Consent Agenda:
Economic development Corporation of Lawrence Easement Agreement with Douglas County for Tract A legally described as Lot 2, Block 4, East Hills Business Park, Kansas;
Cereal Malt Beverage License for Clinton Marina parking lot special event;
Chip seal contract with Vance brothers, Inc., in the low bid amount of $1,025,718.32 for Project No. 2014-1, chip sealing various County roads, and authorization for the public works director to approve change orders up to 5% of the contract amount.
Motion was seconded by Gaughan and carried 3-0.
Pulled from the agenda
The Board considered authorizing full payment ($16,681.97) of the KDOT Tower Lease four years 2013-2027 as part of the new Douglas County P25 800 MHz the radio project.
Scott Ruf, Director of Emergency Communications, gave a brief update on the project and asked the board to consider authorizing full payment $16,681.97 of the KDOT tower lease radio agreement.
Thellman moved to approve the full payment in the amount of $16,681.97 of the KDOT Tower Le4ase Radio Agreement for years 2013-2027 as part of the new Douglas County P25 800 MHz Radio Project. Gaughan seconded and the motion carried 3-0.
PUBLIC WORKS 06-18-14
Flory moved approval of a construction contract and the low-bid amount of $1,489,149.69 with Hamm, Inc. for project number 2012-14, Route 458 improvements from E 1050 to US-59 Highway, and authorized the Public Works Director to approve change orders up to 10% of the total contract amount. Motion seconded by Gaughan and carried 3-0.
PLANNING AND ZONING 06-18-13
The Board considered Z-14-00072 a request to rezone approximately 87 acres from IG (General Industrial) District to County A (Agricultural) District, located at 2200 Noria Road and 4600 E 23rd Street. The application was submitted by Barber Emerson, for Economic Development Corporation of Lawrence and Douglas County, property owner of record. The Planning Commission approved the item May 19, 2014 on a 9-0 vote. David Guntert, Lawrence-Metropolitan planning staff, presented the item. Matt Gough, Barber Emerson, was present on behalf of the contract purchaser.
Flory noted for the record that he serves as ex officio for the Economic Development Council that voted and proceeded to be presented. He is not a voting member of that body, but has been party to the discussions by the applicant’s. This is not deemed as a conflict of interest.
Staff recommends approval of the request to rezone approximately 87 acres from IG (General Industrial) District to County A (Agricultural) District-based on the following findings of fact:
- Conformance with the comprehensive plan. Rezoning the subject property as County A (Agricultural) District (provided the City of Lawrence determines to de-annex the property from the incorporated boundaries) is supported in Horizon 2020 with the general responses stated above by the applicant. The Comprehensive Plan directs attention to the west and East Hills Business Park on the former Farmland Industries property (now known as Venture Park) for expansion of industrial and employment based business uses rather than the areas east of Noria Road.
- Zoning and use of nearby property, including overlay zoning. The predominant land use pattern in the area is agriculture; especially on the properties east of Noria Road. Directly west of the subject property is East Hills Business Park in the City of Lawrence, which is zoned IG District. The IG zoning and industrial uses extend from the intersection of East 23rd Street and Noria Road north to the railroad tracks.
A small area of county I-3 and I-4 zoning exists at the intersection of the railroad tracks and Noria Road. A contractor storage building exists on a small parcel on the northeast corner of this intersection and the rest of the I-3 and I-4 zoned area is used for agricultural uses.
Most of the area east of Noria Road adjacent to the subject property and beyond is zoned VC (Valley Channel) District. Over a period of time, several properties nearby have been rezoned from the VC District to the A (Agricultural) District. The VC District is representative of areas in the county that were flooded during the 1951 Wakarusa River and Kansas River Flood event. Agricultural fields dominate the landscape with an occasional residence found along the nearby roadways.
A small portion of the property (generally parallel with Noria Road) is identified on the August 5, 2010 FEMA Flood Hazard Area Maps to be in the 500-Year flood hazard area (0.2 Percent Annual Chance). The rest of the property is shown as being in “Zone X”, which is an area determined to be outside the 500-year floodplain. An earlier FEMA Flood Hazard Area Map series, having an effective date of November 7, 2001, had shown the entire property in the 500-year flood hazard area.
- Character of the neighborhood. The neighborhood is primarily rural agricultural rural in character. Noria Road, which runs north-south on the west side of the subject property, forms a distinct edge between the existing urban development pattern found on the west side of Noria and the rural agricultural land use patterns that dominate the landscape to the east of Noria Road.
- Plans for the area or neighborhood, as reflected in adopted area and/or sector plans including the property or adjoining property. The subject property is located in service area 4 in the Lawrence Urban Growth Area. The site was annexed by the City in 2000 and zoned for general industrial type uses. No development of the property has occurred in the 14+ years it has been in the city limits. The area east of Noria Road and North of K-10 Highway has been identified for more detailed sector or area planning work in the near future. Extensive planning efforts have been focused in recent years on the former Farmland Industries property (known as Venture Park) and southeast area plan (south of K-10 and East of O’Connell Road).
- Suitability of subject property for the uses to which it has been restricted under the existing zoning regulations. The property owner has petitioned the City for vacation of the subject property from the official boundaries of the City of Lawrence. If the governing body agrees to de-annex the subject property, the city zoning designation it now carries will no longer be valid. Once the property is no longer in the city limits of Lawrence, it needs to be rezoned to an appropriate county zoning district. In staff’s opinion, the County A (agricultural) District is the best zoning category matching the existing land use. Some of the subject property was owned VC District when it was annexed into the City of Lawrence; staff d s not believe it is appropriate to rezone it back to that category. The VC District was essentially an early predecessor to the current floodplain management districts.
- Length of the time subject property has remained vacant as zoned. The property was owned County A (agricultural) and VC (Valley Channel) Districts to an M-2 (General Industrial) District in 2000 by Ordinance 7206 after the City of Lawrence annex the property the same year. The M-2 zoning designation converted to the current IG District when the City adopted the Development Code in 2006. The zoning has remained unchanged since 2006. The property was used for agricultural purposes prior to its annexation by the City and it has continuously been used for agricultural crop production.
- Extent to which approving the rezoning book detrimentally affect nearby properties. Rezoning this property to the County A (Agricultural) District following the City of Lawrence de-annexation of the property will not detrimentally affect nearby properties. No use change is planned; the property will continue to be farmed like it has been for many years.
- The game, if any, to the public health, safety and welfare due to the denial of the application, as compared to the hardship imposed upon the landowner, if any, as result of denial of the application. The subject property has been actively used for agricultural crop production for many years without impact on the public health, safety and welfare regardless of which political jurisdiction (County or City) it was in at the time. If the property is de-annexed by a the City of Lawrence, then the existing IG zoning will no longer be valid as the County d s not have authority to enforce the City’s Development Codes. Similarly, the City has no authority to enforce the County’s Zoning Regulations. Therefore, if the property is de-annexed from the city of Lawrence, it should be rezoned to an appropriate county zoning district so the regulatory authority exist to protect the public health, safety and welfare should it become necessary to do so for some reason in the future and, subject to the City of Lawrence vacating the subject property from the Incorporated Boundaries of Lawrence and the vacation of two final plat associated with this land.
Keith Browning, Director of Public Works, noted that the City of Lawrence had made road improvements on Route 442 from the east line which was within the city limits, but did not include this half-mile. Now that it will be the County’s responsibility, the County will need to go back and make those improvements. Browning estimated the cost to be approximately $300,000. It is not currently included in the Capital Improvement Project (CIP), but he will add it when the CIP is updated.
Thellman open the item for public comments. No comment was received.
Thellman moved to approve Z-14-00072, a request to rezone approximately 87 acres from IG (General Industrial) District to County A (Agricultural) District, located at 2200 Noria Road and 4600 E. 23rd Street, and subject to the city of Lawrence vacating the subject property from the Incorporated Boundaries of Lawrence and the vacation of two final plats associated with this land. Motion was seconded by Gaughan and carried 3-0.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE 06-18-14
Thellman moved to approve accounts payable in the amount of $512,481.57 to be paid on 06/19/14. Motion was seconded by Flory and carried 3-0.
APPOINTMENT 06-18-14
Flory moved to appoint the following individuals to Fire District No. 3 in Willow Springs Township: Suzanne Evinger, Richard Hird, John Taul, John Heym, and John Mathis. Motion was seconded by Gaughan and carried 3-0.
Thellman moved to adjourn the meeting; Flory seconded and the motion carried 3-0.
Nancy Thellman, Chair
Jim Flory, Vice-Chair
ATTEST:
Jamie Shew, County Clerk
Mike Gaughan, Member
Time and Date