Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning and Development Services

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Planning Staff

 

CC:

Scott McCullough, Director of Planning and Development Services

Sheila Stogsdill, Assistant Planning Director

 

Date:

June 12, 2012

 

RE:

Potential Text Amendment to the Land Development Code Regarding the Truck Stop and Recycling Facilities

 

 

This memo provides information on the Truck Stop and Recycling Processing Center uses per the direction of the City Commission.

 

Background

At the April 17, 2012 City Commission meeting, the Commission approved the separation of the Truck Stop use from the Gas and Fuel Sales use as part of the text amendment that created the IM (Medium Industrial) District.

 

Prior to the recent code amendments, the Truck Stop use was permitted in the CN2 (Neighborhood Commercial) and MU (Mixed Use) Districts with a Special Use Permit and in the CC (Community Commercial), CR (Regional Commercial), CS (Commercial Strip), IL (Limited Industrial), and IG (General Industrial) Districts by right.  There are currently no Truck Stops within the city limits.  With the approval of TA-10-16-11 on April 17, 2012, the Truck Stop use is now permitted only in the CR District with a Special Use Permit and IG District by right.  The amendment prompted a discussion of the Truck Stop use’s potential negative impact to a surrounding area and whether the Development Code should be revised so that the Truck Stop use is permitted only with a Special Use Permit in the CR and IG districts or even prohibited outright in the city. There are significant amounts of IG zoning in the city though there no properties currently zoned CR in the city.

 

The Commission also requested a review and discussion of the Recycling Processing Center use and its impacts on surrounding properties.

 

Discussion - Truck Stop

 

Currently the Truck Stop use is defined in Section 20-1766(4) of the Land Development Code and permitted as follows.  There are no use standards for Truck Stop use.

         

 

 

 

TRUCK STOP

A fuel dispensing facility designed to primarily accommodate the trucking industry.  Accessory uses common to a truck stop may include a convenience store, restaurant, shower facilities, overnight parking areas for semis and other commercial vehicles and scale facilities.

 

Key:

P = Permitted

S = Special Use

- = Use not allowed

 

Base Zoning Districts

cn1

cn2

mu

co

cd

cc

cr

cs

ibp

il

IM

ig

os

gpi

h

Truck Stop

–

–

–

–

–

–

S

–

–

–

–

P

–

–

–

 

 

The land use externalities associated with Truck Stops include: truck and passenger vehicle traffic, parking lot lighting, sound and smell from idling engines, substantial amounts of pavement, and other activity similar to a high activity commercial use.  These impacts will vary depending on the size and amenities provided at the truck stop, such as convenience store, hotel, restaurant, etc.  These impacts can be mitigated to an extent via special use approval in the CR district and with appropriate site planning in the IG district.  The Development Code requires that certain elements, such as buffer yards, light mitigation, impervious limits, etc. be present to effectively transition between land uses.

 

During recent public comment, statements were made regarding the potential for criminal activity at truck stops.  Drug trafficking, prostitution, theft, etc. can occur at truck stops; however, these crimes can and do occur at other types of land uses as well – hotels, bars, gas stations, etc.  Through site design, including employing elements of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), many of the crimes associated with truck stops can be deterred.  The goal of CPTED is to prevent crime by influencing human behavior through the physical environment.  Adequate lighting, security cameras, access control, limited amounts of truck parking, security signs, etc. can aid in mitigating the potential for crime at truck stops.  The Lawrence Police Department currently reviews site plans and offers recommendations on such matters for other land use types and would participate in the review of a truck stop if one were proposed.

 

Whether there is demand for a truck stop of significant size within city limits is questionable since the trucking industry seems to be served, currently at least, by the Lawrence Service Center, milepost 209, along the Kansas Turnpike.  It may be more likely that a supersized gas station, that technically meets the definition of a Truck Stop by accommodating a certain number of trucks and associated amenities, is developed at a location along K-10 Highway under the current code.

 

While there is a low likelihood of establishing a truck stop in the city due to the Lawrence Service Center on the Kansas Turnpike, if the Commission believes that the externalities mentioned above require Commission review, then a special use permit process would ensure that all issues were identified and addressed.  The Development Code would need to be revised to require a special use permit for the use in the IG district.

 

City Commission options on this matter:

1.    Maintain the Truck Stop use as currently permitted in the Land Development Code – special use in the CR district and permitted outright in the IG district.

2.    Remove the use from the CR and IG districts in the Land Development Code.

3.    Revise the code to require Special Use Permit approval for the Truck Stop use in the IG district similar to the CR district.

4.    Revise the code to add use standards (such as site area, buffering, lighting, etc.) for the Truck Stop use.

 

Staff recommendation – Due to the low likelihood of this development type in the community and the land use transition elements required through the Development Code, staff recommends Option 1.  If greater land use controls are desired, the Commission should consider implementing option 3 and initiate a text amendment to require special use permit approval for the Truck Stop use in the IG district.

 

 

Discussion - Recycling Processing Center

 

Currently the Recycling Processing Center use is defined in Section 20-1735 of the Land Development Code and permitted as follows.  There are no use standards for the Recycling Processing Center use.

 

Recycling Facilities

A facility for the collection and/or processing of Recyclable Materials. A recycling facility does not include storage containers or processing activity located on the Premises of a residential, commercial, or manufacturing use and used solely for the recycling of material generated by that residential property, business or manufacturer. Recycling facilities may include the following:

 

(2)        Processing Center

A Building or enclosed space used for the collection and processing of Recyclable Materials. Processing means the preparation of material for efficient shipment, or to an end-user's specifications, by such means as baling, briquetting, compacting, flattening, grinding, crushing, mechanical sorting, shredding, cleaning, and remanufacturing.


 

 

Key:

A = Accessory

P = Permitted

S = Special Use

* = Standard Applies

- = Use not allowed

 

Base Zoning Districts

cn1

cn2

mu

co

cd

cc

cr

cs

ibp

il

IM

ig

os

gpi

h

Recycling Processing Center

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

P

S

P

–

–

–

 

The Recycling Processing Center use has been the subject of much discussion as it has related to the 12th and Haskell Recycling Center code issues.  In that case, the use creating the offsite impacts was not, by code, a Recycling Processing Center, but rather an Open Use of Land.  The Recycling Processing Center use is required, by definition, to be operated within a building or an enclosed space (Walmart processing center for example).  The equivalent use in the current code for the use that caused impact for the neighbors at 1146 Haskell is the Salvage Operation use.  The Salvage Operation use is permitted in IL and IG districts with a Special Use Permit.

 

There are currently two active applications to establish a recycling center in the community – one in North Lawrence and the relocation of 12th and Haskell Recycle Center.  In both cases, a Special Use Permit for the Salvage Operation is required, even if there may be an element of Recycling Processing Center on the site.  The code permits more than one primary use and the Recycling Processing Center would need to be within the building or enclosed space and the outdoor collection requires the Special Use Permit.

 

In staff’s opinion, the Recycling Processing Center does not generate onerous externalities for the districts in which it is permitted.  Staff does not believe any change is necessary for this use.

 

City Commission Options on this matter:

1.    Revise the code to require Special Use Permit approval for the Recycling Processing Center use in the IL and IG districts.

2.    Maintain the current code and find that the use generates minimal negative externalities.

 

Staff recommendation – Staff recommends that the Commission maintain the current code by implementing option 2.

 

Action Requested

Direct staff as appropriate.