Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Planning & Development Services

TO:	Sandra Day
FROM:	David Guntert
CC:	Scott McCullough; Randy Larkin; Sheila Stogsdill; Amy Miller
Date:	July 9, 2015
RE:	SUP-15-00185 Protest Petition, filed July 7, 2015

Under City of Lawrence, Kan., Code § 20-1306(g) (Jan. 1, 2015), to file a valid protest petition challenging a recommendation relating to an application for a special use permit, a person must obtain the signatures of owners of at least 20% of the real property within the protest district and must file the protest petition with the City Clerk within fourteen days of the conclusion of the Planning Commission's public hearing. At its June 22, 2015, public meeting, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Commission approve Application for Special Use Permit No. SUP-15-00185, seeking a permit to construct a 120-foot monopole tower on that real property commonly known as 2001 Moodie Road, Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas ("the subject property"). On July 7, 2015, petitioners filed a protest petition challenging the Planning Commission's recommendation. Based on the City's review of it, the protest petition only meets one of the City Code's two criteria to be considered a valid protest petition and is, therefore, under the City Code, not a valid protest petition.

The protest petition must first contain the signatures of at least 20% of owners within the protest district. City of Lawrence, Kan., Code § 20-1306(g) (Jan. 1, 2015). The July 7, 2015, protest petition meets that requirement. There are nineteen (19) parcels within the required 200-foot notification distance (protest district) of the subject property. The total area of all real property represented by those 19 parcels is 617,659.09 square feet (14.18 acres). The protest petition received by the City was signed by owners of 5 parcels – all located within the protest district. The total area within the 200-foot boundary represented by those 5 parcels is 124,435.47 square feet (2.86 acres), or approximately 20.15% of the total area within the protest district. As such, the protest petition meets the requirements of the City Code relating to the number of signatures.

For further illustration, the attached map shows the properties within the protest area with owners who are protesting the application for a special use permit.

The calculations for determining the sufficiency of the signatures is as follows:

Total Area of all 19 Parcels w/in 200’ of the

Property in the Special Use Permit Request 617,659.09 sq. ft.; 14.18 acres

Total Area of Parcels inside the Buffer

Whose Owners are Protesting the

Special Use Permit Request (5 Parcels) 124,435.47 sq. ft.; 2.86 acres

However, in addition to having signatures of 20% of owners within the protest district, the protest petition must also be filed with the City Clerk within fourteen (14) days of the conclusion of the Planning Commission's public hearing. City of Lawrence, Kan., Code § 20-1306(g) (Jan. 1, 2015). When computing time when an action must be completed, the City excludes the first day and includes the last day and counts all intervening days including weekends and legal holidays. See City of Lawrence, Kan., Code § 1-102(B) (Jan. 1, 2015). Here, the Planning Commission concluded the public hearing on the application for a special use permit on Monday, June 22, 2015. Excluding that day (which is the first day) and beginning the count on June 23, 2015, as the first day, the fourteenth day was Monday July 6, 2015. Accordingly, the City Code required that the protest petition be filed with the City Clerk before the close of business on Monday, July 6, 2015. The present protest petition was filed on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, or one day outside the fourteen-day period. Because it was not filed within fourteen days of the Planning Commission's public hearing, the present protest petition does not meet the requirements of the City Code and is not a valid protest petition.

In summary, because the July 7, 2015 protest petition was filed outside the fourteen-day period prescribed by Section 20-1306 of the City Code, it is not, under the City Code, a valid protest petition.