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City of Lawrence

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PC Mid-Month
03/10/10 7:30–9 a.m.

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Long Range Planning

Commercial Design Standards

In December 2003, the Planning Commission created an ad-hoc subcommittee (the Commercial Design Standards Committee, or CDSC) to begin the process of establishing design standards and guidelines for the community’s new and infill (redevelopment) commercial areas. Parallel with the CDSC, the City received recommendations on implementing Smart Growth principles in its commercial infill/redevelopment and fringe/greenfield areas (provided by the Smart Growth Leadership Institute and an EPA grant). On February 11th and 12th, a neighborhood and community design and development workshop is being held for members of city staff, commissions, and boards. This workshop will focus on urban design, walkable communities, New Urbanism, smart growth and Smart Codes, and other topics related to neighborhood and community design.

In anticipation of additional areas warranting further design consideration based on the above mentioned activities, Planning Staff and the CDSC are recommending the creation of a Community Design Manual. The Community Design Manual is envisioned as a supplement to the community’s comprehensive plan and development regulations. The intent of having a design manual is to provide additional guidance and to address aesthetic character, visual quality, and other subjective design issues that cannot otherwise be adequately dealt with in a comprehensive plan or by regulatory means.

Currently, only the sections pertaining to commercial development and design-related terminology have been drafted. Other sections are anticipated to be drafted as a result of the February workshop. The following represents the proposed format for the Community Design Manual.

To view a memo to the Planning Commission highlighting the CDSC process and proposed timeline on how the commercial design standards and guidelines will be implemented, please click HERE. For more information about the design standards and guidelines or the neighborhood and community design and development workshop, please contact the Planning Office.

Industrial Lands Identification

At the direction of both the City and County Commissions, the Planning Office has been charged with updating the industrial land use chapter of Horizon 2020, the comprehensive land use plan for the City of Lawrence and unincorporated Douglas County. As part of this task, the Planning Office (in cooperation with ECO2 and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce) has been asked to identify 1,000 new acres for future industrial and business park development. The following maps highlight the work Planning staff has done to date in meeting these expectations. Maps 1 and 2 represent the areas currently identified and capable of filling the community’s short-term industrial needs (within the next 10 to 15 years). Map 3 represents the new areas in need of further investigation to determine the appropriateness of filling the community’s long-term industrial needs (beyond 20 years).

  • Map 1
    •    Shows those areas that are currently zoned for industrial uses and those areas that are currently vacant/undeveloped.
  • Map 2
    •    Shows those areas that have previously been identified in adopted or draft land use and/or area plans (such as Horizon 2020, the West 6th Street/Kansas Highway 10 Nodal Plan, the Southeast Area Plan, and the Southern Development Plan).
  • Map 3
    •    Shows those areas that have generally been identified as appropriate for industrial and business park development. These are the areas that will be further studied in order to fulfill the goal of identifying 1,000 acres for future industrial and business park development.