The Lawrence Farmers Market will present a feasibility study to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board evaluating if either South Park or Watson Park could be an appropriate site for the market’s permanent location.

Although market project team members have heard positive responses to their location proposals during community town halls they’ve hosted, their bids for locations in the parks have been met with pushback from some community members and advisory board members.

The Lawrence Farmers Market started 49 years ago as a pop-up event in city parking lots each week.

The market has used the 824 New Hampshire St. parking lots since 2008, but partners have been pushing to identify a permanent location to improve the long-term viability of the market. 

The market has contracted local planning and architectural design firm Clark Huesemann for the project. They’ve highlighted four possible future homes for the market:

• The 800 block of New Hampshire Street, where the market is currently located
• In a parking lot along Vermont Street between Eighth and Ninth streets
• Seventh Street between Kentucky and Tennessee streets, or along Watson Park
• In South Park, along the western edge closest to Vermont Street

Emily Lysen, director of development for the market, will present findings from the market’s feasibility study for South Park and Watson Park options at the Monday advisory board meeting. The market has conducted the study to help align design plans with community values, per Lysen’s presentation.

Following the presentation, the board will also review a letter drafted by two of its members opposing the Farmers Market’s potential bid to relocate to a park. The meeting agenda indicates that they plan to send the statement to the Lawrence City Commission.

“Parks are not simply available land; they are essential public assets that contribute to mental and physical health, promote social connection, improve environmental resilience, and reinforce the livability of our city,” the draft letter reads. “As our community grows, the preservation of parkland, especially centrally located, mature green space, becomes increasingly important.”

The letter suggests that although the market is a significant community asset, the added structures and increased traffic that would come with it could “alter the character of these parks and reduce the flexibility needed for a wide variety of community events and outdoor recreation.”

Mike Wildgen, former Lawrence city manager, and Dean Palos, a historian and past planner, have staunchly opposed the market setting up shop in any park near downtown.

They previously submitted a formal request to the city commission to have Watson and Constant Parks added to the Lawrence Register of Historic Places as landmarks, which would stymie the market’s progress. South Park is already on the register.

During the Nov. 20 Historic Resources Commission meeting, city staff liaison Lynne Braddock Zollner said the farmers market could still be located in a park on the historic registry. However, there would be a more extensive public approval process to win the green light.

City commissioners unanimously agreed during their Dec. 16 meeting that they weren’t interested in having the Historic Resources Commission pursue the request, citing limited staff capacity. They were also concerned that historic registry status would make it harder for nearby homeowners to make alterations and renovations to their properties.

However, the Historic Resources Commission has autonomy to move forward with the process to see if the parks can be added to the registry, and the board already voted in favor.

Meeting info

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12 in the City Commission Room at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. See the full meeting agenda at this link.

The board accepts written public comment emailed to parksrec@lawrenceks.org until noon the day of the meeting. The board also hears live public comment during meetings, both in person and virtually.

The board meeting can be attended in person or virtually by registering via Zoom. People can also view the meeting via the city’s live video stream or YouTube channel.

Note: This article has been corrected from a previous version.

Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.

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