City commissioners will consider adopting a revised land development code at Tuesday’s meeting, after two years of work and with new opposition from some neighborhood groups that worry the new code could reshape their community.
The land development code regulates development in the city, including zoning regulations, residential occupancy limits and more. The document has wide-ranging implications for the growth and direction of the city. In the summer of 2022, the city started reviewing the code to make it simpler and aligned with goals like sustainability and housing.
In recent weeks, more than 300 people have signed an online petition asking the city to halt the adoption of the code. They are concerned that the code will significantly alter the character of some of Lawrence’s oldest and most historic neighborhoods and include too many loopholes that profit-driven property investors could exploit.
One of the biggest changes to the code is efforts to create more development opportunities for non-single-family housing by altering requirements for what types of housing can be built where.
These changes aim to create more accessible neighborhoods and lower the price of housing. Nick Kuzmyak, an environmental engineer who served on a steering committee for the new code, wrote in a May column that the changes will help level the playing field of housing in Lawrence.
“No one is going to ‘ban single-family homes’ or bulldoze neighborhoods,” he wrote in the column. “Instead, things other than (but compatible with) single-family homes would now be allowed in places where they’re currently not.”
But petitioners asking the city to reject the new code argue density requirements could be exploited by developers looking to build dense college housing in historic Lawrence neighborhoods near campus.
Mandy Enfield, president of the University Place Neighborhood Association, said she’s already seen developers buy housing in the neighborhood. She said families can’t compete with the investors, leading less of the neighborhood to be family-owned. The new code, she argues, would make the issue worse by creating more incentives for investors to buy property and flip it into more dense housing aimed at college students.
“We’re already losing middle-income affordable housing in the neighborhood,” Enfield said. “These are older homes which would typically be affordable. They’re smaller homes which would typically be affordable. But because of that, they’re also prime targets for developers to come in. This code is going to amplify that.”
Enfield is preparing to have many residents of local neighborhoods speak out against the code on Tuesday. The group has handed out 120 yard signs and submitted public comments.
The Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods, Lawrence Preservation Alliance and neighborhood associations across Lawrence have also spoken out against the code.
The new regulations aim to create more affordable housing in Lawrence. City spokesperson Cori Wallace said the city defines affordable housing as “housing that a household can pay for, while still having money left over for other necessities like food, transportation, and health care.”
“What we are seeing, and what large, large portions of the country are seeing, is the razor thin living margins of our community members,” Wallace said. “The middle-class access into housing is on the decline, and more and more of our neighbors struggle with sustainable and steady housing.”
Wallace did not comment on the petition.
Aside from new density regulations, the code removes some parking minimums. “New residential uses proposed outside of existing neighborhoods are not subject to the minimum parking requirement,” according to the code revision in the meeting agenda. The code adds a new section focusing on mobility and connectivity.
Enfield said the land development code can be hard to understand for most people and she is aiming to make it more accessible through the petition and social media, helping to draw in community members who may have been unaware of the code’s impacts.
While bringing these concerns forward, Enfield said they’ve been called NIMBYs, which stands for “not in my backyard” — a term for people who oppose development near their homes and often push back against housing projects that could help people experiencing homelessness.
But Enfield said the neighborhood isn’t against development. Their concerns are in how the code could incentivize non-local investors to scoop up property.
“We do want to be able to keep our community connections and have neighbors who care about their property and aren’t absentee landlords who are just trying to make money and leave,” she said.
Enfield said they’ve been told the code is a “living document” and will be able to be altered later. But she’s worried that there is no enforceable way to ensure changes could be made after adoption. She’s also concerned the group won’t be heard later in the process. She said it has already been challenging to make her concerns known, sitting in Planning Commission meetings until late at night and struggling to get answers to questions.
The agenda item report for Tuesday says the project team for the new code has “conducted multiple outreach opportunities” during the process.
“I’ve spent so many hours trying to learn the code and asking questions for clear clarity so I can give back and give informed feedback,” Enfield said. “And I’ve received two emails in response.”
City commissioners voiced general support for the draft code at an informational session in January and didn’t hold an in-depth discussion about an updated iteration during their Oct. 15 meeting.
See the complete code update within the commission’s agenda item at this link. (Note: The link goes to a 1,440-page PDF that may be slow to load.)
The commission will begin its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. The commission anticipates starting a bit later than usual because of two executive sessions at the start of the meeting — one for an attorney-client privileged discussion on pending litigation, and one to discuss a personnel matter.
Meetings are open to the public, broadcast on Midco channel 25 and livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@lawrenceksvideo. See the complete meeting agenda at this link.
The commission accepts written public comment until noon the day of the meeting emailed to ccagendas@lawrenceks.org. The commission hears public comment in person during meetings as well as via Zoom. Register for Tuesday’s Zoom meeting at this link.
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.
