Meeting Information
4:00 p.m.
-Proclamation declaring October 13-19, 2013 as "LiveWell Week." - Chris Tilden
-Consider approval of the minutes for September 4, 2013
CONSENT AGENDA
(1) (a) Consider approval of Commission Orders;
(b) Consider acceptance of dedication and vacation of rights-of-way and easements associated with
MS-13-00367, Prospect Farm, a Minor Subdivision Replat of part of Lots 1-12, Block 39, Lots 1-3, 7-12, Block 40, and Lots 11-12, Block 41, Clinton City, Douglas County, Kansas. Submitted by Bartlett and West. for Janet S Mills, Executor for the Estate Of Jesse Herman Hess, deceased, property owner of record. (Mary Miller);
(c) Authorize the County Administrator to execute a license agreement with the City of Lawrence to install a pole-mounted siren within the East Hills Drive right-of-way for the purposes of providing emergency services and protecting the health, safety, and welfare of residents of the County.(Scott McCullough);
(d) Consider acquisition of easement for Project 2013-9, Drainage Structure No. 8.32N-8.00E (Michael Kelly)
REGULAR AGENDA
(2) CUP-13-00281: Conditional Use Permit for a water treatment plant to produce water for Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 25, located 1/4 mile east of the intersection of E 1750 Rd and N 1500 Rd. Submitted by Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 25, property owner of record. (PC Item 3; approved 10-0 on 9/23/13) Mary Miller will present the item.
(3) (a) Consider approval of Accounts Payable (if necessary)
(b) Appointments
(c) Public Comment
(d) Miscellaneous
(4) Adjourn
RECESS
RECONVENE
6:35 p.m <1/2xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" />
WITHDRAWN
Consideration of Agritourism Assembly at KC Pumpkin Patch in Douglas County, 157 E 2300 Rd, Wellsville, KS as deferred from the September 11, 2013 meeting. (Linda Finger)
Gaughan called the regular meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 with all members present.
PROCLAMATION 10-09-13
Chris Tilden, Health Department was joined by members of LiveWell Lawrence; Nikki White, Carol Gilmore, Hugh Carter; Dan Patridge, Marilyn Hull and Susan Johnson to asked the Board to proclaim October 13-19, 2013 as "LiveWell Week" in Douglas County. Gaughan moved approval of the proclamation; motion was seconded by Thellman and carried 3-0.
MINUTES 10-09-13
Gaughan moved to approve the minutes of September 4, 2013. Motion was seconded by Thellman and carried 3-0.
CONSENT AGENDA 10-09-13
Gaughan moved approval of the following Consent Agenda:
► Commission Order Nos.13-028and 13-029 (on file in the office of the Clerk);
► MS-13-00367, Prospect Farm, a Minor Subdivision Replat of part of Lots 1-12, Block 39, Lots 1-3, 7-12, Block 40, and Lots 11-12, Block 41, Clinton City, Douglas County, Kansas. Submitted by Bartlett and West. for Janet S Mills, Executor for the Estate Of Jesse Herman Hess, deceased, property owner of record;
► Authorized the County Administrator to execute a license agreement with the City of Lawrence to install a pole-mounted siren within the East Hills Drive right-of-way for the purposes of providing emergency services and protecting the health, safety, and welfare of residents of the County; and
► Acquisition of Easement for Project 2013-9, Drainage Structure No. 8.32N-8.00E with Neal L. and Mary H. Adams, 830 E800 Road, Baldwin City; Road No. 317 (E800 Road); Tract No. 1.
Motion was seconded by Flory and carried 3-0.
PLANNING 10-09-13
The Board considered the approval of a conditional Use Permit for a water treatment plant to produce water for Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 25, located a quarter mile east of the intersection of E 1750 Road and N 1500 Road. The application was submitted by Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 25, property owner of record. Mary Miller, Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Staff, presented the item.
According to Miller, wells will be located to the northwest near the Kansas River. Easements will be obtained for the lines to the water treatment plant and for the future mains used to distribute the water in Douglas and Osage Counties. Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 25 (PWWSD No. 25) has been authorized by the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources to provide water for municipal use within the boundaries of PWWSD No. 25 and immediate vicinity, which includes Rural Water Districts No. 2 and No. 5. There will be a limit on the amount of water that can be appropriated, 800 gallons per minutes, no more than 420.48 million gallons a year per site, and no more than 676 million gallons per year. Each site cannot produce its maximum. Miller described the water district building, parking and required buffering. The Planning Commissioners approved the CUP on a 10-0 vote.
Staff recommends approval of the Conditional Use Permit for the water treatment plant for Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 25 based upon the following findings of fact:
I. Zoning and uses of property nearby. Nearby properties are zoned V-C (Valley Channel) and F-W (Floodway Overlay) Districts. Agriculture, rural residences, and mining/excavation are the principal land uses in the area.
II. Character of the area. The area is rural in character with primarily agricultural and residential land uses. Sand dredging is located on the Kansas River to the northeast and a CUP has recently been approved for an off-river sand pit to the east of the subject property. A water treatment facility would be compatible with the character of the area with proper site plan and design.
III. Suitability of subject property for the uses to which it has been restricted. The property is well suited for uses which are permitted within the V-C District.
IV. Length of time subject property has remained vacant as zoned. The property consists of two tracts. The larger tract will house the treatment facility and this tract is in agricultural production. The tract to the east has a vacant residence and agricultural structure but the residence is not occupied and is in poor condition.
V. Extent to which removal of restrictions will detrimentally affect nearby property. The facility should not detrimentally affect nearby properties as it will be landscaped to minimize its visual impact. The studies that the applicant completed and provided to the Division of Water Resources indicate the wells will not have a negative impact on the groundwater in the area. The Division of Water Resources approved the project and issued a permit to proceed. No negative impacts are anticipated from this facility.
VI. Relative gain to the public health, safety and welfare by the destruction of the value of the petitioner's property as compared to the hardship imposed upon the individual landowners. Approval of the request could benefit the community as a whole by providing an additional source of potable water for the growing rural population. As studies have been provided which indicate there will be no negative impacts with water appropriations within the limits established by the Division of Water Resources, there would be no gain to the public health, safety, or welfare from the denial of this request.
VII. Conformance with the comprehensive plan. Horizon 2020 d s not directly address the issuance of CUPs but the project is in compliance with recommendations in Chapter 10, Community Facilities, for public utilities in the unincorporated portions of Douglas County.
and subject to the following conditions:
1) The CUP shall comply with the terms, conditions, and limitations specified in the Division of Water Resources permit.
2) The property shall be platted prior to release of the Conditional Use Permit plan to Zoning and Codes.
3) The provision of a revised Conditional Use Site Plan with the following changes:
a. Delineation of a wooded area near the east side of Tract 2 that is 20 ft wide and extends 240 ft north of the south property line, and the addition of the following note: "The trees and other vegetation in this area will be retained to screen the facility from the east. In the event the trees are removed, native conifers will be planted on 30 ft centers to provide screening."
b. Note the revision date on the plan.
c. Show one ADA accessible parking space on the plan. This space shall also be marked and signed on site.
Thellman stated there are concerns that the water district will open up development issues in the urban area causing sprawl. She asked where this discussion happens. Mary said that the best way to control growth was through the Douglas County subdivision regulations that govern development.
Thellman asked why PWWSD No. 25 is trying to serve a quarter of rural Douglas County, and asked if there is not enough water. John Ruckman, Bartlett and West, stated water districts already exist in the area. PWWSD No. 25 will sell to water systems already in place. Regarding need for water, he said they looked for areas that have a lot of wells going in. The concern is too many wells in dense housing create an environmental concern by introducing more things into the ground water. Ruckman stated we have siltation issues on the western stretches of Clinton reservoir.
Thellman asked if there has been discussion with the City of Lawrence. Ruckman said they have had discussions with the City over a period of seven years.
Thellman asked for confirmation that PWWSD No. 25 will sell water at no profit to rural water districts and rural water districts can offer water meters to customers as supplies deteriorate. Ruckman stated "that is correct." He said wholesale districts have the right to take on new entities as they have capacity available.
Gaughan said wholesale water districts didn't exist prior to 2006. He asked what happened before that. Ruckman stated water was purchased from different sources such as the City of Lawrence and a treatment plant on Clinton Lake.
Gaughan opened the item for public comment.
Cille King, League of Women Voters, stated concerns that allowing this water district will encourage county sprawl. She said rural residential taxes do not generate enough revenue to cover county services extended to residential property owners. She asked for a denial as to not encourage urban sprawl in our rural areas, giving water to people who she feels will waste it.
Flory stated he disagrees with the sprawl comment. He also disagreed with the statement that rural residents waste water. The water sprinklers he sees keeping yards lush are within the city limits of Lawrence, not in the county. Zoning regulations control building. People are entitled to buy property and build homes where they want. It is not the County Commissions role to throw obstacles in the way of people building homes on their property. Flory said the Commissions role is limited. The water district has met all the state requirements and received all the necessary permits. The State occupies the field and control water resources, not counties or cities. They will continue to monitor activities to protect the water resources. Flory said this is good for Douglas County and the City of Lawrence by taking some of the pressure off their water supplies.
Thellman asked for a planner's opinion whether limiting access to water is a good tool to limit sprawl. Miller responded if the Board's intention is to control growth, there are other ways to limit growth which would include revising the subdivision regulations by setting the limit on the size of parcels that can be developed or limit parcel division.
McCullough stated the more appropriate place to limit sprawl is in the subdivision regulations. Water and sewer is a limiting factor for development. Consumers have the options of cisterns, wells or rural water.
Craig Weinaug, County Administrator, stated 20 years ago the City of Lawrence tried to limit the amount of growth in the unincorporated area by limiting water meters to the water district to 1% per year, and increased the rates. The result was more people dug water wells, which carry more public health risk than public water supplies. That brought about the changes in the zoning regulations. Rural water districts from that point have made sure they have alternatives so they are not be put in that position again.
After discussion, Flory moved to approve CUP 13-00281, Conditional Use Permit for a water treatment plant to produce water for Public Wholesale Water Supply District No. 25, located a quarter mile east of the intersection of E 1750 Road and N 1500 Road, and with the conditions as listed above. Motion was seconded by Gaughan and carried 3-0.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE 10-09-13
Gaughan moved to approve the accounts payable in the amount of $297,431.09 to be paid on 10/03/13; and a manual check in the amount $48.89; Payroll in the amounts of $803,197.61 paid on 04/12/13, $24,312.35 paid on 04/19/13, $802,019.23 paid on 04/26/13, $520.00 paid on 05/10/13, $826,488.85 paid on 05/24/13 and $803,455.87 paid on 10/07/13; FICA in the amounts of $58,601.61 paid on 04/19/13, $23.85 paid on 04/26/13, again $23.85 paid on 04/26/13, $58,532.20 paid on 05/03/13, $39.83 paid on 05/17/13, $58,671.30 paid on 05/17/13 and $63,361.10 paid on 05/31/13; KPERS in the amounts of $89.763.86 paid on 04/19/13, $90,058.63 paid on 05/03/13; $91,256.14 paid on 05/17/13, and $91,560.15 paid on 05/31/13. Motion was seconded by Flory and carried 3-0.
APPOINTMENT 10-09-13
Gaughan moved to appoint Commissioner Thellman as the County representative to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. Motion was seconded by Flory and carried 3-0.
Note: Flory suggested each Commissioner be responsible for providing an appointee for the three positions open on the Steering Committee. Flory stated he would like fill the at large position with a representative from the unincorporated area. It was the consensus the Board was in agreement.
MISCELLANEOUS 10-09-13
The Board discussed having a representative from the County Commission join a delegation of local leaders to meet with the Delaware Tribe regarding a land trust for property located in North Lawrence. It was the consensus of the Board for Commissioner Thellman to represent the Board as the land is question is in her district.
Gaughan moved to adjourn the meeting; Flory seconded and the motion carried 3-0.
____________________________ ____________________________
Mike Gaughan, Chair Nancy Thellman, Vice-Chair
ATTEST:
___________________________ _____________________________
Jamie Shew, County Clerk Jim Flory, Member
Time and Date