Meeting Information
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF DOUGLAS COUNTY, KANSAS
Public comment will be taken for each regular agenda item as each item is discussed. Individuals will be limited to one comment per agenda item. Individuals are asked to come to the microphone, sign in, and state their name. Speakers are asked to sign in so that the spelling of names is correct in the minutes of the meeting. Speakers should address all comments/questions to the Commission.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019
4:00 p.m. WORK SESSION
-Presentation on Comprehensive Plan Amendment, CPA-18-00395, Plan 2040: A -Comprehensive Plan for Unincorporated Douglas County & the City of Lawrence. (Scott McCullough, Planning & Development Services Director and Jeff Crick, Planning Manager)
Please see related documents below for Work Session backup material.
5:30 p.m. BUSINESS MEETING
CONSENT AGENDA
(1) (a) Consider approval of Commission Orders;
(b) Review and consider approval of an Amended Memorandum of Understanding between the Kansas Department of Corrections Division of Juvenile Services and Douglas County Kansas for the Youth Advocacy Program. (Pam Weigand);
(c) Consider accepting low bid and approve a contract with Piping Contractors of Kansas in the amount of $261,853; and authorize the County Administrator to approve changes orders up to 5% of that amount. (David Sparkes);
(d) Consider approval of the minutes for July 17, August 14, August 21 and September 25, 2019; and
(e) Consider approval of accounts payable.
REGULAR AGENDA
(2) Consider appeals from Planning Director’s Administrative approval of CSR-19-00349 and CSR-19-00350; Certificates of Survey for approximately 40 acres located in the southeast corner of the intersection of N. 725 Road and E. 475 Road. Submitted by All Points Surveying for Steven M. Hornberger and Cynthia A. Hornberger Trustees, property owners of record. Administratively approved on August 19, 2019. Mary Miller is the Planner.
(3) Consider appeals from Planning Director’s Administrative approval ofCSR-19-00373 and CSR-19-00374; Amended Certificates of Survey for land previously included within certificate of survey, CSR-18-00469. Approximately 50.32 acres located within the southwest corner of the intersection of N. 1200 Road and E. 2000 Road. Submitted by All Points Surveying for Barb R. Hermreck and Mary M. Williams, trustees of the Norbert M. Grosdidier revocable living trust, property owners of record. Administratively approved on August 30, 2019. Mary Miller is the Planner.
(4) General Public Comment
General Public Comment will be at the end of each meeting with a limit of one comment per person and keep their comments brief. Individuals may not give unused time to other speakers. As a general practice, the Commission will not discuss/debate these items, nor will the Commission make decisions on items presented during this time, rather they will refer the items to staff for follow up, if necessary.
(5) Committee Reports
(6) Commissioner and/or Administrator Miscellaneous
(7) Adjourn
October 9, 2019
Derusseau called the Work Session to order at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 with all Commissioners present.
WORK SESSION 10-09-19
The Board received a presentation on Comprehensive Plan Amendment, CPA-18-00395, Plan 2040: A -Comprehensive Plan for unincorporated Douglas County and the City of Lawrence. Attendees included: Scott McCullough, Planning & Development Services Director; Jeff Crick, Planning Manager; and Karen Willey, Planning Commission.
Highlights included:
• Crick gave a history of the population trends in Lawrence and Douglas County. He said 90% of the population of Douglas County falls within the Plan 2040.
• The new plan is based on four main factors: Live, Work, Learn and Play in our Community.
• The Steering Committee looked at sensitive lands protections, floodplain protections and climate change, growth development in rural aspects, housing, compatible density, growth and commercial options.
• The plan looks at three tiers for growth. By 2040, the estimated growth of Tier 1 is 17,000 residents; Tier 2 is 18,500 residents with an estimated overall population of 122,600 people.
• The Steering Committee wanted the plan to be readable and understandable for everyone.
• Goals included ways to preserve rural areas in the County, make sure downtown Lawrence is key to the Community, and ways to accommodate growth.
• The plan addresses annexation of Tier 2 land, which shall only be annexed if the need to accommodate demand is established and if a community benefit is provided.
• A community benefit may include the creation of permanent affordable housing, or land donation to the Housing Trust Fund; or provision of land, amenities or facilities for public purpose such as parks, public safety facilities, education facilities, cultural and arts amenities, utility enhancements etc; preservation of significant amounts of environmentally sensitive lands; creation of employment opportunities or address the goals of the City Commission’s current strategic plan.
RECESS 10-09-19
At 4.57 p.m., the Board recessed until the 5:30 p.m. Business meeting.
RECONVENE 10-09-19
The Board returned to regular session at 5:30 p.m.
CONSENT AGENDA 10-09-19
Kelly moved approval of the following Consent Agenda:
► Commission Order Nos.19-044 and 19-045 on file in the office of the County Clerk;
► Amendment to Memorandum of Understanding between the Kansas Department of Corrections Division of Juvenile Services and Douglas County, Kansas to provide Douglas County with an alternative to out-of-home placement for moderate and high risk youthful offenders and for re-entry of youthful offenders from state correctional facilities;
► Low bid and approved a contract with Piping Contractor of Kansas to replace an air handler in the Douglas County Courthouse, and four HVAC upgrades at Criminal Justice Services in the amount of $261,853 (Courthouse $195,353 and Criminal Justice Services $66,500), and authorized the County Administrator to approve change orders up to 5% of that amount;
► Approval of the minutes of July 17, August 14, August 21 and September 25, 2019; and
► Accounts payable in the amount of $246,644.31 to be paid on 10/10/19.
Motion was seconded by Thellman and carried 3-0.
CERTIFICATES OF SURVEY 10-09-19
The Board considered the appeals from the Planning Director’s Administrative approval of CSR-19-00349 and CSR-19-00350; Certificates of Survey for approximately 40 acres located in the southeast corner of the intersection of N. 725 Road and E. 475 Road. The application was submitted by All Points Surveying for Steven M. Hornberger and Cynthia A. Hornberger Trustees, property owners of record. The applications were administratively approved on August 19, 2019.
John Bullock, County Counselor, provided the following procedure for the Certificates of Survey Appeal process:
• Overview of Procedure.
• Staff Report/Summary of process to date.
• Presentation by the Appellant-Evidence and basis for appeal.
• Presentation by the Property Owner.
• Public Comment of interested parties.
• Staff Rebuttal/Closing comment.
• Deliberation by Board of County Commissioners.
Staff Summary:
Mary Miller, Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Staff, presented. She stated mailed notices of Certificates of Survey (COS) are not required for properties outside of the Urban Growth Area. The appeal process for outside the UGA is designed for the applicant. If the applicant meets the COS standards, the process of approval can be handled administratively. Miller stated the Hornberger property is about 40 acres. The owners plan to divide the property into two Certificates of Survey. The north parcel is one COS, and meets the required 250 ft. of road frontage. It meets the requirement for three parcels because is sits at an intersection of two local roads, but the owners chose to only make it one parcel. The southern COS will have two residential development parcels (one parcel approximately 12 acres, and one approximately 8 acres), which also meets the road frontage requirements.
Appellant Presentation:
Lee Boyd, appellant, 738 E 500th Road, stated concerns the development will cause light pollution, increased traffic on township roads, and encroachment on environmentally sensitive lands, which includes two streams and a number of large trees. She is also opposed to adding a large number of neighbors. Boyd stated she is not opposed to splitting the property for two homes, but objects to three houses. She said splitting land into an 8-acre lot is equivalent to a suburban residential lot and should not be allowed in the County.
Richard May, appellant, 526 N 711th Road, stated he feels the land in question is not suitable to build one house on, nor three.
Presentation by Property Owner:
Steve and Cynthia Hornberger, 535 Samantha Avenue, responded to the appellants. C. Hornberger stated they are not developers. The property division is for family. They originally divided the land into five parcels because they could. They have since voluntarily reduced their application to reflect three parcels in response to neighborhood concerns. C. Hornberger said they relied on the City and County for direction for her approval process. The Hornbergers are asking their request for Certificate of Survey be allowed to stand.
Terry Liebold, legal counsel for the Hornbergers, stated he feels staff did follow the Subdivision Regulations. He addressed the following appellant comments as follows: 1) Boyd’s comments of not wanting neighbors is not criteria that can be considered for approval. The argument that an 8-acre lot is a large suburban lot, was addressed by the regulations allowing for two homes on a 20-acre parcel. The issue of large trees on the lot being environmentally sensitive was addressed in the language in the Subdivision Regulations by encouraging the protection to the most extent possible and limited the protection to 40 percent of the site, which was included in the COS for the 8-acre lot. Liebold stated the Hornbergers actually exceeded the 40 percent requirement. Miller also provided for the streams in the COS; and 2) May’s comment that the property is not buildable was addressed in the COS. There is a part of the property that is not buildable and that was taken into consideration during the approval process.
Liebold added there are rules for a reason. The Hornbergers relied on the regulations in place when they purchased their property. They came to staff for direction and did everything correctly. He asked the Board to approve the Certificates of Survey and deny the appeals.
Public Comment of Interested Parties:
Russ Middaugh, 685 E 550 Road, stated he bought his land because he wanted to live in a rural area. He trains Border Collies and uses whistles to train them which he feels may bother close neighbors. He stated splitting a 40-acre lot into three parcels is creating a small housing development. He asked the Commissioners to take into consideration the surrounding neighbors’ concerns when making their decision.
Staff Rebuttal/Closing Arguments
Miller responded to the comments with the following:
1) Staff provided notification to the surrounding property owners with a certified Property Ownership List from the County Clerk’s office. If someone did not receive notification, it was because landowner lives outside the boundary or there was an issue with the mail delivery.
2) The goal with the new Subdivision Regulations may be to limit development in the rural area. However, the current regulations do allow for the division of 20 acres into 10-acre parcels. Staff cannot require landowners to farm their land. Staff must follow current regulations.
3) Staff uses a base map from the GIS department with a water layer to get stream corridors.
4) Staff did not feel that the trees on the west side met the criteria for preservation. It is not required that the landowner have 3-acres outside the protected area, though it is a good idea. The 3-acres in this event is outside the environmental protected area, and is buildable.
Deliberation by the Board of County Commissioners:
There was consensus by the Board that though the goal is to work toward less development outside the UGA, given the rules as they stand, there is no evidence there was an error made by the Planning Director on the approval of CSR-19-00349 and CSR-19-00350.
Action:
Kelly moved to deny the appeal of CSR-19-00349 and CSR-19-00350 based on evidence presented by Planning Staff. Motion was seconded by Thellman and carried 3-0.
CERTIFICATES OF SURVEY 10-09-19
The Board considered the appeals from the Planning Director’s Administrative approval of CSR-19-00373 and CSR-19-00374, amended Certificates of Survey for land previously included within certificate of survey, CSR-18-00469. The property consists of approximately 50.32 acres located within the southwest corner of the intersection of N. 1200 Road and E. 2000 Road. The application was submitted by All Points Surveying for Barb R. Hermreck and Mary M. Williams, trustees of the Norbert M. Grosdidier revocable living trust, property owners of record. The applications were administratively approved on August 30, 2019.
Staff Summary:
Mary Miller, Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Staff, stated the applications submitted are to amend Certificates of Surveys (COS) approved in 2018. The original tract was approximately 50 acres divided into two parent parcels (approximately 25 acres each). The applicant is requesting that one of the parent parcels be divided into two residential development parcels (approximately 12.5 acres each). The two amended COS are amending property included within one previously approved and recorded COS and are being considered concurrently. Milled stated the applicants met the area requirement, the area requirement for the residential development parcels, along with the road frontage requirement.
Appellant Presentation:
Lindsey McCaig, appellant, 1961 N 1200 Road, stated her surrounding area has gone from one property owner to 11 lots and 5 potential houses. She feels subdivisions should be directed to the Urban Growth Area. She will literally be looking out at a subdivision on land she thought was a rural area. McCaig stated concerns over maintenance of township roads with the additional traffic.
Peyton McCaig, appellant, 1961 N 1200 Road, said he doesn’t want more neighbors to add to the noise which will scare his alpacas. The land around him used to be cattle ground. He stated concerns about the increase in big truck traffic on local roads generated by the already increase in housing. He asked the Board to deny any additional housing development in the area.
Terry Leibold, 4520 Cedar Ridge Court, said he was speaking on behalf of the Norbert M. Grosdidier Trustee. Each of the12-acre properties affiliated with the amended Certificates of Surveys (COS) were originally subdivided from Norbert Grosdidier’s land in accordance to the Subdivision Regulations. The properties in question are not large suburban lots as described by the appellant. The Grosdidiers own the land and are following the current Subdivision Regulations in place. Leibold asked that the appeal be denied and the Certificates of Survey be approved.
Public Comment
Karla Grosdidier, 1155 E 2000 Road, stated her family was unable to maintain the entire 500 acres property as part of the Grosdidier estate and therefore, sold off what the family did not purchase. K. Grosdidier said she worked closely with the Planning and Zoning when she built her home and splitting off the property. Grosdidier said she feels she has complied with all regulations. She mentioned some of the appellant’s complaints were linked to the airstrip and that had been there for 20 years, before the appellant moved in.
Staff Rebuttal – None.
Deliberation by the Board of County Commissioners
The consensus of the Board was there is no evidence that an error was made by the Planning Director in approval the Certificates of Survey, nor was there compelling evidence for a basis of appeal. The applicant followed the regulations as they stand.
Action:
Kelly moved to deny the appeal of CSR-19-00373 and CSR-19-00374, amended Certificates of Survey for land previously included within Certificate of Survey CSR-18-00469, based on evidence presented by the Planning Director. Motion was seconded by Derusseau and carried 3-0.
GENERAL COMMENT - None.
COMMITTEE REPORTS - None
COMMISSIONERS AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE MISCELLANEOUS 10-09-19
Information Items, found in the agenda backup material on the Douglas County website:
• The Implementation Team for myStrength has provided the agenda and notes from the October meeting and myStrength data for the months of July and August.
• The United Way of the Plains has provided third quarter data for 211 needs by county.
• The agenda packet includes a West Campus Development Proposal from the Chamber of Commerce to engage the University of Kansas, KU Endowment, and local partners to form a task force to explore opportunities for research partnership zone on West Campus. S
Open Board Appointments
• Douglas County Food Policy Council (Local food system/Ag Producer) - (2) positions open
• JAAA Advisory Council - (1) position open
• JAAA Board of Directors - (1) position open
• Lawrence-Douglas County Advocacy Council on Aging - (10) open positions
• Joint Economic Development Council – (2) positions open
• Public Building Commission – (1) position open
Derusseau adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m.
____________________________ ____________________________
Michelle Derusseau, Chair Patrick Kelly, Vice-Chair
ATTEST:
__________________________ ____________________________
Jamie Shew, County Clerk Nancy Thellman, Member
Time and Date
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