Post last updated at 9:52 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31:

A lot has changed in the past 16 years — but that’s not reflected in the document that lays out the regulations meant to help the city implement its goals and visions.

Aging it further, Lawrence’s land development code, adopted in July 2006, was based on the city’s comprehensive plan that was adopted in 1998 — Horizon 2020.

In simplest terms, the 559-page code basically says what can be built where.

It’s a lot more complex than that, however. It covers everything from how closes together houses can be to whether you can raise livestock in your backyard; from how many parking spaces different types of housing and businesses must have, to how many trees and different tree species must be planted — just to name a few examples.

But it’s based on a nearly quarter-century-old vision for the city, and it’s due for an update, local leaders have decided.

Now the city’s strategic plan, published in 2021, and the updated comprehensive plan, Plan 2040, will serve as guiding documents for the update to the land development code.

And a steering committee of 14 community members, working with consultants, will help shape the updated code.

It’s exciting for Nick Kuzmyak, who is serving on the steering committee in his capacity as chair of the city’s Multimodal Transportation Commission. He said code updates seem to happen about once a generation, and they have the potential to radically reshape the community.

“This update comes at a particularly interesting time, partly due to the housing affordability crisis … but also because the planning and municipal finance fields have made quite a bit of progress in the past 20-odd years compared to the suburban paradigm of the ’50s to ’90s,” he said. “Academics, planners, and city leaders around the country have come to realize how some historic land development decisions have led to unintended detrimental consequences, however well-intentioned they were at the time.

“We’re seeing examples of these changes around the country: eliminating single family exclusive zoning, allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), reducing or removing off-street parking minimums, or reducing minimum lot sizes.”

Kuzmyak is also an environmental engineer who works with municipal infrastructure, and he has worked as a Realtor. Basically, he said, this is an exciting time to follow city planning — “a typically wonkish subject that happens to affect a large portion of our lives.”

A couple of key outcomes Kuzmyak said he would like to see from this code rewrite are to reduce or eliminate minimum lot sizes for housing, and to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs). If lot sizes could be smaller, it would allow homes to be built closer together and lower the minimum cost per unit due to the land requirement, he said.

ADUs are smaller, detached structures on the same lot as a single-family home. Renting them out can help folks pay their mortgages, and that means they could be rented to college students — “which seems to be the greatest fear from most of the opposition in core neighborhoods,” Kuzmyak said — but they can also allow seniors to stay at their own properties as they downsize, for example.

They’re currently only allowed in a few types of zoning districts, and the code lays out fairly strict guidelines for their use and construction.

“One’s property was once a primary way to build generational wealth through renting out rooms or starting a business/storefront. Strict use regulations now prevent nearly all the home modifications our forebears took for granted,” he said.

“… Lawrence is stuck in a dated view of what a neighborhood can be, and who’s allowed to live there.”

What does he expect from the code update?

“I don’t believe we’re going to see huge changes. Lawrence is politically progressive at a national level, but locally conservative; basically, change is scary for the vast majority of people,” Kuzmyak said. “Plus, unless you’re from another country or a big east-coast city, most Americans have only ever known low-density suburban development patterns, despite the best-loved parts of our communities being created before regulations turned our cities into car-dominated landscapes of separated uses.”

You can read more from Kuzmyak below.

We reached out to all 14 of the steering committee members. Here’s what a few more of them had to say about why this work is important to them:

Derek Kwan, serving as the Lawrence chamber of commerce representative:

“When my kids graduate from college several years from now, I would love for them to be able to find a great job here in Lawrence and also be able to live here on their own. As it currently stands, the chances of that happening are not particularly high. I believe that thoughtfully reexamining and updating our land development code has the potential to really improve those odds.

“I’m committed to approaching this work with an open mind and with a focus on what will benefit the greater good of the entire community. With the recent Panasonic announcement, there is an even greater sense of urgency to get this right. Consequently, I wonder if the planned 24-month timeline needs to be altered so that our community has a better chance to leverage the opportunities surrounding this development. I appreciate the opportunity to serve on this committee and look forward to the process.”

Marci Francisco, serving in an at-large appointment by the Lawrence City Commission:

“As a city, we’ve set rules for development and re-development to help make Lawrence a good place for all of us to live, work, and play. As things change, we need to update our codes to make sure they are still working to enhance city services and transportation networks. We want to provide for affordability and home-ownership. We need to set good ratios for indoor and outdoor space to accommodate density along with gardens, recreation space, stormwater management, and homes for birds and other wildlife.

“We need to be especially mindful of how proposed patterns of development will impact the cost of delivering city services to reduce the escalation of utility costs and infrastructure. I also want to make sure the code sets good patterns for future development while respecting the existing development patterns in historic neighborhoods.”

Danielle Davey, city commission-appointed real estate representative:

“I come to the table as a real estate attorney and the Governmental Affairs Director for the Lawrence Board of Realtors®, so, obviously, my primary focus is going to be on housing. The development code impacts housing in Lawrence by regulating all aspects of where, what kind and how much housing our community can offer.

“Lawrence has had a shortage of available and affordable housing inventory for several years. With the announcement of the Panasonic project, now more than ever we need to find ways to work together as a community to meet housing needs at every level or we’re going to continue to see an unsustainable increase in housing costs as demand outpaces supply. My focus on the committee will be looking for innovative ways we can update our development code to diversify and increase our housing inventory in Lawrence.”

Rebecca Buford, city commission-appointed at-large representative:

“As an affordable housing developer and a leader of a not-for-profit organization who believes that family, neighborhood and community stability are created through sustainable and affordable housing, the development code update is critical to ensuring that we have more affordable housing. We want everyone who works and contributes to Lawrence to be able to live and thrive in Lawrence. But as rents and housing costs explode, there is giant gap between what most people in Lawrence make and what housing costs. Not only are people struggling to purchase a home, many are struggling to keep a roof over their head. The lack of affordable options means many Lawrencians are overly housing cost burdened — paying more than 50% of their income for housing, meaning day care, food budgets and emergency savings funds cannot be sustained. Neighborhood schools are losing enrollment because families with young children struggle to afford the high housing costs here. We are seeing an increase in homelessness among seniors and families with children. If the child sitting next to my child in school is experiencing houselessness, this affects me.

“The problem is that land and building costs continue to rise, so if we want to develop more affordably, we need to increase the types of housing and densities that are allowed in Lawrence. Density can be done in a very residentially friendly way, and well designed housing developments can create community that only improves our social experience. Large, single-family, cookie-cutter development does not create community, affordability or sustainability for anyone, no matter what they can afford. Not only is it important to build environments that are affordable to those who work here, but we also need to reduce our footprint to make Lawrence sustainable for the next generation. Large lots and expansion outwards, challenges sustainability. The code needs to adapt to the economic and environmental realities of our time. It needs to incentivize infill development, make re-development and land use adaptation less expensive, and promote affordable units in every new development. The current code does not allow us to build using smart density and a mixture of building types — but these elements are critical to building homes that serve the majority of incomes in our community and to ensuring that we have a healthy mixture of housing types and incomes in all neighborhoods. This variety will build strength and resilience in our neighborhoods and make sure that Lawrence retains the character we value given the variety of its residents. If we want Lawrence to remain inclusive and welcoming, we must adapt our development code to allow for a greater spectrum of housing types and price points. We must allow the code to incentivize building the types of housing the community actually needs to not just survive, but thrive.”

The other 10 members of the steering committee are:

• Brad Finkeldei, committee chair and Lawrence city commissioner • Jim Carpenter, Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission representative • Kay Johnson, Sustainability Advisory Board representative • Trent Santee, Affordable Housing Advisory Board representative • Debra Ford, city commission-appointed architect • Timothy Stultz, city commission-appointed developer • Eric Wagner, city commission-appointed homebuilder • Philip Struble, city commission-appointed engineer • Travis Harrod, Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods representative

They did not respond to an invitation for comment by the time of publication.

The steering committee’s first official meeting will start at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, opening with training on the Kansas Open Meetings Act and progressing into icebreakers and a discussion on land development code issues and opportunities.

The meeting will be in person at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., as well as virtual. Those who wish to attend and give public comment virtually may do so by registering at this link. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel. See the full agenda at this link.

The city wants public input as this process unfolds. There’s an online survey available through Sept. 30 at this link.

There are also several other kickoff meetings planned this week, including round table discussions, open houses and more, starting Tuesday afternoon. Here’s the full schedule:

To stay on top of this steering committee’s progress, you can also sign up to receive updates from the city via email at this link. Select “Planning & Development News.”

Kuzmyak shared quite a bit from his perspective and experience.

Below are his full responses to questions sent via email, which may help further explain why this code update matters and what it could mean for Lawrence as a whole.

As far as I can tell, the City is going about the code update in the best possible way given available resources. They assembled a consultant selection group of various stakeholders and experts, and now — along with this steering committee — seem to be soliciting as much input as the public will give. I’m not familiar with the selected consultant, but as long as there is enough collaboration between them, the City, the Steering Committee, and the public, we should get an updated code that satisfies a majority of people.

That being said, I don’t believe we’re going to see huge changes. Lawrence is politically progressive at a national level, but locally conservative; basically, change is scary for the vast majority of people. Plus, unless you’re from another country or a big east-coast city, most Americans have only ever known low-density suburban development patterns, despite the best-loved parts of our communities being created before regulations turned our cities into car-dominated landscapes of separated uses.

If our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.

Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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