Land Development Code is complicated but stopping it is easy!

Please sign this petition to show your support of our core neighborhoods. 

The City Commission must press pause on November 12th to initiate authentic engagement with neighborhoods and build protections into the code/process before considering adoption of the new Land Development Code. 

We ask the City Commission to:

1. Pause the Land Development Code change process. 

2. Return the proposed Code to the Planning Commission. 

3. Conduct an authentic community engagement process that allows for citizens and neighborhoods to get information and be heard.

4. Address current code enforcement issues through ordinance revisions before considering adoption of the new Land Development Code.

The new code creates multiple pathways for property investors and landlords to exploit single-family properties to increase their personal wealth. By allowing more than triple the number of current units to be built on existing lots and increasing the number of tenants allowed in single units, landlords profit potentials will skyrocket while your neighborhood slowly transitions into student rentals... with NO PARKING PROVIDED!

1. Residents want to protect our unique core neighborhoods.

2. Neighborhoods want sensible and informed density.

3. The rules should be fair across all zones and development types.

4. The code was passed with unresolved mistakes.

5. The code was a moving target and the final draft was not available for public comment.

6. There are too many loopholes! 

7. Citizens want their voices to be heard and to trust that decision-makers will keep their word.

8. Citizens are being given false hopes for future participation.

It isn't too early to share your voice. When you do, make sure to send comments to both of these email addresses -- commissioners@lawrenceks.org and ccagendas@lawrenceks.org.
Sample language is available on the Facebook event or by request
(Mandy, mandehs00@gmail.com).

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Continue reading for details about our shared concerns...

1. Residents want to protect our unique neighborhoods.

Incentivizing predatory investors will erode neighborhood social capital and foster an environment where profit is prioritized over community connections. Since the project began in 2022, neighborhoods have been provided no path for authentic engagement or real information. 

2. Neighborhoods want sensible and informed density.

We have made great efforts to understand how the code would impact our lives and homes but received no answers related to real life implementation. Neighborhoods said that density without consideration of existing variables would be detrimental to the opportunities for individual home-ownership by incentivizing property investors. Very early in the process, a retired KU professor of Urban Planning wrote an extensive, evidence-based paper warning that the code would not serve city goals as stated. The city has not considered that statement or any alternatives that were presented. 

3. The rules should be fair across all zones and development types.

Despite many conversations about the unfairness of density applications, NEW low density development will still be allowed. It is known that sprawl is the crux of our development and property tax issues. Still, the city has chosen to force massive density increases in core neighborhoods to subsidize low density development in new R1 (low density) zoning. These folks will have the luxury of maintaining what the city calls “executive housing” while the rest of us receive zero compromises. 

4. The code was passed with unresolved mistakes.

Despite being told multiple times, egregious errors in the Accessory Dwelling Unit processes were ignored. The mistakes will allow for density and occupancy loopholes. Future efforts to resolve the issues will likely favor landlords instead of protecting neighborhoods. What other mistakes were overlooked?

5. The code was a moving target and the final draft was not available for public comment.

In fact, new decisions are currently being made following the final Planning Commission approval to be forwarded to the City Commission.

6. There are too many loopholes! 

The City Commission can approve a density bonus for any project. The previous version of the code had guidance for density bonuses related to “affordability”. This language has been removed and left open ended. Additionally, the Planning staff can make an administrative adjustment, up to 20%, on other items. This includes building height, parking, set backs, etc. The code has very few guardrails to protect neighborhoods from developer exploitation, all of which have loopholes.  

7. Citizens want their voices to be heard and to trust that decision-makers will keep their word.

The public was duped by unfulfilled promises of information and feigned compassion from committee and planning commission members into taking a collaborative approach to the code, only to be left with no genuine consideration of their needs. There is no reason to believe we will be heard in the future and the code offers no protections. 

8. Citizens are being given false hopes for future participation.

The only opportunity to be heard at this point is through public comment at City Commission or in closed door meetings. After the 12 month implementation phase, citizens cannot propose a text amendment to the code without first getting City Commission approval. We can’t even imagine the difficulty of getting past the planning staff and planning commission to get onto a commission agenda. 

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Families are already losing bidding wars on affordable, older homes to property investors. The new code will only exacerbate this issue. We are being told that the new code language is in service of affordable housing and sustainability. However, the reality is that it is in service of developers and prospectors. The theoretical "affordable housing" could only be achieved via a "trickle-down" approach that we know won't actually work and the various code approaches to sustainability are contradictory at best. If allowed to move forward, this code will cause irreparable damage to our historic and affordable neighborhoods. Lots will be bought up, consolidated, and populated with multi-unit buildings that will never be owner occupied, further eroding the opportunity for families to purchase a home of their own.

Please sign this petition and show that you want to see a better code that truly serves affordability and sustainability by doing more than cramming additional homes and tenants on existing, occupied, desirable properties. We can achieve our goals by balancing sensible density, intentional occupancy policies, adequate and accessible parking, and neighborhood preservation. But, that will require a fair engagement process where developers forced to participate in the same venues as community members, not behind closed doors. The Planning Commission and City Commission need more time to hear resident concerns, study the unintended negative impacts, and come up with creative solutions.

If we don't press pause now, it will be too late.