City Commission to consider two rezoning requests that could allow affordable housing to be built west of Lawrence

photo of: Bremen Keasey

A for sale sign on the lot at 5015 Legends Drive, with the Lawrence Montessori School building in the background. The Lawrence City Commission will consider a request to rezone the area Tuesday evening, which could lead to affordable housing development.

The City Commission will soon consider two rezoning requests in west Lawrence that could lead to future affordable housing development from the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority.

The commission will consider rezoning approximately 6 acres of land on two adjacent sites – 5015 Legends Drive and 1311 Research Park Drive – from the “Industrial and Commercial Park” category to “Multi-Unit Residential.” The properties are located near the intersection of Bob Billings Parkway and Wakarusa Drive.

The Planning Commission voted 8-2 in April to recommend approval of the application, as the Journal-World reported.

Although there are no specific plans for what developments on the property would look like, the Housing Authority has presented a conceptual plan, which is required to make rezoning applications, of seven “four-plex” buildings and six “eight-plex” buildings intended to serve as permanently affordable housing for families and seniors. The conceptual plan would include approximately 76 housing units in total.

At the time of the Planning Commission vote, some neighbors of the properties spoke against the rezoning requests, and others shared similar sentiments in emailed comments. Some have expressed concerns about traffic due to the development near Lawrence Montessori School. Others have expressed concerns about what could happen to property values, with some saying people who live in public housing are drug addicts and criminals.

Protest petitions were filed with the city opposing the rezoning requests, but according to the commission meeting agenda note, those petitions “are not valid.”

Commissioners can now either approve rezoning requests with a minimum of three votes; deny rezoning requests with a minimum of four votes; or refer rezoning applications to the Planning Commission for further review with a minimum of three votes.

In other areas, commissioners will consider approving the development of conceptual studies for the downtown Lawrence bus station.

A steering committee has been working since January to find a suitable site for a downtown bus hub. The city’s transit office has been operating out of a temporary bus hub across the street from the Lawrence Public Library for about a decade.

After approving a final set of boundaries, the steering committee proposed five potential sites that will undergo conceptual planning. They are:

• Municipal parking lot #5, on the east side of the 900 block of Vermont Street.

• Municipal parking lot #9, on the west side of the 900 block of Vermont Street.

• Current bus transfer zone and municipal parking lot #14, in the 700 block of Vermont Street.

• Municipal parking lot #8, on the east side of the 800 block of New Hampshire Street.

• Municipal parking lot #4, on the west side of the 800 block of New Hampshire Street.

Lawrence Transit is asking commissioners to choose at least three of the sites to develop their concept. After that, the list will be further reduced based on concepts and cost analysis, which the public and commission can provide feedback on in November.

The commission is expected to vote on the final site in December, with the hope that construction can begin in late 2025.