Steps to Development

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT

Plan 2040 describes the method for the City or County to alter the Comprehensive Plan:

Proposing an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan can be brought forward at any time; however, it should be considered in context to the whole of Douglas County and Lawrence, and the Lawrence/Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission should undertake a thorough review of any amendment at this scale. The following questions should be considered and evaluated as part of the amendment process. 

Amendment Questions 

1. How does the proposed amendment address or result from changed circumstances or unforeseen conditions not understood or addressed at the time the plan was adopted? 

2. How does the proposed amendment advance a clear public purpose? 

3. How is the proposed amendment consistent with the long-range goals and policies of the plan? 

4. How does the proposed amendment affect the adequacy of existing or planned facilities and services? 

5. How does the proposed amendment result in reasonably compatible land use relationships? 

6. How does the proposed amendment reflect the adjacent neighborhoods’ desired outcome? 

7. How will the proposed amendment advance the interests of the citizens of Lawrence and Douglas County as a whole? 

REZONING

Rezoning changes what land uses are permitted on a lot of land. What each zoning allows can be found in our Land Development Code. The Planning and City Commission review the rezoning request and can either approve or deny the request based on numerous factors. One of the important factors is called the Golden Factors. These are enshrined in court rulings as important factors to consider when the City rezones a property. No one factor takes precedence over another and the factors themselves are non binding. The Commissions must however, take the factors into consideration when making a decision. 

The Golden Factors:

1.  conformance with the Comprehensive Plan;

2.  zoning and use of nearby property, including any overlay zoning;

3. character of the neighborhood;

4. plans for the area or neighborhood, as reflected in adopted area and/or sector plans including the property or adjoining property;

5. suitability of the subject property for the uses to which it has been restricted under the existing zoning regulations;

6. length of time the subject property has remained vacant as zoned;

7. the extent to which approving the rezoning will detrimentally affect nearby properties;

8. the gain, if any, to the public health, safety, and welfare due to denial of the application, as compared to the hardship imposed upon the Landowner, if any, as a result of the denial of the application;

9. the recommendation of the City’s professional staff.