After withdrawing their most recent preliminary plat application, the developer has finally submitted a new concept design for the city. While the previous plats had housing, a ploy to get the city to approve this project, this new project removes all housing. Instead, they are focusing on recreational facilities, including but not limited to: baseball fields, soccer fields, and a lacrosse stadium. The developer has offered no details on what projects or buildings will go into this area. We know the developer has submitted a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and rezonings and a preliminary plat are expected shortly. We also know that the developer is trying to highlight and emphasize how environmentally friendly this project is. The truth remains: they are bulldozing acres of wetlands, they're filling in the floodplain and they're introducing light, noise, and physical pollution into a delicate and endangered environment.

The majority of the wetlands on the property were assumed under the jurisdiction of the United States of Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) after they were first identified. However, following the Sackett decision of 2023, where the Supreme Court severely reduced protections for wetlands that have no continuous surface water connection. In short, wetlands that were previously under the USACE's regulations are no longer under these protections. The state of Kansas has no additional regulations for wetlands and the City of Lawrence only has regulations about wetlands that are considered under the USACE's jurisdiction. These wetlands highlighted in orange to the left are now unprotected and can legally be destroyed any day without any oversight or consequence. To understand more information about the Sackett decision, please click here. 

We are hosting an informational meeting for the public to attend! This will be a general overview of the project, what topics are of concern, and how the public can assist. We will host a short Q&A session after the meeting for the public to engage with. This meeting will be recorded via Zoom and posted on here later. Any questions can be sent to savethewakarusarivervalley@gmail.com and we'll get back to you ASAP!

Meeting information

Date: Saturday March 29, 2025
Location: Lawrence Public Library Auditorium
Time: 2:30-3:30pm

The developer has recently revised their Final Plat and it's slated to come before the Lawrence-Douglas Planning Commission for approval or denial. Although unconfirmed, we believe the new plat is required for the USACE to approve the 404 permit to fill in and destroy wetlands on the property.  Unfortunately we are not sure if the new plat will be on the Planning Commission's agenda in the near future. The earliest it can come before the government is in May. However, we encourage and advocate everyone send public comment to the Planning Commission with their thoughts about the New Boston Crossing Development. The general comment email for the Planning Department is planning@lawrenceks.org. Additionally, it can also be helpful to start submitting general public comment to the City Commission before it appears on their agenda. The email for the City Commissioners general comment is commissioners@lawrenceks.org.

Public comment for the New Boston Crossing (NBCO) permit ended May 16th, 2024. Due to the influx of submissions the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) received (including written comments and petition signatures), the permitting process has been successfully stalled.

As of August 10th, the USACE has responded to the developers and received redesigned plans for the NBCO. They have not yet assessed the new plan extensively. The NBCO developers hope to break ground by the spring of 2025.

The developers hosted a public meeting on October 29, 2024 at the urging of USACE. Ultimately the meeting was unorganized and disappointing. After promising verbal questions were being recorded, it was discovered that the developer consolidated "comment cards" from the meeting and published a lackluster answer sheet consisting of a variety of answers that amount to "we don't know yet". This can be found at this link.

According to an article from The Lawrence Times, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) has chosen a contractor to expand the western leg of the South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT) to four lanes.

The expansion construction will begin this fall and be completed in 2028. Click here for more information on the SLT Project.

The Baker University Board of Trustees "voted" not to sell the 17-acre wet prairie ecosystem north of the Discovery Center, "[f]ollowing extensive data gathering and deliberation."

Though this news has put SWRV and the greater community at ease, Baker never responded to the Haskell National Board of Regents' opposition letter, asking for Historical Haskell Lands back, once again, disrespecting the Indigenous community.

More on the story here.