Highway 81 Corridor Study

The City Commission and the Planning Commission have been working on a project to evaluate whether rezoning of some residential properties along Highway 81 is needed.

After a joint work session, we advertised for a planning consultant that would give the City an unbiased professional opinion about the potential of rezoning. LandPlan Engineering of Lawrence (and Tom Phillips and Associates of Manhattan, a sub contractor) reviewed the rezoning question.

Following the widening of Highway 81 to a four lane highway, a number of new businesses have been started along the corridor. Several years ago, there was a contentious rezoning when the Short Stop was proposed. The rezoning led to a development that led to poor design and inefficient land use.

With Highway 81 gaining in traffic counts due to the completion of the four lane between I-70 and I-80, commercial development pressure is growing. With the commercial pressure comes pressure on the existing residential properties. Competition for commercial space will have a negative impact on existing residential uses.

The city’s General Plan or Comprehensive Land Use Plan describes the future zoning along Highway 81 as Commercial. So both City Commission and Planning Commission raised the question: Can we rezone the entire corridor to Commercial and provide protection for the residential uses at the same time.

The Planners have proposed the use of an “overlay” zoning that would allow both uses to peacefully coexist. Before the Planning Commission and the City Commission consider the issue, they directed that we have a public forum where the public can comment about the development procedures.

The meeting will be held the City Commission Chamber at City Hall on Monday, June 27th at 7:00 PM. This will be an open forum where residents and commercial property owners will have opportunity to comment on the proposal. If you have property in the area, you should plan on attending.