Time to revisit this - today

From: Bill Fiander <bfiander@Topeka.org>
Sent: Monday, June 4, 2018 5:25 PM
To: Henry McClure <mcre@cox.net>
Cc: 'Aaron Mays' <amaystopeka@gmail.com>; 'Anderson, Dana' <Dana.Anderson@macerich.com>; Dan Warner <DWarner@topeka.org>; Michael Hall <mghall@topeka.org>; Douglas Gerber <dgerber@topeka.org>; Brent Trout <btrout@topeka.org>
Subject: RE: 37th and Gage

Henry,

Here is our understanding of your zoning options at this point…

·       Our big goal is to complete a master plan for the surrounding 500-acre urban growth area with a market study component to look at what the future land use, absorption, and phasing could look like and how to finance the infrastructure prior to programming any City capital investments or approving development. My hope is to start this plan in 2019 if not sooner.

·       We can support a limited C-2 re-zoning up to 6-8 acres without an overall master plan. This roughly equates to 80-100k square feet of retail development. I don’t know if that will require an extension of SW 37^th/Southwest Parkway or other streets to the west. Traffic study would guide us there.

·       We can support a larger Mixed Use conceptual PUD on entire 18 acres without an overall master plan for the 500 acres. Mixed use would include C-2 commercial, office, multi-family, or attached dwelling units connected within same building and/or project area. This probably will trigger extension of streets prior to or commensurate with development.

• Both options assume…

• Full 18 acres included in platting, dedication of ROW, annexation, stormwater management study, traffic impact study, etc.
• Collaboration between City team and applicant team on preferred street/block layout absent an overall master plan
• Timing of road extensions will be dependent upon development phasing, traffic study, and further discussion with Public Works
• All pre-development costs and public infrastructure improvements are expected to be born by developer although street/sewer work could be explored for City participation or financing tools (e.g., CID, benefit district)
• Any re-zoning/platting west of 18-acre tract can be supported after overall master plan is completed for the larger area and is consistent with its recommendations for land use, phasing, infrastructure financing, etc.  

Since you’re sharing videos, I think it would be good to share our LUGMP video which sums up the City’s smart growth management policies https://youtu.be/kMK8alutJHo. This is what our Governing Body has adopted and what guides us. In short, our priorities are to grow first where our services are already in place…a more vertical footprint and not so much of a horizontal footprint. We have over 10 years of planned residential unit inventory on recently platted lots and increasingly more vacant retail space to repurpose. Improving the roads/utilities we have and redeveloping from within is fiscally responsible growth for all of us.

However, we do see the need to plan for the next natural urban growth area which I believe you are at the doorstep of. To that end we want to get a plan in place so the rest can follow when it makes the most fiscal sense for the City. I think you’re the first domino and it’s important to get that right absent an overall master plan.     

Does that help? Did I miss anything?

Bill Fiander, AICP

Planning Director

City of Topeka Planning Department

620 SE Madison, 3^rd Floor

Topeka, KS 66607

(785) 368-3728

bfiander@topeka.org

www.topeka.org

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