Title
Appl. #PL2021-001 - COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT - Ignite 2021 Comprehensive Plan; City of Lee’s Summit, applicant
Body
Issue/Request:
Adoption of the Ignite Comprehensive Plan
Background:
Background and History
• May 10, 2005 - The Planning Commission approved the 2005 Comprehensive Plan (2005-163), by Resolution #2005-02. This plan consolidated all comprehensive plan related documents previously adopted including the Old Lee’s Summit Master Development Plan. Since the adoption of the 2005 Comprehensive Plan, various amendments have been approved by the Planning Commission, the last amendment occurrence was in 2019.
Comprehensive Plan Process
The primary job responsibility shared by planning commissions across the nation and that of long-range planning efforts include preparation and maintenance of a city’s comprehensive plan. A comprehensive plan will guide a community’s physical development and their programs over a 15 to 20 year timeframe. It serves as the basis for economic development, residential growth and improvements to protect the quality of life for residents. While there is no universally accepted “one best way” to develop a plan, there is a typical sequence in developing a comprehensive plan. City staff along with Shockey Consulting engaged in the following plan processes while creating the Ignite Comprehensive Plan.
Overall Plan Process Path
• Developing The Story - Strengthen relationships & build a common sense of direction. Create a shared understanding of where we have been, where we are and where we are going.
• Creating Consensus - Engage the community to understand goals and priorities.
• Crafting The Plan - Build partnerships, draft recommendations and identify implementation strategies.
• Adopting The Plan - Present plan to community leadership. Modify and shepherd through adoption process. Establish implementation tools.
Community Engagement Efforts
• Surveys - Topical surveys and forums covering the “five big ideas” (described below) were available to the community to provide additional feedback.
• Podcasts - A series of podcasts were created and available on the City’s website. Each podcast took a deep dive into each element of the plan (housing, transportation, infrastructure, etc.).
• Virtual Community Workshops - The City hosted a series of virtual community workshops where residents and key stakeholders had the opportunity to discuss the City’s comprehensive plan.
• Plan Element Review and Discussion Forums - Published to the City’s website and open for review and public comment.
• Joint Planning Commission/City Council public meetings - Multiple joint Planning Commission and City Council public meetings were held discussing the plans elements, big ideas, activity centers, the fiscal impact model, and other comprehensive plan content.
Ignite Comprehensive Plan Elements
The comprehensive plan articulates a series of goals, policies, actions and standards to define the community’s physical development and programs. The discussions about elements included in the Comprehensive Plan shape the many decisions that affect changes in Lee’s Summit’s physical and social character. Below lists the seven Plan Elements and descriptions that were identified and are outlined in the Comprehensive Plan.
• Quality of Life - Cultural and Recreational Amenities, Community Health and Well-Being, and Collaborative Relations with Education Partners.
• Strong Neighborhoods & Housing Choice - Maintain thriving, quality neighborhoods that connect a diversity of residents throughout the community.
• Resilient Economy - Build an adaptable economic framework for continued growth in a changing environment.
• Multimodal Transportation - Provide a safe, more connected and convenient transportation system for all modes of travel, all ages, and abilities.
• Facilities & Infrastructure - Sustain and enhance public facilities and infrastructure to protect the finest quality of life.
• Sustainable Environment - Appreciate, protect, and enhance the natural environment to meet the community’s needs today without compromising the ability of future generations to live and prosper.
• Land Use & Community Design - Enhance the natural and built environment to create places that strengthen Lee’s Summit’s strong sense of community and quality image.
Five Big Ideas
During the community workshops, “five big ideas” were identified as what is fueling Lee’s Summit’s future. A series of short videos explaining the “five big ideas” were presented during the community workshops to generate discussion and feedback from community members. The “five big ideas” are as follows.
• Preserve and Connect. Preserve natural resources, open space, recreational, cultural and historic resources.
• Single-Family Neighborhoods & Housing Choice. Maintain thriving, quality neighborhoods that connect a diversity of residents throughout the community.
• Focus Development in Key Activity Centers. Focus multifamily, commercial development and redevelopment in Activity Centers.
• Innovative Industrial. Recruit additional light industrial businesses, increasing our tax base.
• Public Facilities and Infrastructure. Build and maintain smart, sustainable public facilities and infrastructure to serve the community.
Framework Strategy
• Preserve. Future development in these areas should be discouraged to protect our community’s open space and natural areas.
o Areas to Preserve: Parks & Open Space, Natural Wooded Areas, Streams, Lakes & Rivers, Historic Resources
• Enhance. Incremental changes and slight improvements will help bring these assets up to community standards and adapt them to changing needs.
o Areas to Enhance: Existing Residential Neighborhoods
• Strengthen. Future improvements are intended to contribute to the current successes of these areas.
o Areas to Strengthen: Downtown Lee’s Summit, Existing Commercial Nodes, Existing Neighborhood Centers, Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport, Industrial, Community Anchors, Transportation, Utilities/Communications
• Transform. Future developments in these areas will re-imagine the space, changing the area from one purpose to another or significantly changing how it functions.
o Areas to Transform: Activity Centers, Major Corridors, New Commercial Nodes, Existing Strip Commercial, New Neighborhood Centers, New Residential
Activity Centers
Seven areas within the City have been identified as activity centers. Activity centers are areas of concentrated development. Mixed-use projects are the focal point for these areas. Multi-family developments will be located nearby to support main street style commercial developments.
• Downtown Activity Center (existing) - The traditional core and heart of the community and is characterized by its many small, local businesses. Access to downtown is walkable to residents in nearby residential neighborhoods, with parking available to those that drive. Downtown will continue to serve as the center of Lee’s Summit with a mobility hub that serves multiple means of transportation. Additional housing options will increase the ability for additional residents to live and work downtown, as well as increased patronage of local businesses, parks, and events.
• Woods Chapel Activity Center (future) - This center has as environmental focus, including connections to an abundance of parks and open space opportunities, including Lake Jacomo and Jackson County Parks and Recreation amenities. Development in the Woods Chapel Activity Center will connect to these offerings, considering all mobility methods. Todd George Parkway serves as a scenic tree-lined boulevard that connects a range of mixed-use, residential, commercial, and industrial offerings near the interstate and the airport.
• Blackwell Activity Center (future) - The Blackwell Activity Center is designate as future due to a lack of available sewer service. It is located near a major interchange and is projected to one day be a major mixed-use development at the east edge of the City.
• Rock Island Urban Activity Center (future) - Located adjacent to the Rock Island Railroad regional trail, Scherer Road and 291 South Highway, this activity center focuses on innovation and technology businesses supported by a range of residential and commercial offerings. The activity center will serve as a transit-oriented development and commuter hub with a focus on connectivity including a direct connection to the Rock Island Trail.
• New Longview Activity Center (existing) - Includes a historical component with the Longview Farm and historic gateways to the community. Future development is characterized by previously approved plans for the site and includes a range of residential options, a large commercial component, educational, and community amenities. The activity center is a unique asset to the community and has the potential to evolve and serve a larger regional role. A future mobility hub can connect New Longview to the remainder of the community and serve as the western hub for multi-modal connections.
• Paragon Star Activity Center (under development) - An emerging activity center that is currently under development as a regional soccer complex and a mixed-use village consisting of residential, retail, medical office, and hotel. Regional trail connections are proposed increasing connectivity to all parts of Lee’s Summit and surrounding jurisdictions.
• Summit Activity Center (existing) - Includes a range of commercial, industrial, and residential options. Future development will introduce a range of residential densities that are walkable to nearby retail and open space opportunities. The activity center will continue to serve as a regional retail destination with the potential to serve as community mobility hub, ensuring increased connectivity to all parts of Lee’s Summit, as well as Interstate 470 and Highway 50.
Future Land Use Map
Future land use refers to the desired land use location, distribution, intensity, density, variation and relationship in terms of coexistence, compatibility and mutual support. The purpose of the planning process is to see that the differences and relationships of the existing and future land uses are properly handled so that a desirable condition is achieved. Land use decisions are made so that new developments are properly served by supporting services and infrastructure or vice versa. Land use arrangements are no longer just an issue of where things should be located; they are directly associated with quality of life, sustainability, efficiency of public service provision, and adequacy of community functioning. Below are the proposed land use classifications/categories for the future land use map.
Fiscal Impact Model
The consultant and staff worked together to create a fiscal impact model. The model uses land use categories to estimate revenues and expenses. Inputs for future expenditures were provided by various City department based upon the increase in service levels needed as the City continues to develop. The future land use map contained within the plan was refined using scenarios generated from the fiscal impact model. The model is a macro level estimating tool and is not suitable for use on a project-by-project basis. Staff will use yearly updates of our current land use map to illustrate the City’s fiscal trajectory. The diagram below depicts five scenarios based upon different land use mixes developed over a 20-year period.
Ignite Comprehensive Plan Elements - Fourteen Goals Identified
Quality of Life
• Create a community that celebrates, welcomes and supports cultural and recreation amenities.
• Support a healthy, happy community by improving healthy lifestyle choices and opportunities.
• Enhance current educational opportunities and plan for future educational opportunities that support the City’s economic development.
Strong Neighborhoods & Housing Choice
• Maintain thriving, quality neighborhoods that connect a diversity of residents throughout the community.
• Create and maintain a variety of housing options, styles and price ranges.
Resilient Economy
• Build an adaptable framework for continued growth in a changing environment.
Multimodal Transportation
• Provide safe, convenient and accessible travel options in the parts of the City where a more balanced system is key to a high quality of life.
• Use and enhance existing approaches in the rest of the City outside of Activity Centers and Connecting Corridors.
• Lee’s Summit’s transportation networks, for any mode or technology, will be connected, complete, resilient and adaptable to the future.
Facilities & Infrastructure
• Sustain and enhance City services and facilities to protect a high quality of life.
• Plan and build City services and infrastructure to promote quality growth and resiliency.
• Increase disaster resiliency.
Sustainable Environment
• Appreciate, protect and enhance the natural environment to meet the community’s needs today without compromising the ability of future generations to live and prosper.
Land Use & Community Design
• Promote sustainable land use to meet the needs of the future.
Relationship to Other Master Plans
Traditionally, the City has only referenced other master plans through Comprehensive Plan Amendments. Some examples of these plans are as follows: Thoroughfare Master Plan, Wastewater Master Plan, Water Master Plan and the Greenway Master Plan. This led to land use assumptions changing over time based upon iterative updates to future land use projections. Staff’s plan is to use the land use map to drive future development assumptions across the City for all master plans going forward. We will reexamine the long-range plans assumptions every five years to help adjust for unknown factors such as housing trends or macro-economic conditions. By committing to single set assumptions, the City’s long term planning efforts will work together as a more cohesive effort. Another important factor is the yearly Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) update. Staff can start to analyze the CIP for how it is helping to support long-term goals in the Ignite Comprehensive Plan
Implementation
• Area Plan For Activity
• Corridor Plans
• Adopt Greenway Master Plan (Resolution is on May 20, 2021 Planning Commission agenda)
• Thoroughfare Master Plan Update (Resolution already adopted)
• Sync CIP and Fiscal Impact Model
• Infill Housing Policies
• Small Lot & Accessory Dwelling Units Implementation
• Incentives Policy/Economy Development Policy
• Historic Preservation Policies
• Water/Sewer/Stormwater Master Plans
Presenter
Joshua Johnson, AICP Assistant Director, Development Services
Recommendation
Recommendation: Staff recommends the Commission adopt the associated resolution for the Ignite Comprehensive Plan.
Committee Recommendation
Committee Recommendation: I move for adoption of resolution number BLANK.