Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Musser)

The Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday night to allow The Woods on 19th LLC housing developer, John McGrew, to withdraw a haunting development stipulation.
McGrew went through all the hoops and gained Kansas state permission to start development on his land located at 19th and Delaware in the spring of 2002. McGrew no longer owns the property; the forty-nine single-family homeowners do.
McGrew didn’t expect to appear before or the Metropolitan Planning Commission or the Kansas State Water Resources four years after he gained Kansas state approval and his development had been built.
His approval included one lingering catch: A state stipulation said that $75,000 would be set into an escrow account to build a bridge in the housing development.
The planned bridge would serve as a pedestrian path over the creek and as an access point to Rails-to-Trails.
Because of flood planes in the specified area for the bridge, the area has caused problems in development and has made the original stipulation to build a bridge impossible. McGrew has been wondering what that means for the $75,000.
He stood before nine Planning Commissioners Wednesday and said, “All I have to say is that I have the money to build the bridge, and the state won’t let me advance.”
McGrew must have said something right, because the Planning Commission unanimously voted, with one abstention, to remove the problematic bridge stipulation at the northeast corner of 19th and Delaware.
McGrew hopes that the Planning Commissioners decision can allow him to finally wash his hands of this haunting problem.
Sandra Day, Lawrence staff planner, has worked with McGrew and other planners since 2002 to settle the case.
“This is an unusual and unique piece of ground. It is long and skinny—irregular shaped. A creek and tributary run through it and it is encumbered by flood planes,” Day said. “It has been very challenging to develop.”
The Planning Commissioners deferred this item from a February 16 meeting because they needed to talk to an attorney before making any decisions. Planning Commissioner Dennis Lawson said, “We know what we want to do, but is it legal?”
Director of Legal Services and Associate City Manager, David Corliss, attended the Wednesday meeting to answer questions of legality. Corliss said although the state has declared the money in the escrow account be used for a bridge, an alternate use may be legal. “Something that serves the same function as a bridge, like a path, would be okay,” Corliss said.
The proposal of the bridge was most appealing because it would serve as a Rails-to-Trails access point. The Planning Commissioners had a tough time passing the item because they wanted to see the neighborhood linked to Rails-to-Trails.
According to www.railstrails.org, Rails-to-Trails is a conservancy using former rail roads and turning them into public walking, biking, or jogging paths.
In the spring of 1991, the Haskell railroad was vacated and Rails-to-Trails became an operating path. It was the first of eight Kansas rail roads to be made into a trail.
Director of Parks and Recreation of Lawrence, Fred DeVictor, said any kind of neighborhood public service is beneficial, but the debated access point is not crucial to Rails-to-Trails functioning.
“A lot of bikers would use it and neighborhood families. It is a great atmosphere to push a baby stroller. It is pretty important to have access,” DeVictor said. “We have been working with the rail road and have applied for a grant to extend the trial by two miles. We anticipate hearing an answer in May.”
DeVictor said that if the grant is approved, there would be at least four new access points.