Planning and Urban Design 701 North 7th Street, Room 423 Phone: (913) 573-5750 Kansas City, Kansas 66101 Fax: (913) 573-5796 Email: [email protected] www.wycokck.org/planning To: Unified Government Board of Commissioners From: Planning and Urban Design Staff Date: August 27, 2020 Re: MP-2020-6 GENERAL INFORMATION Applicant: Ryan Conk Status of Applicant: Representative KC The Yards 2, LLC One Indiana Square, Suite 3000 Indianapolis, Indiana 46202 N Requested Actions: Master Plan Amendment from Industrial to Mixed Use. Date of Application: June 26, 2020 Purpose: To amend the City-Wide Master Plan Land Use N designation from Industrial to Mixed Use in order to allow for future mixed-use development. Property Location: 200 South James Street N MP-2020-6 August 27, 2020 1 Commission Districts: District Commissioner: Brian McKiernan Commissioner At Large: Tom Burroughs Existing Zoning: M-3 Heavy Industrial District Adjacent Zoning: North: M-3 Heavy Industrial District South: M-3 Heavy Industrial District East: Kansas City, Missouri West: Kansas River Adjacent Uses: North: Business campus parking South: Industrial business East: Parking lots and garage (Missouri) West: Kansas River Total Tract Size: 17.37 Acres Master Plan Designation: The City-Wide Master Plan designates this property as Industrial. Major Street Plan: The Citywide Master Plan designates James Street as a Class B Thoroughfare. However, the applicant property can only be accessed by a portion of State Line Road that lies completely in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri. Required Parking: Section 27-470(f) requires no less than one (1) space per 500 square feet of building area provided. However, more specific parking requirements will be determined by the Director of Planning after receipt of a summary of parking needs and characteristics from the applicant. Advertisement: The Wyandotte Echo – July 16, 2020 Letters to Property Owners – July 16, 2020 and August 21, 2020. Public Hearings: August 10, 2020 and August 27, 2020 Public Support: None to date. Public Opposition: None to date. PROPOSAL Detailed Outline of Requested Action: Applicant, Ryan Conk with KC The Yard 2, LLC, has requested a Master Plan Amendment to the City-Wide Master Plan Land Use designation from Industrial to Mixed Use in order to allow for mixed-use development in connection with the proposed establishment of the Riverfront Tax Increment Financing MP-2020-6 August 27, 2020 2 (TIF) District. The first phase of the development contemplates the construction of approximately 225-240 unit market-rate multi-family residential development, with potential for a retail/restaurant/commercial component on the first floor, surface parking, courtyards, landscaping, lighting, utilities, and other infrastructure. City Ordinance Requirements: Article VI, Section 27-213, Sections 27-210 – 27-216 FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED 1. Neighborhood character The neighborhood includes properties across the Kansas state border into Missouri. While the entire area has been traditionally industrial, heavy commercial, distribution, and stockyards—as dictated by the area’s proximity to the downtowns of Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri, regional and national highways, and the Kansas and Missouri Rivers—there has been more recent mixed-use development, mainly multi-family residential and light commercial, on the Missouri side of the West Bottoms District. The applicant property lies at the southern edge of this emerging mixed-use district. 2. The extent to which the proposed use would increase the traffic or parking demand in ways that would adversely affect road capacity, safety, or create parking problems. Because development is in the initial stages, the applicant has not provided a development plan. There is an adjacent parking structure, a surface lot to the north, and additional parking adjacent to Hy-Vee (formerly Kemper) Arena. As State Line Road is the only point of access to the property, and as State Line Road itself ends at Butler Way/Genesee Street to the north and at American Royal Drive to the south, a future traffic study will be necessary to address issues caused by such limited access to the property. Mixed uses on the property will require a mix of transportation and parking options, which should be creatively designed and highlighted in a future Plan Review application. 3. The extent to which utilities and public services are available and adequate to serve the proposed amendment and the extent to which the environment would be impacted. Sanitary sewer lines run along the northern boundary and the north portion of the western boundary. Such lines would need to be expanded to accommodate a greater intensity of high-density development. Furthermore, stormwater lines may need to be expanded to account for both the increase in impermeable surfaces that future development will inevitably bring and the property’s proximity to a floodplain, levee, and the Kansas River. Likewise, electric and gas lines need to be run to the property with a capacity to serve a dense, mixed-use development that will require differing levels of service throughout the day and week. The applicant property is served by the Police Station South District #333 and Fire Station #3, but both stations are located west of the Kansas River and have limited routes to access the property. Site designs for the property should include MP-2020-6 August 27, 2020 3 open space within the development as well as pedestrian access to the Kansas River riverfront. 4. The difference between the existing and proposed Master Plan. The existing land use designation for the property in the City-Wide Master Plan is Industrial. The Industrial land use designation allows uses such as manufacturing, warehouse, salvage, and limited related commercial services (e.g. truck stops and convenience stores); the Industrial designation discourages all residential uses. This was consistent for the property and the properties around it, due to geography and historic use. The amendment proposes a change of the land use designation to Mixed-Use. The Mixed-Use land use designation allows uses such as specialty retail, sit-down restaurants, professional and office services, open spaces, and mixed-density residential uses; the Mixed-Use designation discourages industrial uses, business parks, drive-through restaurants, and car lots. 5. Analysis of the impact on surrounding properties. Development of the property will lead to an increase of impermeable surfaces, parking needs, traffic at peak times, and risk of standing water or runoff. The exact impact of these changes on surrounding properties cannot be completely known at this time—especially without more detailed development plans—but Staff does recognize there will be issues that will need to be addressed. Therefore, the applicant should be aware that additional studies (traffic, floodplain, soil conservation) may need to be conducted before future planning actions can be approved. 6. Estimate the future costs and revenues to the Unified Government and property owner and Market Impact. The applicant property is linked to a proposed Riverfront TIF District. A Redevelopment Project Plan has been created to address, among other considerations, the financial feasibility and projections of the proposed development. The Plan states: “The development contemplated in this Redevelopment Plan will provide significant economic development for the UG by, among other things, providing increased tax revenues to the UG, creating a development that will draw additional consumers from both inside and outside the UG, and increasing employment opportunities and general commerce for area residents. The feasibility study demonstrates that the benefits and tax increment revenue and other available revenues derived from the development contemplated in this Redevelopment Plan will exceed the costs and be sufficient to pay the costs of the Project.” Excerpts from “Redevelopment Project Plan for Project Area 1 of Riverfront Redevelopment District” can be found in the “Attachments” section of this report. MP-2020-6 August 27, 2020 4 PREVIOUS ACTIONS None NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING Applicants held a virtual neighborhood meeting at 5:00 PM on July 23, 2020. Due to precautionary measures allowed by the Unified Government and the Department of Planning and Urban Design, the requirement for a physical neighborhood meeting has been suspended. Applicant held the meeting via Zoom for all neighbors who were interested; neighbors received a link for the Zoom meeting in the neighborhood meeting letter. Meeting minutes show that five (5) parties were in attendance, but it appears that four (4) of the individuals were affiliated with the project and one (1) individual was attending the meeting as a member of the public. The minutes shows that the attending neighbor asked several questions about future plans and appeared to be satisfied by the applicant’s answers. KEY ISSUES Open Space Traffic Utilities and Public Services Stormwater and Flooding PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION The Planning Commission voted 7 to 0 to recommend APPROVAL of Master Plan Amendment #MP-2020-6, subject to: 1) When development is ready, the applicant or another representative party must apply for all planning actions necessary for such development. STAFF COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Staff concurs with the recommendation of the City Planning Commission. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Board of Commissioners make the findings contained within the staff report