DRAFT. Conservation Area Analysis. for the Southwest Corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway & Maurer Road. Shawnee, Kansas. October 2014.

Transcription

1 Conservation Area Analysis for the Southwest Corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway & Maurer Road Shawnee, Kansas October 2014 DRAFT Prepared by: Polsinelli PC, Development Analysis Department 99

2 CONSERVATION AREA STUDY Southwest Corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway & Maurer Road, Shawnee, Kansas Introduction Purpose The purpose of this analysis is to determine if the proposed development area located at the southwest corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Maurer Road (the Study Area, as more particularly described below) is a conservation area according to K.S.A a, et seq. (the TIF Statute ). Study Area The Study Area is composed of 8 parcels of land located in the southwest corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Maurer Road in the City of Shawnee, Johnson County, Kansas. The Study Area contains five single-family residential homes. The Study Area consists of approximately 26 acres. The parcels comprising the Study Area are shown as follows: 100

3 Statutory Analysis In order for TIF financing to be available for a project, the project must be in an eligible area. K.S.A a(g) defines eligible area as follows: Eligible area means a blighted area, conservation area, enterprise zone, intermodal transportation area, major tourism area or a major commercial entertainment and tourism area or bioscience development area. The property in question is not in an enterprise zone, intermodal transportation area, major tourism area, major commercial entertainment and tourism area or bioscience development area, nor has it been designated as a blighted area. The Developer requests that the City consider whether the area in question could be designated as a conservation area. K.S.A a(d) defines conservation area as follows: (d) Conservation area means any improved area comprising 15% or less of the land area within the corporate limits of a city in which 50% or more of the structures in the area have an age of 35 years or more, which area is not yet blighted, but may become a blighted area due to the existence of a combination of two or more of the following factors: (1) Dilapidation, obsolescence or deterioration of the structures; (2) illegal use of individual structures; (3) the presence of structures below minimum code standards; (4) building abandonment; (5) excessive vacancies; (6) overcrowding of structures and community facilities; or (7) inadequate utilities and infrastructure. An analysis of these factors as applied to the Study Area includes a comprehensive examination of the Study Area in the larger context of the City s long-range planning as well as surrounding development. 101

4 Study Area Data Location The Study Area is generally located in the southwest corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Maurer Road. The general location of the Study Area is shown below: The northwest, northeast, and southeast corners of the Shawnee Mission Parkway and Maurer Road intersection have been developed with commercial retail uses. As shown below, the northwest corner is anchored by Wal-Mart and a Lowe s Home Improvement store. The northeast corner has been developed with an in-line shopping center anchored by Target and Kohl s. A Home Depot and National Tire and Battery have been developed in the southeast quadrant of the intersection. Below, the Study Area is generally shown in the southwest quadrant of the Shawnee Mission Parkway and Maurer Road juncture: 102

5 Property Data Land Area According to Johnson County records, the 8 parcels that constitute the Study Area contain approximately 26 acres. Johnson County, KS Parcel # QF QF QF QF QP B 4.75 QP C 2.38 QP QP C 1.06 TOTAL ACRES Approx Acreage 103

6 Those parcels are depicted as follows: Ownership and Current Use According to Johnson County land records, the land parcels within the Study Area are owned by the following parties and are used in the described manner: Parcel ID Owner Description Single-family home, barn, storage sheds, uncovered debris storage, QF Victor and Hillary Kearns uncovered dilapidated car storage QF Alchemy Shawnee, LLC Single-family home, barn/shed QF Alchemy Shawnee, LLC Wooded area QF Karl G. Ederer Trust Field and wooded area QP B Luella J. Fruehling Revocable Trust Single-family home, uncovered debris storage, uncovered dilapidated vehicle storage, shed QP C Orion Investments Shawnee, LLC Single-family home, shed QP Georgetown/Englewood Plaza Associates, LP Wooded area QP C Steven Talkin Single-family home 104

7 The three other quadrants of the Shawnee Mission Parkway and Maurer Road corridor are all developed with commercial retail uses: Conservation Area Analysis I. Analysis of Study Area Under Conservation Area Designation Requirements (a) The first requirement for conservation area designation, set forth in K.S.A a(d), the definition of conservation area, is that the property in the proposed Redevelopment District must be less than 15% of the land area within Shawnee. The land area of Shawnee is approximately square miles, or approximately 27,430 acres. Fifteen percent of 27,430 acres is 4,114 acres. The property in the proposed Redevelopment District is approximately 26 acres, which is less than 15% of the land area within Shawnee. (b) The second requirement for conservation area designation, set forth in K.S.A a(d), the definition of conservation area, is that 50% or more of the structures in the area have an age of 35 years or more. The following information establishes that over 50% of the structures within the Study Area are older than 35 years by any definition of the term structure. 105

8 There are, at most, 13 structures within the Study Area by the most expansive interpretation of the term structure. While the TIF Statute does not define the term structure, the five houses within the Study Area are unequivocally structures. The three barns within the Study Area may also qualify as structures for purposes of the TIF Statute. While it is unclear whether small sheds or outhouses were intended under the TIF Statute to be included as structures, this study has taken the most conservative approach by including the five sheds/outhouses. Out of the aforementioned 13 components, 7 are definitively established as over 35 years old, 2 are established as less than 35 years old, and the age of four is unknown. All components and the parcel ID and address, age, and source of information regarding the age are shown on the chart and map below: Component Address Age Source Houses QF Maurer Road 1960 Johnson County Land Records QF Maurer Road 1960 Johnson County Land Records QP B 6707 Bell Road 1974 Johnson County Land Records QP C 6721 Bell Road 1963 Johnson County Land Records QP C 6720 Maurer Road 1981 Johnson County Land Records Barns QF Maurer Road Over 40 years Owner QF Maurer Road Over 40 years Owner QF Maurer Road Approx Owner Sheds QF Maurer Road Unknown QF Maurer Road Unknown QF Maurer Road Unknown QP B 6707 Bell Road Unknown QP C 6721 Bell Road Less than 20 years Owner 106

9 A photograph of each component is shown below Houses: QF /6552 Maurer Road 107

10 QF /6550 Maurer Road QP B/6707 Bell Road QP C/6721 Bell Road 108

11 QP C/6720 Maurer Road Barns: QF /6552 Maurer Road QF /6552 Maurer Road 109

12 QF /6550 Maurer Road Sheds: QF /6552 Maurer Road QF /6552 Maurer Road 110

13 QF /6552 Maurer Road QP B/6707 Bell Road QP C/6721 Bell Road 111

14 (c) The third requirement for conservation area designation, set forth in K.S.A a(d), the definition of conservation area, is that the area is not yet blighted, but may become a blighted area due to the existence of a combination of two or more of the factors set forth in such subparagraph, as set forth above. (1) Dilapidation, obsolescence or deterioration of the structures. Deteriorating and dilapidated structures predominate throughout the Study Area. Three of the five homes in the Study Area were built in the early 1960s, one was built in 1974, and one was built in All are in various stages of deterioration. The general upkeep of the exteriors of these residences is poor to fair. In addition to the deteriorating single-family residences, there are several dilapidated barns and sheds within the Study Area. The declining condition of these structures is evident upon visual examination examples are provided in the photographs below. Deteriorating/dilapidated structures: 112

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18 (2) Illegal use of individual structures. None identified. (3) The presence of structures below minimum code standards. None identified. (4) Building abandonment. None identified. (5) Excessive vacancies. None identified. (6) Overcrowding of structures and community facilities. None identified. (7) Inadequate infrastructure and utilities. The Study Area suffers from severe infrastructure and utility deficiencies. The infrastructure and utilities are inadequate for both the current suburban residential use of the Study Area as well as any type of future development. A. Inadequate Infrastructure 116 The only road within the Study Area is a single-lane gravel road without curbs and gutters. A narrow gravel road as the only ingress and egress for a residential development in a mature area of a large, suburban community, such as Shawnee, does not constitute adequate infrastructure, from a functional, safety, and aesthetics standpoint.

19 The condition of the gravel road is fair to poor in various areas, with deep grooves/indentations, mud and standing pools of water, lack of sufficient gravel, and narrow conditions with poor visibility due to overgrown trees and shrubs. The gravel road serves 7 of the 8 parcels within the Study Area but can be difficult and dangerous to use for ingress and egress from Maurer Road. o The eastern access point to the gravel road is from Maurer Road, a four-lane thoroughfare. There is no signage at the access point to the gravel road, no signalization, and the turn-off from Maurer immediately falls off in a very steep decline on the gravel road. o Leaving the Property from the gravel road onto Maurer can be dangerous given the poor visibility and high speeds of traffic heading southbound on Maurer. Delays during peak traffic hours can be experienced and encourage unsafe turning movements when leaving the Property. The gravel road, at its intersection with Maurer Road, provides the only proper access point for emergency vehicles to and from public streets (the only other potentially feasible access point for most of the Study Area entails traveling up Bell Road and over a private driveway in the southwest corner of the Study Area, which is not acceptable given that parked cars or other obstacles on the private driveway could slow or prevent first responders from timely reaching the Study Area from the south). Not only is such a single-point of ingress and egress for a cluster of residential homes not as safe as it should be, in a modern, suburban environment, it is also functionally inadequate for residents and their guests. Four parcels within the Study Area (6600 Maurer Road - QP , 6552 Maurer Road QF , 6550 Maurer Road QF , and QF ) are not directly served by any existing roads and thus have no direct access to public streets. In addition to the unnamed gravel road bisecting the Study Area, the house in the southeast corner of the Study Area has a gravel driveway and roundabout abutting Maurer Road. Residential access from such a busy street is insufficient and unsafe. Further, the primary street serving Home Depot and National Tire and Battery, West 67th Street, leads directly to and T s into the residential driveway without any signalization, further exacerbating the unsafe condition. No stormwater conveyance system exists. All stormwater is collected in ditches and natural swales that crisscross the Study Area. The inadequate street layout described above is shown in the map and pictures below: 117

20 Photographs of steep decline of access ramp from Maurer road on to gravel road and of inadequate gravel road infrastructure and access points: 118

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24 Photographs of open drainage system: 122

25 B. Inadequate Utilities The Study Area lacks connection to a sanitary sewer system. For a mature, suburban environment such as exists currently along the Shawnee Mission Parkway corridor and in this part of the City generally, a septic system is inadequate. 123

26 A portion of the Study Area is serviced by water mains that do not meet modern standards. Specifically, the portion of the Study Area serviced by the water main located along Bell Road is serviced by a 6-inch main. A water main 6 inches wide for today s standards is subpar a water main serving a suburban residential area would typically be at least 8 inches in diameter. The implications of the undersized water main are water pressure issues for both residents and fire protection purposes. Utility components such as utility boxes and fire hydrants are in various stages of disrepair as shown in the photographs below. The Study Area is crisscrossed by low-hanging overhead power lines. Loose and excess wiring was observed trailing from the power lines and extending to ground level, and in many instances trees have grown into the lines. Loose wiring and low-hanging lines: 124

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28 Deteriorating utility components: 126

29 II. Conclusion The Study Area meets the first and second requirements for designation as a conservation area set forth in K.S.A a(d), as it constitutes less than 15% of the area of the City of Shawnee and at least 50% of the structures in the area are at least 35 years old. The Study Area also meets at least two of the seven factors set forth in K.S.A a(d) for a conservation area designation, including: 1. Dilapidation, obsolescence or deterioration of structures. 2. Inadequate utilities and infrastructure. In conclusion, the Study Area satisfies the requirements for designation as a conservation area under the requirements of K.S.A a(d). 127