Oread Neighborhood Association
Thursday, May 28, 2009 @ 7:00 PM
Plymouth Congregational Church – Heritage Room
Minutes

Attending:  James Dunn, Linda Haskins, Ellie Lecompte, Kyle Thompson, Carol von Tersch

Absent:  Candy Davis, Marci Francisco, Christy Kennedy

Coordinator’s Report

ONA Financials
•	ONA Treasurer and Coordinator account activity
o	Treasurer Account Balance:  $7,554.20
o	Coordinator Account Balance:  $8.34

•	CDBG Expenditure Report:  The allocation for the current budget year totaled $9,901.  The balance of grant funds remaining as of May 31, 2009, will be $2,070.62.

•	ONA Membership Income:  Membership income received since August 01, 2008, totals $466.00.

Review March and April Meeting Minutes
Deferred because there was not a quorum at the meeting.

Blight Report 
•	1232 Louisiana (Owner:  1240 Louisiana Street Associates LLC):  Demolition approved by the City Commission in August 2008; reported for structural blight conditions in December 2005.
o	Note from Brian Jimenez read, “I believe we are moving closer to a resolution.  At this point we are still working with the applicant to satisfy the conditions of approval of the demolition permit.  I am not able to provide the specifics at this time but I anticipate being able to provide you with detailed information soon.”

•	1043 Indiana (Owner:  State of Kansas for University of Kansas):  KU Property approved for sale to the public; reported for structural blight conditions in December 2005.
o	Two inquiries sent to the University via e-mail; one prior to completing the spring newsletter and another prior to the monthly meeting.  There was no reply to either e-mail.  

•	920 Missouri (Owner:  Philip J. Schlaman):  Reported for having furniture stacked on porch.  Some furniture had been removed but no enough for the property to be in compliance with code.
o	The city was able to reach the owner in person and he cleaned up the porch the following weekend.  This is no longer an active case.  

•	1218 Tennessee (Owner:  Lawrence Bodle):  Reported for having excessive trash and vermin coming from a trailer stored on the property.  Property had been cleaned up enough in March 2009 to meet city code.  There is no longer an active case for this address and the city continues to keep an eye on the property. 
o	April 2009:  Neighbors asked that the city check the property from the alley in addition to driving by on Tennessee Street; blighted conditions are more frequently present in the back.  This request was shared with city staff following the April neighborhood meeting.
o	May 2009:  The city has continued to check the property and finds that the owner is keeping things picked up pretty well.  

•	945 Tennessee (Owner:  Reginald Hill):  Reported for fence being down and in disrepair; refuse accumulating in the back.
o	May 2009:  The city reports that the property has been cleaned up and the fence repaired.  This is no longer an active case.  

•	1129 Vermont (Owner:  Robert Garcia):  This house burned in December 2007.  A neighbor reported concern about the accumulation of materials on the front porch and the possibility that there might be homeless individuals taking up residence in the home.  Rehab work has begun but is not complete.
o	May 2009:  The contractor working on this property called the city and advised he would be restarting the project soon.  He personally went out and made sure all entrances were boarded up.  The contractor is a trustworthy person and the city believes that this will be quite nice when the work is completed.  

•	934 Arkansas (Owner:  Kirsten Krug):  House is falling into disrepair and there’s a grass issue; lawn needs to be mowed.
o	May 2009:  An e-mail from Dan Johnson, Environment Inspector, read:
I sent a notice on the grass and it has now been cut by the tenant.  I don’t find any code violations with the house.

Owner information is from the Douglas County Online Values & Taxes website located at:  
http://www.douglas-county.com/online_services/valuestaxes/disclaimer.asp?category_ida=

Demolition Permit
•	129 W. South Park – Detached Garage – Roof Caving In
o	A demo permit had been submitted for this structure in December 2006.  The HRC denied the demolition in February 2007 because the applicant did not provide a structural engineer’s report; was to have included the rehab vs. replacement costs.

Planning Submittals
•	928 Ohio (Property Owner:  Fadila Boumaza; Plan Submitted By:  Imran Walla):  Rehab / upgrade the historic property for congregate living (i.e.:  boarding house).  There will be 4 bedrooms/baths in the basement and also on the second floor.  The existing land use is identified as duplex / zoning is RM32.
o	March 2009:  HRC approved the design review for 928 Ohio with conditions that include: 
•	Provide complete construction documents (materials, window/door details, etc) to be reviewed and approved prior to release of a building permit.
•	Changes to the approved project are to be submitted to the HRC prior to commencement of any related work;
•	Property owner will allow staff access to the property to photo document the project before work commences, during construction, and upon completion of the project.
o	May 2009:  The site plan is currently being reviewed by Lynne Zollner, Historic Resources Administrator, who is the planner assigned to the project.  

City Agendas

•	Board of Zoning Appeals, June 4th Agenda:  There were no Oread properties listed on the June agenda

•	Historic Resources Commission, May 21st Agenda:  The following Oread properties were included on the agenda:
o	Item No. 2:  Communications – Letter about moratorium on approving boarding houses.
o	Item No. 3:  1037 Kentucky:  Remodel existing 4-unit apartment structure to 6-bedroom boarding house.  

Administrative Reviews:
o	1042 Tennessee (Remodel):  This is a conversion to a boarding house.  Window changes to be considered.
o	1645 Tennessee (Temporary Sign) – Sigma Phi Epsilon
o	1439 Tennessee (Temporary Sign) – Sigma Chi

Discussion Items

Boarding Houses:  Moratorium on permit approvals
On Tuesday, May 19th, the City Commission received the letter requesting a moratorium on boarding permit approvals while changes to the development code are being considered.  An e-mail from Scott McCullough, Director, Planning and Development Services, dated 05/20/09 read:
I’ll speak to the moratorium issue.  Last night the City Commission received the letter and directed staff to provide a report on the issue.  It will be added to our work program for a future CC agenda item.  

Neighborhood Plan
An e-mail from Michelle Leininger, dated 05/27/09, read:
We will have a draft of the plan available by the end of the week.  The HRC will receive the plan and give comments on June 28th and Planning Commission will do the same on June 24th.  I don’t know that we intend on doing a meeting summary [of the May 11th public meeting] as I am trying to get the draft posted instead.  Let me know if you have any questions.

KU-City Agreement:  Five year review
A meeting was held on Friday, May 22nd, with David Corliss, City Manager.  It is anticipated that a meeting will be scheduled sometime this fall to begin the review process.  

Historic Survey – District 1
A survey and building inventory will be completed for the area north of the University of Kansas Football Stadium from Indiana Street to Michigan Street and from 9th – 11th Street.  An e-mail from Lynne Zollner, dated 05/26/09, read:
We have not signed the contract with the state at this time. However, this is the current proposed timeline that is subject to change.  Lynne 
•	May 30, 2009:  Finalize and publish RFP for consultant;
•	July 20, 2009:  Complete consultant selection and negotiate contract;
•	July 30, 2009:  Consultant begins work;
•	March 01, 2010:  Submission of approximately 200 survey forms via online KHRI system and submission of draft survey report;
•	May 01, 2010:  Submission of final survey report and all other products to the City of Lawrence and the SHPO [State Historic Preservation Officer]. 
•	August 01, 2010:  Submission of final completion report to SHPO.
  
Trash Receptacles:  Identification on site plan submittals
On the site plan submitted for 1042 Tennessee, the dumpster to be used by the residents at this address was identified at a property across the alley.  An e-mail from Sandra Day, City Planner, dated 05/26/09, read:
Thank you for your concern regarding this project.  Yes, the site plan has been approved and released [for 1042 Tennessee].  

Section 20-1305 (f)(1)(xvii) requires the site plan to show a trash storage site on each site plan or a note explaining how refuse removal will be handled. The site of the trash storage receptacle, its location and an elevation of the enclosure shall be approved by the Director of Public Works prior to approval of the site plan. If a modification to the location of the trash storage area is required during the construction phase, both the Planning and Public Works Directors must approve the modification before it occurs. 

The site plan provided the minimum required documentation and noted that the existing alley dumpster would be used. The Sanitation Division did not have any comments during the review of the site plan about the existing location of the dumpster or the continued shared use. 

The use of shared dumpsters has a long history in this neighborhood as I understand it. 

I will be happy to look into other options for this project and let you know the outcome of that discussion with staff.

City staff will review code and possibly propose changes to site plan review.  

Neighborhood Blight Survey
Top ten properties identified with poor or very poor structural condition ratings; four are owner occupant and the other six are not.  The six non-owner occupant properties have been reported to the city and feedback is pending.  

FYI and Reminders

Renovation of GSP Residence Hall:  This project has been bumped back a year.  It will occur in 2011-2012.

Black Jack Battlefield & Nature Park Event:  Saturday, May 30th, from 1:00 to 8:00 PM

Food Garden Tour:  Saturday, May 30th, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

1232 Louisiana:  Demolition approved by the City Commission on 08/12/08 with conditions that included: 
Neighborhood Plan:  This will need to be updated prior to building a replacement structure.
Parking:  Following demolition, the property cannot be used as a parking lot.

Expansion of Rental Licensing and Inspection Program:  Note from Brian Jimenez dated 04/23/09 read, 
Sorry for the delay, it's been one those weeks so far. As far as I know, the City Commissioners, new and old have stated they do not wish to proceed at this point in time and David Corliss will not be recommending going forward at this point. As you know, this topic has been hot and cold for the last several years therefore I imagine something could change but I do not foresee that happening. I do think some sort of expansion will eventually occur. The big question right now, is when that would happen.  I hope that helps.

Graffiti Removal:  Check out http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief38.htm