District 6 Advisory Board

District VI Advisory Board Minutes www.wichita.gov Wednesday Evergreen Branch Library April 17, 2019 2601 N. Arkansas, Wichita, KS 67204 6:30 p.m. Conference Room The District VI Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Evergreen Branch Library conference room, 2601 N. Woodland, Wichita, KS 67204. There were eight District Advisory Board members, the Council Member, three staff members and 11 citizens in attendance. Members Present Staff Present Gregory Boyajian Mary Hunt, Metropolitan Area Planning Department James Deckard Jamie Buster, Deputy City Clerk Angela Martinez Janet Johnson, Office of Community Services Linda Matney Denise O’Leary-Siemer Shaun Rojas Lorenza Snyder Joel Weihe Council Member Cindy Claycomb Members Absent Guests Matt Brown Listed on last page Bill Longnecker Gisela Peña Carrington Thom (Youth member) Call to Order Council Member Cindy Claycomb called the meeting to order. Approval of Minutes The minutes for March 5, 2019, were approved. Motion passed (7-0) Jamie Buster, Deputy City Clerk, delivered the Oath of Office for the seven DAB members present. Public Agenda Scheduled items: No items Off-agenda items: Tom Ewert, President of the local Audubon Society, said he lives in District VI and he is concerned about the upcoming issue of TNR and feral cats. He said the feral cat population in Wichita is growing in spite of TNR efforts and that it is not an effective way of handling feral cat nuisances. He said there is a new ordinance being proposed and he provided a copy to the DAB members with recommended changes. He noted a couple of recommended changes including a buffer zone around parks and not making feral cats “community” cats because then no one has responsibility for any damage they might do. Mary Cole, said she is a member of the Board of Directors for Friends of Felines and they are an all-volunteer organization that does Trap, Neuter, Release for feral cats. She said last year they were able to spay or neuter more than  April 17, 2019 1,000 cats. She said TNR works, but that Friends of Felines does not have the capacity to handle the entire feral cat problem in Wichita as they are a small organization. Denise O’Leary-Siemer asked Ewert if there are Audubon Societies in other cities that have issues statements against TNR. Ewert listed several and said he would get the information to her. (Shaun Rojas arrived at meeting) New Business Places for People Mary Hunt, Metropolitan Area Planning Department, presented Wichita: Places for People which is an amendment to the City and County Comprehensive Plan, called the Community Investments Plan. The Plan focuses on redevelopment in the Established Central Area of Wichita. The Plan provides for the movement of people, whether by car, foot, bike or transit that creates a connected and accessible community with strong neighborhoods that put people first. Hunt explained that Places for People allows for the following:  Take better care of what we have  Revitalize our community  Take advantage of existing infrastructure  Focus on established neighborhoods  Address regulatory barriers She reviewed what a “Neighborhood Hub” which could be located somewhere like 17th and Hillside or Central and Oliver, might look like, as well as what a “Community Core” located somewhere like 21st and Amidon or Seneca and Pawnee, might look like. She also showed depictions of what a “Regional Center” might look like at Central and Hillside or in the East and West Mall areas. Hunt reviewed the following recommendations concerning residential zoning:  Enable greater density throughout the districts  ADU’s by right  Application by building type And commercial zoning:  Change required setbacks—allow street front buildings  Appropriate limits on building scale—concentrate multiple destinations  Multiple small-scale projects are better than one large single use project  Design guidance for human-scaled development—relate to the streetscape  Parking moved to back and side of buildings depending on Node, Transition or Edge Hunt said Places for People is slated to go before the Planning Commission on May 9th and to City Council on June 4th. The DAB members had no immediate questions so discussion was moved to the public for comment. Citizens had the following comments and questions:  Based on these zoning changes, my neighbor could build another house in their backyard that is three quarters the size of their existing home and I would have no say about it. Or, a developer could put multi-housing in a residential neighborhood with no setbacks. I don’t understand why we want to raise density in neighborhoods in  April 17, 2019 this manner and I’m disappointed that all of the information that the report contains on your website wasn’t covered in the presentation.  It’s hard to endorse this Plan until we know exactly what the zoning changes are. When you eliminate setbacks it just makes it that much easier to put in a cell tower.  What is the point of this? Are we trying to increase the tax base? It’s very hard to image that one plan is appropriate for every neighborhood in this huge area. Can’t you look at each neighborhood individually?  If you could take just one node and show how these zoning changes would impact the neighborhood that would be helpful.  I bought property in Riverside because it is zoned single family and I want to live in that type of area. Gentrification of neighborhoods is occurring all over the country. I’m sorry we’re not making enough money for the City of Wichita. Once gentrification occurs, the low income people who live there can’t afford to live there anymore. Why don’t you try fixing the problems in the Established Central Area that are causing people to leave?  We saw this with what occurred with the Booth property over by the golf course. We don’t want more of this.  Could some neighborhoods be exempt from this plan such as Riverside and College Hill? Council Member Claycomb pointed out that adopting the Places for People Plan would not automatically cause adoption of the recommended zoning changes. Those would have to be voted on at a later time. (James Deckard left the meeting) Several citizens voiced the belief that since the zoning recommendations were a part of the Plan, adoption of the Plan would in fact include the zoning changes. Several mentioned the complete report that is available for viewing online and encouraged others to look at it. Discussion was returned to the Board. Greg Boyajian said based on the citizen reaction it seems like the communication hasn’t been good surrounding the Plan. Denise O’Leary-Siemer said that for the two years the 45-member committee worked on this Plan, there were multiple public meetings that were well attended and that there will be more meetings in the future. Action taken: O’Leary-Siemer/Matney made a motion to recommend the Plan be approved. Motion passed: 7-0 Neighborhood Reports The Benjamin Hills and Pleasant Valley cleanup will take place this Saturday. Updates from Council Member Council Member Claycomb reported back on City Council actions regarding the following items:  Doggy Day Care – Council voted 7-0 to approve  Hoover path – Council voted 7-0 to approve  Used car lot at 13th and Market – MAPC voted to approve; City Council voted to deny 7-0  Cell Tower – MAPC voted to approve; City Council returned the item to MAPC in order for them to hear new testimony  April 17, 2019  Scooters – nothing has come before Council at this point DAB members expressed appreciation for the information. The next DAB VI meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 15, 2019, at the Evergreen Branch Library, 2601 N. Arkansas Wichita, KS 67203. ADJOURN Meeting was adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, Janet Johnson Division Manager Office of Community Services Guests Ellen Querner Tom Ewert Mary Cole Susie Cunningham Clair Willenberg Trish Hileman Teddy McCullough Beth Hirshfield Three people did not sign in