The City of Manhattan, Kansas, is a community of about 55,000 permanent residents. However, being the home of Kansas State University, the City can at times feel much larger. As a community that has grown steadily for decades, Manhattan hired KKC to lead a team which included White Smith Cousino to create a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) as a regulatory tool to address issues typical to cities seeing this type of growth.
In the initial phase, KKC crafted a Strategic Approach to the UDO development along with an Annotated Outline detailing the proposed structure from input gathered from stakeholder listening sessions and meetings with City Staff, Riley County Staff, and the project advisory committees. One objective was to simplify much of the previous Ordinance. To better conform to the Comprehensive Plan, the KKC team narrowed the number of base zoning districts from 23 to 14 and streamlined the City’s development review procedures. The KKC team also consolidated existing provisions that are common to most (if not all) applications, such as periods of validity, appeals, and public notification requirements, into one Division of the Code. This reduced unintended duplications, and made review procedures more rigorous, consistent, and efficient. The UDO contains new content-neutral sign regulations to enhance the pedestrian environment at appropriate locations, as well as landscaping requirements, enhanced street design requirements, and improved parking, loading, and site access requirements. In addition, the KKC team integrated new bufferyard provisions in order to mitigate potential adverse impacts of new developments on neighboring properties. In order to help decrease development expense, increase walkability, and offset the heat island effect of large paved areas, KKC introduced maximum parking requirements and ample opportunities for parking credits into the UDO. These strides, coupled with new bicycle parking provisions and enhanced sidewalk and trail standards, are makingManhattan a place of easier quality development, valued community character, and where citizens and visitors can enjoy multiple modes of travel. The project was completed in November 2018.
