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Lawrence commission adopts TIF district and KU Gateway STAR Bond despite resident concerns
Summary
The City Commission adopted a Tax Increment Financing redevelopment district and approved the KU Gateway STAR Bond project district on second and final reading after public comment raised concerns about district boundaries, timing relative to stadium reconstruction and exclusion of a proposed hotel from a community development district.
The Lawrence City Commission adopted on second and final reading an ordinance establishing a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Redevelopment District and a separate ordinance creating the KU Gateway STAR Bond project district on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. The TIF ordinance passed unanimously; the STAR Bond ordinance passed 4-1, with Commissioner Sellers opposed.
The measures formalize financing districts tied to the KU Gateway project and authorize city participation in the debt and tax-sharing mechanisms that will be used to fund infrastructure and redevelopment in the Gateway area, including an allocation described in the project materials to seed a special project fund for infrastructure and the Jayhawk Watershed Project.
Resident Marcy Francisco, who submitted written comments and spoke during public comment, told the commission she “pointed out four concerns” and urged changes to clarify how the districts would mitigate impacts tied both to the phase-out of state food sales taxes and to the timing of Memorial Stadium reconstruction. Francisco also questioned why a proposed new hotel is excluded from the community development district while students, faculty and staff could be subject to the district’s tax, and suggested that the commission retain leverage by delaying final boundary establishment to preserve negotiating flexibility for the memorandum of understanding.
Commissioners moved two separate adoption motions. The ordinance establishing the TIF Redevelopment District (Ordinance No. 10139) was adopted on second and final reading by a 5-0 vote; the ordinance establishing the KU Gateway STAR Bond District (Ordinance No. 10140) was adopted on second and final reading by a 4-1 vote, with Sellers recorded as opposing. The motions were made and seconded from the dais and recorded during the consent agenda vote sequence.
City staff and applicants were not asked to offer specific redrafts during the vote; Francisco asked the commission to add language requiring negotiation with the community advisory committee on aspects of the stadium expansion and to consider phase timing as part of district boundary decisions. The commission did not amend the ordinances on the floor at Tuesday’s meeting.
The ordinances now in place enable the city to proceed with the next steps of implementing the Gateway financing and with future memoranda of understanding tied to project phasing and infrastructure spending.
