Douglas County planners outline Plan 2040, permit workload and enforcement priorities

At a Wednesday, April 23 work session, Douglas County zoning and codes staff and the City of Lawrence planning director briefed the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners on Plan 2040, current permit workloads and enforcement priorities, and identified several items staff will return with for possible policy or fee changes.

The presentation, led by Tanya Voigt, Douglas County zoning and codes director, and Jeff Crick, planning director for the City of Lawrence, summarized how the joint planning department handles roughly 200–400 planning applications a year, the 30 application types processed through the online EPL portal, and the division of duties between city and county review bodies. "We intentionally wrote [Plan 2040] from county lines in," Crick said, describing the plan as a county‑wide guiding land use document that incorporates a dozen specific land use plans and many referenced plans.

Why it matters: Plan 2040 guides decisions on rezoning, subdivisions and conditional uses across Douglas County and the City of Lawrence. The briefing flagged operational pressures — high volumes of deed and parcel research for unplatted rural parcels, routine enforcement tasks, and pending regulations — that affect residents, property buyers and businesses.

Key details from the briefing: - Joint department and process: The joint planning commission has 10 members (five city and five…