The public will soon be able to provide input on what developments they would like to see in low-income areas of the city that have been designated as federal opportunity zones. There are two Lawrence census tracts designated as opportunity zones, and developments within their limits are eligible for tax incentives under a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. One of the opportunity zones encompasses all or part of three eastern Lawrence neighborhoods, and neighborhood groups have pressed for more local discussion and input regarding the program. Read more: LJWorld.com.

The Douglas County Commission didn’t suggest any changes to a proposed comprehensive plan for the county and the City of Lawrence at a Wednesday work session, and one commissioner praised the plan’s focus on preserving rural areas. Wednesday’s session was the commission’s first look at the plan, known as Plan 2040, which outlines how the city and county will consider development and land use in the future. The commission hasn’t voted on the plan yet — it’s tentatively scheduled to do so during its next meeting on Oct. 16 — but commissioners said they were pleased with the work that had [...]

A local tourism leader is asking that the Lawrence City Commission closely consider whether recent shifts in how the city spends an additional sales tax charged to Lawrence visitors are appropriate. As part of its study session Tuesday, the commission discussed its recent allocation of transient guest tax funds at the request of Explore Lawrence, the travel and tourism organization for Lawrence and Douglas County. Explore Lawrence Executive Director Michael Davidson said that in recent years the city had made several changes to how those funds were spent. Read more: LJWorld.com.