After not accepting a potential wind energy agreement last year, city leaders will look more closely at how much money the city might save by switching to wind energy. As part of its work session Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will review a cost-benefit analysis of a wind energy agreement that Westar Energy previously offered the city and the city was criticized for not accepting. The consultants, Black & Veatch Corporation, completed the analysis and accompanying energy assessment, which determined such an agreement would save the city more than $100,000 annually based on the parameters of the agreement and the city’s [...]

Lawrence city commissioners indicated Tuesday that they are interested in making significant changes to the way the city handles certain Airbnb properties and other short-term rentals. As part of its work session Tuesday, the commission discussed replacing the recently established permitting process for whole-home short-term rentals, where the property owner lives elsewhere. As currently set up, the permits run with the land and could remain in place permanently, even when ownership of the property changes. The short-term rental regulations were created last year, but in March of this year, the commission expressed concerns about the permitting process and voted to defer [...]