In a marathon, ten-hour meeting Tuesday, Wichita City Council members heard an update and review of a plan to convert to paid parking downtown, as they held their second hearing on the city’s budget for 2025. Assistant City Manager Troy Anderson said the plan to go to a paid system is part of a parking and multimodal plan that was adopted by the Council in 2023. He said the city’s parking fund can cover basic operations but it’s not providing enough to cover needed maintenance and repair of parking garages and facilities. A parking fee is expected to generate over $3 million a year, and it would provide for lighting, security and safety improvements as well as maintenance needs. Anderson said the fee that has been discussed would be in a range of 75 cents to two dollars an hour, based on the recovery of maintenance and operational costs, credit card fees and best practices. He said businesses downtown would have options for providing parking for their employees. The city has received some pushback from residents over the plan, and a number of informational meetings have been scheduled over the next few weeks to get public input. The plan is scheduled to go into effect on January 1st, 2025.
Source: 101.3 KFDI

Sedgwick County Commissioners have delayed action on zoning regulations that would cover large-scale solar projects. Commissioners heard reports at their regular meeting Wednesday on proposed amendments to the Unified Zoning Code on definitions, standards and requirements for commercial solar systems. The county also hired the Virginia firm of The Berkley Group to look over the proposed regulations and look at best practices across the country. Michael Zehner, a representative from the Berkley Group, said the goal is to ensure that Solar Energy Conversion System developments meet community needs and are consistent with best practices. The regulations would prohibit large solar projects in urban growth areas, and projects could be no closer than two miles from another solar project. There would also be definitions and standards for construction, solar equipment, groundwater testing and other factors. Commissioners also heard public comments with mixed reactions to the prospect of having solar facilities in unincorporated areas of the county.
Source: 101.3 KFDI