THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Community
On a clear day, you can see Eudora
By RANDY SEBA
Kansans are getting a new look at the land they live on from 800 miles high in the sky. An American satellite has been circling the earth for the last four years and recording information that is translated into pictures Kansans can use to make decisions about their land and its resources.
The satellite is Landsat-1 and was joined last year by LandSat-2. They record light reflected from the earth's surface in red, green or infrared frequencies. The data are transferred on earth as pictures of land 115 miles to a side.
Land features in the pictures have to be fairly large to show up. Lakes begin to show when they cover three to five acres and fields have to cover 20 to 40 acres to be visible.
FOR KANSANS, the satellite information is handled and interpreted by the Satellite Ap-1 system.
Center on West Campus, NASA funds the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing program (KARS), which uses the satellite information high and low level aerial photographs to help federal, state and local government agencies make decisions about urban habitats and land uses in urban and rural areas.
The lab receives four satellite pictures of Kansas each year which show changes in grasslands, croplands, woods, water bodies and other surface features. The pictures are made from reflected green light, so croplands usually are very dark. We also find undersiding lines paralleled by lines of dark foliage.
From these satellite pictures, shifts in vegetation growth can be monitored because different kinds of vegetation reproduce in varying shades of gray. The laboratory can interpret the areas of large changes for closer inspection by aerial photography.
The KARS Program is headed by B. G. Barr, professor of engineering and director of the Space Technology Center. Barr said 40 to 50 projects have been handled by the program during its four year operation. Government agencies at all levels have been helped, he said.
ONE SUCH agency is the Douglas County Planning Department, for which a land use study is being made. The Kansas Forest, Fish and Game Commission; Kansas Park and Resources Department; Michigan Department of Planning and Development are other agencies receiving KARS help this year.
The land use study for Douglas County will be part of a long range planning report involving lands outside of city limits. The first part of the study was completed May 1 from high altitude aerial photos as well as maps, features such as agricultural lands, rangelands, grasslands and forests are shown on the maps.
The second part of the study will be made from low level photographs made by the Satellite Applications Laboratory. This part of the study is to be provided with details of the features in the first map.
Douglas County plans to use the land use study as part of a report for the county's future. The report will be a set of long range recommendations to guide future planning and development. The report should be finished in two or three years.
DEANNE VIEUX, an employee in long range planning, said that eventually Douglas County and Lawrence would have long range plans for orderly growth and optimal use of land.
Vieux said that citizens of the county should be mindful of what is happening in infidelity and being forced on the people.
what the people in Douglas County want to see done." Virus said. "The plan is being done with the people in Douglas County."
"There really is an effort being made to find out
Vieux said the land use study would probably be used to decide how land should be used in the future. Subdivision of land for building or expansion into agricultural lands are two possibilities.
IN SUCH cases, local government could refer to the study to see what kind of land a proposed building site would be on. The land might be too swampy in wet weather or it could be prime
"It may be that the land is extremely rich agricultural land so it might be better not to build there and save the land for agriculture," Vieux said.
Vieux said the study could also be used as a basis for changing zoning laws if the city grows in new areas.
Tenants gain from recent law
By ALEXIS WAGNER
Last year the state's renters and rentees had their boundaries redefined when the Kansas Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RLTA) became law July 1, 1975.
Before then, common-law rules were used to remedy landlord-tenant disputes unless a specific stature applied. There had been no laws covering all aspects of landlord-tenant relations, but few tenants were aware of what the common laws were or what rights they, as renters, possessed.
Terry Schackmann, a student director at Douglass County Legal Aid Society, said that it was too early to tell whether the RLAI would have a significant effect on the number of complaints made by renters about landlords. He said that when provisions become more widely known, and tenants became less likely to rely on the Legal Aid Society would probably receive more requests for advice from unhappy renters.
*MORE PEOPLE will be willing advice because they know about the law and will want to see what happens in court.
Fred Six, a lawyer and landlord in Lawrence, said that the RLTA was a fair law.
Six said that because he was landlord of a small unit, the LRTA hadn't made any changes in the way he ran.
"I think it has been helpful and has had a salutary effect on landlord-tenant relations," he said.
"MY PERSONAL philosophy is that the tenant is always right. Whatever their position, my tenant is always right."
Under the RLTA, both landlords and tenants have certain obligations that must be met for the rental
The following are provisions outlined by the RLTA. Most of the information was taken from a
Rental Housing Handbook, available from the Consumer Affairs Association, in the Kansas Union
LEASING AN APARTMENT-Tenants should watch for provisions in a rental agreement that waive guaranteed rights. The RLTA states that no rental agreement can provide that: the tenant will wave any of his rights; pay all attorney's fees if a dispute is taken to court, absolve the landlord from responsibility; or absolve the landlord from responsibility for basic maintenance.
Although both written and oral agreements are legally binding, it is wise to have all agreements in writing.
'But tenants are expected to return the unit as they found it.'
To be valid, a lease must contain a description of
Tenants must agree in writing to any new rules the landlord proposes after the lease has been held.
the premises, the specified period of leasing and the amount of rent to be paid.
IF THE TENrant violates any rules and the landlord
it take any action, he waits the right to sue or
even if he has not.
RIGHT TO ENTER—Only after giving reasonable notice can a landlord enter a tenant's unit to make repairs or to show it to prospective tenants.
The landlord can enter without consent only in emergencies.
DEPOSITS-Before paying a security deposit, tenants should find out exactly what the deposit is
for and under what circumstances it will be refunded.
Landlords can withhold the security deposit if the unit has been damaged beyond normal wear. If the tenant has met all the obligations outlined in the lease, the full deposit must be returned.
If a landlord withholds a portion of the security deposit, the balance must be returned within 14 days after the damages are determined. Under the landlord's decision, the deposit will be longer than 30 days after the tenant moves out.
If the landlord does not send the deposit back or takes more than 30 days to do so, the tenant can recover what is owed from the previous, plus one and one-half times that amount in damages.
Tenants cannot use the security deposit to pay the last month's rent. If a tenant does this, the RLA says that the landlord can keep the deposit and sue for the unpaid rent.
DAMAGES- Tenants are expected to return the unit to the landlord in the condition in which they
Kansas law requires landlords and tenants to jointly complete an inventory of the unit within five days of occupancy. Duplicate copies of the inventory should be kept by both parties, and a copy should be kept by both parties.
REPAIRS- It is the responsibility of the landlord to maintain his property in compliance with city codes.
In the kitchen there must be a sink in good working condition with adequate hot and cold
Bathrooms must contain a properly working toilet and a bath tub or shower with adequately hot and cold water.
Heating units must be capable of maintaining temperatures of 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
See TENANTS page 2
Index
There's a community that skirts the foot of M1. Oread. It's called Lawrence, and many students at the University know it only as a place to get a check cashed or a place to take Mother and Daddy on those special weekend excursions.
Not so. The Lawrence community is an interesting, vital place that offers the student many services and sources of entertainment of which he should be aware.
Into the act steps the Kansan. This Community section of the Back-to-School paper valiantly attempts to acquaint the student reader with the town that surrounds him. From the places that wash your dirty linens to the people who care for your children—the community is laid out before you in the inside pages.
Craft Co-op 2
Child Care 3
Laundromats 5
Trailer Courts 6
Community Arts Center 9
Sister Kettle 11
New Businesses 11