# Planning Commission Meeting - January 12, 2012 > Auto-transcribed civic record · January 12, 2012 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/2335 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/2335?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2012-01-12 - **Last revised**: July 17, 2026 - **Length**: 2,667 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed with OpenAI's open-source Whisper large-v3-turbo model, run locally by The Lexington Times. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude. Verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Urban County Planning Commission met on January 12, 2012, at 1:42 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Urban County Government Building located at 200 East Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky. Mike Cravens presided over the meeting, which included seven agenda items and resulted in seven motions and votes. The Commission approved the minutes from the previous meeting and considered postponements or withdrawals. Among substantive matters, the Commission approved the Consent Agenda item PLAN 2012-1F concerning the GESS Property, Unit 8-A, and voted to approve performance bonds and letters of credit. The Commission also conducted an election of officers and voted to delegate the secretary's duties. One public comment was heard during the meeting. The final agenda item consisted of staff items presented for informational purposes. ## Attendance **Present:** - Mike Cravens - Eunice Beatty - Carla Blanton - Derek Paulsen - William Wilson - Will Berkley **Absent:** - Patrick Brewer - Marie Copeland - Mike Owens - Frank Penn - Lynn Roche-Phillips **Late:** None reported. ## Votes and Decisions **Approval of November 10, 2011 Meeting Minutes** [timestamp: 0:13:31] Motion by Mr. Wilson, seconded by Mr. Paulsen. The minutes from the November 10, 2011 meeting passed by voice vote with 6 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 abstention. Those voting in favor were Mike Cravens, Eunice Beatty, Carla Blanton, Derek Paulsen, William Wilson, and Will Berkley. **Withdrawal of BOAR 2011-2: Kathy and Shailendra Chopra Appeal** [timestamp: 0:14:56] The appeal was withdrawn by voice vote with 6 ayes and 0 nays. All members present voted in favor: Mike Cravens, Eunice Beatty, Carla Blanton, Derek Paulsen, William Wilson, and Will Berkley. **Postponement of DP 2011-97: Liggett & Company Development Plan** [timestamp: 0:15:37] Motion by Ms. Beatty, seconded by Mr. Wilson. The development plan was postponed to February 9, 2012 by voice vote with 6 ayes and 0 nays. All members voted in favor. **Approval of PLAN 2012-1F: GESS Property, Unit 8-A** [timestamp: 0:16:47] Motion by Mr. Paulsen, seconded by Ms. Beatty. This consent agenda item passed by voice vote with 6 ayes, 0 nays, and 1 abstention. Approval was conditional upon acceptance and approval from the Urban County Engineer, Urban County Traffic Engineer, Building Inspection, Addressing Office, Urban Forester, Greenspace Planner, and the Division of Planning regarding utility easements, street light easements, and exactions. **Approval of Bond Release and Call** [timestamp: 0:17:59] Motion by Mr. Paulsen, seconded by Mr. Wilson. The release and call of bonds as detailed in the memorandum from Ron St. Clair, Division of Engineering, passed by voice vote with 6 ayes and 0 nays. **Approval of Planning Commission's Slate of Officers** [timestamp: 0:32:51] Motion by Ms. Beatty, seconded by Ms. Blanton. The Nominating Committee's slate of officers passed by voice vote with 4 ayes and 2 nays. Voting in favor were Mike Cravens, Eunice Beatty, Carla Blanton, and Derek Paulsen. Voting against were William Wilson and Will Berkley. **Delegation of Secretary's Duties** [timestamp: 0:34:58] Motion by Mr. Paulsen, seconded by Mr. Wilson. The delegation of Secretary's duties to the Director of the Division of Planning and his staff (except for signing minutes) passed by voice vote with 6 ayes and 0 nays. ## Public Comment [timestamp: 36:06] Staff announced that demolition of the Phoenix Garage would begin, which would result in the closure of Water Street access to the government building through the end of February. Commission members were advised to use the front entrance during this period and would receive an email with parking updates. ## Appointments The following individuals were appointed to the Urban County Planning Commission: * Derek Paulsen * Mike Cravens * Lynn Roche-Phillips * William Wilson ## Contested Items **Election of Planning Commission Officers** The election of Planning Commission officers became a point of contention during the meeting due to low attendance among members. The dispute centered on a procedural question: whether the commission should proceed with the election under its existing bylaws or postpone the vote until a later date when more members could be present. Members were divided on this issue, with disagreement emerging over the proper interpretation and application of the bylaws. The procedural dispute was further complicated when the initial vote on the election resulted in a tie, which prompted debate about parliamentary procedure, potential conflicts within the bylaws themselves, and the extent of the Chair's authority to adjourn the meeting or reconvene it at a different time. The disagreement touched on fundamental questions of governance: whether proceeding with a vote despite low attendance was consistent with the commission's bylaws, and whether the Chair had the power to manage the meeting's continuation or adjournment unilaterally. The contested matter was ultimately resolved through a second vote, which provided a path forward and settled the question of how the election would proceed. ## Approval of Minutes The minutes from the November 10, 2011, meeting were presented for approval. [timestamp: 00:13:31] Mr. Wilson and Mr. Paulsen participated in the discussion of the minutes. The minutes were approved by voice vote without opposition. ## Postponements or Withdrawals [timestamp: 14:56] The Commission addressed two items regarding postponements and withdrawals during this agenda item. **Actions Taken:** The Commission accepted the withdrawal of BOAR 2011-2 by voice vote. Additionally, the Commission approved the postponement of DP 2011-97 to the February 9, 2012, meeting, also by voice vote. **Key Participants:** Ms. Rackers and Mr. Martin were the key speakers on this agenda item. **Outcome:** Both the withdrawal and postponement were approved. ## Consent Agenda: PLAN 2012-1F: GESS Property, Unit 8-A [timestamp: 0:16:47] PLAN 2012-1F for the GESS Property, Unit 8-A was presented as a consent agenda item and approved without discussion. Mr. Sallee presented the plan, which had received a recommendation from the Subdivision Committee prior to the meeting. The plan was approved as a no-discussion item, indicating it met the criteria for streamlined consent agenda processing. No objections were raised by either audience members or Commission members during the meeting. Conditions were attached to the approval by various departments as part of the standard approval process. **Outcome:** Approved ## Performance Bonds and Letters of Credit The Commission considered the release and call of performance bonds and letters of credit as presented by Ron St. Clair [timestamp: 0:17:59]. The item was based on a memorandum from the Division of Engineering detailing the specific bonds to be released and called. No discussion occurred during the presentation. The Commission approved the release and call of bonds as outlined in the Division of Engineering memorandum without raising concerns or requesting additional information. ## Election of Officers The Commission addressed the election of officers, beginning at approximately [timestamp: 00:19:05]. The process encountered procedural challenges due to low attendance at the meeting. **Key Speakers and Discussion** Ms. Blanton, Mr. Cravens, Mr. Wilson, and Ms. Boland participated in the discussion regarding officer elections. **Procedural Issues** The Commission faced complications in conducting the election that centered on bylaw compliance. A tied vote occurred during the election process, requiring further deliberation before a resolution could be reached. **Outcome** The nominating committee's slate of officers was ultimately approved by a vote of 4-2. **Future Action** The Chair noted the need to address bylaw changes in a future work session to prevent similar procedural challenges in subsequent officer elections. ## Delegation of Secretary's Duties The Commission discussed the delegation of the Secretary's duties during this agenda item [timestamp: 0:34:58]. **Key Speakers** Mr. Paulsen and Mr. Wilson participated in this discussion. **Action Taken** The Commission voted to delegate the Secretary's duties to the Director of the Division of Planning and his staff. The delegation specifically excluded the responsibility for signing minutes. The vote passed with no opposition. ## Staff Items [timestamp: 36:06] Mr. King presented staff items to the board, focusing on upcoming operational matters affecting the government building. **Key Announcements:** - An upcoming work session was announced for staff - The Phoenix Garage is scheduled for demolition, which will impact access to the government building - Alternative parking arrangements will be necessary during the demolition period **Outcome:** This was an informational presentation with no formal action required. The announcements were made to ensure staff and board members were aware of the upcoming changes to building access and parking availability. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (6-0): Approval of the minutes from the November 10, 2011, meeting - **Motion** — withdrawn (6-0): Withdrawal of BOAR 2011-2: Kathy and Shailendra Chopra appeal - **Motion** — postponed (6-0): Postponement of DP 2011-97: Liggett & Company development plan to February 9, 2012 - **Motion** — passed (6-0): Approval of PLAN 2012-1F: GESS Property, Unit 8-A (Consent Agenda item) - **Motion** — passed (6-0): Approval of release and call of bonds as detailed in memorandum from Ron St. Clair, Division of Engineering - **Motion** — passed (4-2): Approval of the Planning Commission’s Slate of Officers as presented by the Nominating Committee - **Motion** — passed (6-0): Delegation of Secretary’s duties to the Director of the Division of Planning and his staff (except signing minutes) --- ## Full transcript The Thank you. THE END Thank you. The End Thank you. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The End ORGAN PLAYS ¶¶ ¶¶ ORCHESTRA PLAYS Thank you. ¶¶ The End First on the agenda is approval of the minutes from November the 10th, 2011. Mr. Chairman, I recommend approval. Okay, we have a motion for approval by Mr. Wilson. Do we have a second? Second. Second by Derek. Everybody vote. I haven't even checked in. Thank you. It shows she voted. It shows she voted. Oh, there you go. Yeah, she voted for me. Okay. Okay, motion carries. All right, next, do we have any postponements or withdrawals? Mr. Chair, we have on page two of your agenda, the BOAR appeal has been withdrawn. We've got a letter of withdrawal for that. Okay. Do we need a motion on that? If you want to. You don't need to. Okay. Except the withdrawal. That's withdrawn. Okay. Do we have any other postponements? Mr. Chairman, item A under development plans on the front page of your agenda, DP 2011-97 Liggett & Company. This is property located at 1211 Manchester Street. Staff did receive an email communication from the applicant requesting a one-month postponement to your February 9th meeting. Okay, very well. Is there anyone in the audience who wants to speak to this? Okay, seeing none, can we have a motion for postponement? I move that we postpone DP 2011-97, Linden and Company, until the date of February the 9th of 2012. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second to postpone DP 2011-97. Everybody vote when you can. And motion carries. All right, next to Mr. Sally. Mr. Chairman, your one remaining subdivision item does qualify for approval at this time as a no discussion item. It is recommended for approval by your subdivision committee. It appears on page 1 of your agenda plan, 2012-1F, Guest Property Unit 8A. This is for property located at 840 Hayes Boulevard. Unless a member of the audience or a member of the Planning Commission would like to discuss this, you could consider approving this plan per the recommendation of your subdivision committee at this time. Thank you. Okay, very good. Is there anybody in the audience who wishes to speak to this? Okay. Any commissioners want to see it? All right. So then let's move it. Make a motion for approval of Plan 2012-1F guest property. Very good. Okay, do we have a second by Ms. Beatty? Everybody vote when you can. That motion carries. All right, we have next the performance bonds and letters of credit. We get a motion. Thank you. Approve the release of call and bonds, yes. Approve the release. And call the bonds. And calls for bonds. Okay, we have a motion to release and call the bonds, and we have a second. Everybody vote when you can. That motion carries. All right. Now we're down to the election of officers. Do we have a report from the nominating committee? Yes, we do. The nominating committee met and has the recommended slate as well as a couple recommendations for bylaws changes to be taken up at a future work session meeting. Do you have a preference on what we take up first? Let's take the slate first. Okay. For the slate, the chair, Derek Paulson, vice chair, Mike Cravens, secretary, Lynn Phillips, and parliamentarian, Bill Wilson. You did such a good job, Bill, in the list. Could you repeat that? Could you repeat that? So I make a motion on behalf of the nominating committee for the slate of Chair Derek Paulson, Vice Chair Mike Cravens, Secretary Lynn Phillips, Parliamentarian Bill Wilson. All right. Is that your motion? All right. Yes. Do we have a second? Second. All right. We have a second. Do we have any discussion? All right. One other thing. Do we have any nominations from the floor? Okay. Seeing none. I would like to make some comments first before we do any nominations. It seems with so many of our other members absent today that if there was a way we might be able to postpone our vote. If not, I'd like to discuss maybe keeping the slate in place, the existing slate that we have right now, versus bringing in a new slate at this time. All right. Well, we have a motion and a second. And so we can discuss that motion. If we're in the discussion on this current motion, could we have, if Will's comment about the delay, Could we have someone from staff or legal tell us whether or not we can, since we have so many commission members absent? Because we haven't had an opportunity to, I mean, this is the first time we've had the names of the slate as well. I mean, if we can't, I'm okay with that, but can someone advise us? Your bylaws say that the election shall be held at the first meeting in January. So technically, to postpone it would be a violation of your bylaws. Beyond that, I mean, you have to have a quorum to act, and I guess the solution if you just simply failed to act today would be to have an election later. I mean, I don't know what other solution there would be, But technically, not having the election today is a violation of your bylaws as they currently stand. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Any other discussion on this motion? All right. Let's vote. It's time to vote that motion fails. All right, so we need another. Here's what I would, here's what I've agreed that I might do is, you didn't get to make a second part of your report. You want to make that and that'll. We wanted to recommend a couple of bylaws changes to be taken up at a future work session meeting. One would be to change the election from a slate of officers to vote individually for each position. And then the second would be to move the voting for officers to July to align with the regular terms of the commission members. So in the future we don't have a gap of somebody who's been elected to the chair, one of the officer positions, not being re-nominated to the commission and then having a gap there. Okay. And what I would be willing to do is, so that we can get this bylaw change in effect and get back on track to that, is to serve another, if somebody would nominate me for another six months. And meanwhile, I mean, you have to elect the officer for a year. That's the bylaw. But at the end of the six months, if we get the July, if we get the bylaw changed and in effect, then at that time I would resign as chair and we would elect the new slate officers at that time. That's just six months from now. And that way we would get on that six-month, instead of being on a six-month election every time, we would get on that annual election if we change the bylaw to that. Mr. Chair, may I ask a question related to the comprehensive plan? I keep forgetting about where we are related to the comprehensive plan. Are we going to be in the thick of things in July? Are we going to be just beginning to get our act together on that? Where will we be? We expect that you will be in the middle of working on the remaining elements of the comprehensive plan. We are anticipating that the council on the schedule that they announced will complete their work on the goals and objectives by about March. We are continuing to do staff work and prepare for the remaining elements, but we feel that you cannot and should not adopt any other elements and things like that until the goals and objectives are passed by Council. Yes, you are going to be very busy with the comprehensive plan for the remainder of this year. Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a motion that we have a slate that would resemble our existing chair make-up. Mike Craven's chairperson, Mike Owens, vice chair, Len Roche-Phillips, secretary, and Patrick Brewer, parliamentarian. All right. Very good. We have a motion to adopt the current slate of officers to reelect them. Do we have a second? Okay. That motion dies for lack of a second. I have a procedural question. When a motion is voted in a tie, how do we handle that as a commission? And is there anything in our bylaws that states whether the chair refrains from voting and breaks the tie vote? Well, do you want to handle it? You can take it. When there's a tie vote, the motion fails. And the chair may vote if his vote changes the outcome of the motion. So if it were 3 to 2, then I vote. My vote causes the motion to fail. But I thought you voted, so it was 3 to 3. I did vote, but if I had just not voted, it's 3 to 2, then I hit the button to vote. Okay, I'm with you. My vote causes the motion. And, Mr. Chairman, according to parliamentary procedures, the chairman can always vote on any motion, either to break a tie or to produce a tie. That's right. It can be done. And that's what I did. I caused at the time. That's true. Mr. Chairman, if I could, let me tell you why I voted the way I did. Maybe it'll help. First of all, I thought the comment by my colleague who indicated that we didn't have a whole lot of committee members here, I thought was appropriate in the sense that to have an election with just barely enough people. So my vote was not necessarily either for or against the setting agenda. It was the idea is that I would like to have more of my colleagues here to vote one way or the other. Now that we... Well, our colleagues should have been here if they wanted to be involved in this. We're here. We've all got other things to do. So our bylaws state that we have to adopt a slate. Now, I don't know if we get sued, if we bust the bylaws or not, but somebody could challenge it, I guess. Well, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to raise one issue. As I look at it, we are already in conflict with our bylaws anyhow because according to the bylaws, we are to have, I think it's four elected officers. According to parliamentary procedure, you do not elect a parliamentarian. You appoint one. That's parliamentary procedure. So your parliamentary procedure is already in conflict with your constitutional bylaws. I thought I'd just point that out. You know, there's probably some disagreement on that. Our bylaws state that we are to vote for a parliamentarian, and that should probably all supersede, I think it says that in here somewhere, Roberts. If that's the will of the body, you're right. If what we're saying is that right now we're at a tie vote, if in effect we went back to the original motion, that could be put on the table again with the hopes that someone would change their vote to get the election done, if that's the case. If not... I think at this point, I mean, the bylaws may dictate what you're supposed to do procedurally, but I think at this point the chairperson could make a determination that based on the actions of the members who are here, it is impossible to proceed to finalize any election at this time. I mean, you obviously attempted to comply with your bylaws, and a motion was made. And based on that, I think you could now say we will attempt it again at our next regular official meeting. All right. Is that where we're at? We can vote again, and I'll break the tie. Well, so, somebody has to make a motion to, if you want to vote again, that voted the last time. Depending on which motion you're talking about, I don't know which motion you're talking about. I am. Okay. I would like to move that we accept the election of officers as submitted by the nomination committee. Second. Okay. We have a motion. You voted in the affirmative the last time, okay, so you can do that. No. Okay. It's not going to work. It's going to come out the same way. Somebody else might break it. Mike, did we have to make a motion for you to be able to just say let's pay for the next meeting, or can you do that? No, I can rule. I'll do that. Then I'll withdraw my motion. Okay. I'm sorry, it's been second, so I don't know if I can or not. Yeah, you can. Okay. Will you un-second that? I would like, I mean, I appreciate the fact that we don't have as many people here as we would like, but the bylaws state that we just need a majority. I think it's worth one more vote, and then if we can't, then let's move on. But I feel like we have a duty to vote today because that's what our current bylaws say, and if we don't like our current bylaws, then we should come back and address those. Okay, so we have a motion on the floor to, I think it was to accept the nominations committee slate by Ms. Beatty, and it was seconded by Carla. All right, everybody vote. Okay. That motion carries. All right. Do we have anything else? Mr. Chairman, the delegation of the secretarial duties on page 2. Usually the commission makes a motion to delegate the secretarial duties to the staff. Oh, okay. Director and staff. All right. We need a motion to delegate the secretary's duties to the staff. It's written down below there. I make a motion to delegate the Secretary's duties to the staff. To the Director or SI then. To the Director of the Division of Planning. Is that fair? Right. Okay. Well, I second whatever it is. Anybody have a second? I second. All right. I have a second. Everybody vote. I want to be funny if this one is here. Yes. That motion carries. Thank you. Those duties are delegated. Anything else? Do we need to make a motion about the bylaws issues before a work session, or can we just make that request of staff to add it to a future agenda? Based on the conversation, I was going to put it on the agenda for your work session next week, and then you can decide what you want to do about it. Thank you. All right. The only other announcement I wanted to make just for the commission, we received notice this week that demolition is going to begin soon on the garage, Phoenix Garage over there, which means that Water Street will be completely closed. And therefore, and we will send you an email to remind you of this, that through probably the end of February, you will need to access through the Main Street entrance to come here for your meetings. and to park. The pedestrian doors and the large doors in the rear will be closed and not be opened. All right. Very good. Do we have a motion for adjournment? So moved. A motion to adjourn. A second? Second. Second. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you. Party people all around me feeling hot, hot, hot What to do on a night like this? Music sweet, I can't resist We need a party song A fundamental jam So we're a boom, boom, boom, boom Let me roam, roam, roam Ole, ole, ole, ole Ole, ole, ole, ole Let me roam, roam, roam