# Urban County Council - Zoning Public Hearing - August 18, 2015 > Auto-transcribed civic record · August 18, 2015 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/3744 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/3744?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2015-08-18 - **Last revised**: July 15, 2026 - **Length**: 10,308 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 Council met on August 18, 2015, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, 200 E. Main St, Lexington, KY 40507. Steve Kay presided over the meeting. The council took action on one agenda item: an ordinance to change the zoning of property at 3900 Boston Rd from a Professional Office (P-1) zone to a Planned Neighborhood Residential (R-3) zone, which was approved. During the meeting, the council took 2 votes and heard 2 public comments. ## Attendance **Present:** Evans, Farmer, Gibbs, Kay, Lamb, Moloney, Mossotti, Scutchfield, Stinnett, Bledsoe, F. Brown, and J. Brown **Absent:** Henson and Akers **Late:** None reported ## Votes and Decisions **Ordinance 0799-15: Zone Change for 3900 Boston Rd.** [timestamp: 1:13:57] The Planning Commission voted to change the zoning designation for property at 3900 Boston Rd. from Professional Office (P-1) zone to Planned Neighborhood Residential (R-3) zone. Motion by Mossotti, seconded by Farmer. The ordinance passed by roll call vote with 12 ayes and 0 nays. Voting in favor: Evans, Farmer, Gibbs, Kay, Lamb, Moloney, Mossotti, Scutchfield, Stinnett, Bledsoe, F. Brown, and J. Brown. The zone change is subject to approval and certification of ZDP 2015-25: Ted R. Osborn & Thomas Wood Property/Millpond, Unit 1-B, Section 2A (formerly known as Willow Oak) prior to forwarding a recommendation to the Urban County Council. This certification must be accomplished within two weeks of the Planning Commission's approval. **Adoption of Findings of Fact for Ordinance 0799-15** [timestamp: 1:12:53] The Planning Commission voted to adopt the findings of fact in support of the zone change request. Motion by Mossotti, seconded by Farmer. The adoption passed by roll call vote with 12 ayes and 0 nays. Voting in favor: Evans, Farmer, Gibbs, Kay, Lamb, Moloney, Mossotti, Scutchfield, Stinnett, Bledsoe, F. Brown, and J. Brown. ## Public Comment Two residents provided public comments during the meeting, addressing concerns about environmental impacts and neighborhood effects of a proposed development. **Donna Kwon** [timestamp: 0:43:23] spoke about environmental and green space concerns. She expressed concern about the impact of construction on a nearby pond that has been recently restored. Kwon emphasized the importance of preserving the natural habitat and wildlife in the area, specifically mentioning turtles and herons. **Stephanie Follensbee** [timestamp: 0:48:29] addressed home value and neighborhood impact concerns. She voiced concern that the development could reduce property values in her neighborhood and expressed fear about the loss of green space and trees. Follensbee noted that these natural features are vital to her home's equity and long-term retirement plans. ## Contested Items **Environmental and Neighborhood Impact of Development** Two residents from the Willow Oak subdivision expressed opposition to a proposed development project, citing concerns about environmental and neighborhood impacts. The residents raised specific objections regarding potential degradation of a nearby pond, loss of green space in the area, and negative effects on local wildlife. The applicant responded to these concerns by committing to additional screening measures and environmental protections as part of the project. Despite these commitments, the residents maintained their opposition to the development proposal. The contested issue centered on whether the applicant's proposed environmental safeguards would be sufficient to mitigate the community's concerns about habitat loss and ecological impacts in the Willow Oak subdivision area. ## Ordinance changing the zone from a Professional Office (P-1) zone to a Planned Neighborhood Residential (R-3) zone for property at 3900 Boston Rd. The Urban County Council held a public hearing on a zone change request for 1.3385 net acres located at 3900 Boston Rd. [timestamp: 0:09:46]. The proposal sought to rezone the property from Professional Office (P-1) to Planned Neighborhood Residential (R-3) to accommodate a residential development. **Presentations and Proposal Details** The Division of Planning presented the zone change request, followed by the applicant Boston Rd., LLC. The proposed development included 25 townhouse units and two single-family homes. The applicant made extensive commitments to project design and site management, including screening, fencing, and stormwater management measures that exceeded regulatory requirements. **Key Speakers** The discussion involved presentations from Bill Sallee, Bruce Simpson, Donna Kwon, and Stephanie Follensbee. Two objectors also presented concerns during the public hearing portion. **Outcome** The ordinance was approved by the Urban County Council. --- ## Decisions - **0799-15** — passed (12-0): An Ordinance changing the zone from a Professional Office (P-1) zone to a Planned Neighborhood Residential (R-3) zone for property at 3900 Boston Rd. - **0799-15** — passed (12-0): Adoption of findings of fact from the Planning Commission in support of the zone change request. --- ## Full transcript Music Thank you. I'd like to get started. Guaranteed. Welcome, everybody. Steve Kay, Vice Mayor, I'll be chairing this meeting. And I have some rules, regulations, and information that I need to go over at the beginning. This is for MAR 2015-5, Boston Road, LLC. I have the clerk give a second reading, and then I'll talk about the rolls. Sure. That's okay. I'm going to go ahead and call the roll first. Thank you. Ms. Evans? Here. Mr. Farmer? Here. Mr. Gibbs? Here. Ms. Henson? Mr. Kay? Here. Ms. Lamb? Here. Mr. Maloney? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Massadi? Here. Ms. Scotchfield? Here. Mr. Stinnett? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Akers? Ms. Bledsoe? Yes. Mr. Fred Brown? Here. Mr. James Brown? Here. Thank you. And ordinance number one for second reading, an ordinance changing the zone from professional office P1 zone to a planned neighborhood residential R3 zone for 1.3385 net 1.3829 gross acres for property located at 3900 Boston Road, Boston Road, LLC, Council District 9. Thank you. Thank you. this officially opens the hearing and I'm if there are any witness lists anybody who signed up to speak I need that list now Mr. Mundy thank you and anybody who is planning to speak I need you to stand and raise your right hand so I can swear you in. Thank you. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony that you give at this hearing will be true to the best of your knowledge? I do. Thank you. I have spoken to both sides, and both sides have agreed to a time limit on presentations of 20 minutes. I think that should be adequate for what we have before us. let's see if you have printed materials that should be submitted to the council members and the council clerk when you make your presentation anybody who testifies each witness on on either side is subject to cross-examination and we ask that if you've testified that you stay in the hearing room until such time as the hearing is complete. When you speak, please identify yourself by name and address. The order of the hearing will be a presentation by planning division staff, then a presentation by the petitioner, then any presentations by the opponents, then staff will have an opportunity to make additional comments. Petitioner may present rebuttal evidence, and then there is an opportunity for summation by opponent and by petitioner. At that point, there will be an opportunity for council to ask questions. After council questions, we'll close the hearing. Council will then deliberate on its decision and begin to work on voting on findings of fact and on the text itself. I think that's all I need to say any questions if not then ask Bill if you're prepared presentation planning division staff thank you Vice Mayor Kay, members of the Council, good evening. For the record, my name is Bill Salley. I'm the Planning Manager for the Planning Services section of the Urban County Government's Division of Planning. It's my pleasure to be here this evening and present to you kind of the background information on this zone change. As is required for all of your hearings, there are a number of items I need to enter into the record for your hearing this evening. The first is the legal notice that was published in the local newspaper advertising tonight's public hearing. Next item is an affidavit that I have signed regarding the notice letters that were mailed to property owners within 500 feet of the area proposed for rezoning and also to the nearest neighborhood associations in this vicinity. The next item is the recommendation from the Urban County Planning Commission regarding their public hearing in late May over this zone change. This was distributed at your places prior to the start of the hearing, and several members of the audience also have copies of this information, which does include the minutes of that Planning Commission public hearing. We need to enter into the record a copy of the 2013 comprehensive plan that has been adopted by the Planning Commission, the goals and objectives of which the Council has adopted as well. And then finally, copies of the current zoning ordinance and land subdivision regulations that are in effect for the urban county. I'd like to begin tonight by orienting you to the subject property, which does have an address of 3900 Boston Road. We've prepared a brief PowerPoint to do that. The photos, the aerial photos primarily, I think, will be helpful in orienting the council to where the subject property is located. This is the zoning map for the area. subject property at 3900 Boston Road is on on the east side of Boston Road just south of Mill Pond Drive the Mill Pond Shopping Center is a very short distance to the north and east of this location. There is a pond in the area that is somewhat of a landmark situated just immediately to the north and east of the subject property. 3900 Boston Road is a larger area, contains a larger area than just the area being rezoned or being requested for rezoning. The frontage of that parcel is here, and it extends in this configuration. So a little more than half of the property is currently zoned P1. That is a professional office zone and is mostly vacant. There is an existing dwelling on that property that's been there prior to the original P1 zoning. The frontage of the property is zoned R3, that is a planned neighborhood residential zone, and that is the predominant zoning in this immediate area, as you can tell. The properties across Boston Road are zoned R3. Properties on Mill Ridge Road here and Old Mill Lane also have that zoning. I would say, though, in the R3, the predominant development of those R3 properties has been for single-family detached residences, although there is a small area here very close to the subject property that has been developed for attached single-family or townhouse development. The pond that I mentioned is Zone B6P, that's Planned Shopping Center Zone, as is the Mill Pond Shopping Center, which is anchored by a Kroger store at this location. And in this drawing, you can see a couple of the outlots that are oriented more to Boston Road, where one comes in and out of that center at a signalized intersection. The petitioners are asking that the P1 area of this property be rezoned R3 so that it would in essence match the zoning on two of the three sides of the property. This is an aerial photo of the property in the frontage of Boston Road, the pond that I mentioned. Mill Pond Road is identified here. And then the roads, Old Mill Lane and Mill Ridge Road are accessed from Stone Crossing Lane. There is a bridge over this drainage area here that allows access to those streets. The shopping center is also very prominent in the photo. This is an oblique view of the subject property. It shows fairly well the existing dwelling that I mentioned early on, as well as the balance of the property here, fronting on Boston Road. There is another structure here that my understanding has been used as a garage and also kind of as a loft office, professional office, home office type of facility for a number of years. You can see there are a number of trees on this portion of the property as well as the homeowners association property bordering the pond there in Mill Pond. There is a community swimming pool and small parking area between that pond and Mill Pond Road. We have a few photos now of the subject property. This is seen from Boston Road. This is very near the very small portion of the zone change area that fronts on Boston Road. You can see the trees block the view of the pond from Boston Road at this location. Further up, Grassy Creek Drive has a T intersection with Boston Road. Those are two of the main collector streets in this area. And this is a view of the subject property from that intersection. Again, you can see along the frontage of Boston, a number of trees are situated there. Many of these trees are proposed to be removed. I'm not sure if all of them will be, but the trees that border the property along the pond are mostly proposed to be retained. This is looking southward along Boston Road. The truck you actually see in the photo here is heading south on Boston Road at this location. This is a view looking across Boston Road at the single family development that I mentioned that's in the R3 zone. And a little further down the townhouses that are on the across the street from the northern most portion of the subject property. The subject property that's being requested for rezoning is just over one and a third acres in size. this is a view from the end of mill ridge road another lot at 761 mill ridge is already zoned r3 and in just a few minutes i will show you that it is proposed to be part of the development plan that has been filed with the zone change technically this lot is not part of the rezoning request there's a driveway through this lot that does serve the existing dwelling that you saw in the photographs. This is a view of the pond as seen from roughly the sidewalk area on Boston Road. This would be looking in an easterly direction from Boston Road. You see the gazebo for the neighborhood and the parking lot that was shown in the photos a little earlier. This is a view from the end of Old Mill Lane. That is the street closest to the pond. This is a good photo of a walking trail and the crossing of the creek, the drainage area that is in existence in this area. The property line for the subject property roughly follows this vegetation here. So the area just across that line of vegetation is in the zone change area. It does slope upward from the water as one would expect and then includes a flatter area on the top as well. Back to the original photo. The planning staff always looks to the comprehensive plan when making a recommendation on a zone change, no matter how large or small, and we did that in this case as well. We also reviewed the justification that had been filed by the petitioner. The staff found that there were several goals and objectives of the 2013 comprehensive plan that seemed to speak to this proposed rezoning. One goal and objective emphasized the importance of growing successful neighborhoods by expanding housing choices. Another supported infill development and redevelopment of underutilized properties as well. There was another recommendation of the plan to provide for well-designed neighborhoods and also to provide an opportunity for infill development that is sensitive to the area's context and physical design. Planning staff found that this proposed zone change to R3 would accomplish all of those goals of the comprehensive plan. And in our staff report to the Planning Commission last May, the planning staff did recommend approval of this rezoning to first the Planning Commission Zoning Committee and then to the entire commission itself. The staff went on to say in our report that we believe that the P1 zoning, because it entails part of the property and not the entirety, was really no longer appropriate at this location as well. We felt that the R3 zoning would be more compatible with the existing R3 zoning that's in the area, including that for the balance of the property. Also, we found that by completing the development along Mill Ridge Road for single-family detached housing, as opposed to townhouses, which are really the driver for this zone change, that this was respectful of the neighborhood's character and would provide a minimal disruption to the neighborhood by developing this parcel of approximately two acres in size. Planning staff, as I mentioned again, did recommend approval based on a finding that the requested R3 zone is in agreement with the 2013 comprehensive plan. We made that recommendation to the commission at their May 28th public hearing, and after hearing not just from the staff but also from the petitioner and from some neighborhood residents that were present at that hearing, the commission voted 10 to 0 to recommend approval of this rezoning to the council. and their findings mirrored those that the staff had placed in our staff report. That was that the requested R3 zone is in agreement with the 2013 comprehensive plan for three primary reasons. The first being that the goals and objectives of the plan recommend expanding housing choices that address market needs. We found that the petitioner proposed a townhouse-style development for 25 units, which creates a variety of housing types that should complement the existing neighborhood. Secondly, the goals and objectives encourage infill development as a strategic component of the community's growth management strategy. We found that the petitioner proposes to increase the density allowable at this parcel to 9.38 dwelling units per net acre. And thirdly, the goals and objectives recommend identifying areas for infill development that respect the different areas' context and design. By completing the Mill Ridge subdivision with two single-family detached residences, the staff found that the applicant was respecting the existing character of the established adjoining neighborhood. After considering the zone change and finding that the R3 zone is more appropriate than the existing P1 at this location, The hearing turned to consideration of the development plan that was filed in conjunction with the zone change request. We have on the board the development plan that was reviewed by the Planning Commission at their public hearing. The zone change area is this portion of the subject property. This triangular-shaped area has a very small frontage here along Boston Road. The balance of the property is already R3, and that includes the property at 761 Mill Ridge, which has this configuration. The development plan shows that 25 townhouses are proposed, each one approximately 1,600 square feet in size. With those 25 townhouses, some 75 parking spaces are proposed to be interspersed throughout the development. The development would have access only to Mill Pond, pardon me, to Boston Road at these two locations, this being an entrance only opposite of Grassy Creek Drive, where we saw the photos, and a two-way exit and entrance at this location with parking spread throughout the development. In addition, the two detached dwellings that I mentioned are proposed here along Mill Ridge Road. This is where the driveway existed in the one photo that I displayed. These houses are shown at a size of about 2,125 square feet each, approximately. There are existing houses on either side, here along Mill Ridge, across Mill Ridge, and on Boston Road. So these two new detached dwellings would abut on three sides, existing detached residences. There is a stormwater basin proposed for the property at its low point here. That's very near the photo we saw looking through the trees to the pond, and it would be up oriented to the Boston Road area here. There would be pedestrian connections made to Boston Road as well. Finally, there are tree protection areas shown on this plan. adjacent to the property line that was shown in the photos and existing trees along this area and this area of the subject property. I'd say the eastern boundary of the subject property, nearest Old Mill Lane, the walking path, the bridge over the drainage creek, and so forth. The Planning Commission approved this development plan at the conclusion of their hearing, and this plan was certified, meaning it met all the conditions of the Commission's approval in mid-June of this year. Vice Mayor, that concludes my prepared remarks thank you very much and of course as you know I will be available for questions by council members later in the evening. Thank you very much that allows us to move to the next section which is the presentation by the petitioner thank you Thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor, members of the council. I'm Bruce Simpson. I'm here tonight on behalf of the applicant, Boston Road LLC, which is a legal entity that's actually operated by Brian Wood, who's sitting here tonight. I'm also here with Fred Eastridge, our engineer, who's passing out just a couple of exhibits that I want to talk about. And then Jeff Pearson is an architect who also did the site plan in connection with our application. I do want to submit for the record the signposting notice that your ordinance requires to be posted at least 14 days in advance of the hearing. We actually posted it about 18 days prior to the hearing so that people have the opportunity to be notified. We posted it twice, once on Boston Road and one on Millridge Road. Introduced that into the record. and Bill as usual did an excellent job of summarizing what has taken place in connection with this case through the Planning Commission and the staff's review and of course the staff's recommendation for approval and the Planning Commission's unanimous recommendation of approval. There's a little bit more history that I think is relevant in connection with this case and that is that prior to even filing this application Brian wanted to meet with the neighbors, and so we set a meeting up, sent a notice out to not just the people within 500 feet of the property, which is what the law requires for a zone change notice, but he wanted to go beyond the 500 feet, so I sent a notice out to everybody that owned property within 800 feet and invited them to the meeting as well, because sometimes people complain they didn't get a notice about a hearing, and so we went extra effort to notify people that wouldn't even get the legal notice. We had a very good meeting in March. We had probably 100 people show up. We submitted a development plan, and I'll review what we submitted in just a moment, but we listened to the feedback we got from that meeting. We came back in May after we made some significant adjustments, met with the neighbors, probably had about 35 people attend that meeting at the church, Anchor Baptist Church in May. And then we, of course, went through the process of going through the Planning Commission's subdivision committee on zoning and the subdivision committee that deals with the development plan. So before it even got to the Planning Commission at the end of May, there were two different committees of the Planning Commission that reviewed the zone change, reviewed the development plan, and both of those subcommittees unanimously approved the application. Of course, it went to the Planning Commission. We had a public hearing. We did have one couple that lived on Mill Ridge, 741 Mill Ridge, did show up and offer objection. After listening to the testimony, as Bill said, the Planning Commission did approve it unanimously, and we're here tonight for another hearing. A couple of things that you need to focus on. This is a zone change for only 1.3 acres. Typically, you'll get a zone change for 50, 100, or a larger amount of property. This is one of the smallest, if not the smallest, zone change I've ever had a hearing in front of the council over, since it's only 1.3 acres. The other significant fact with respect to this, and I'll go to my Chris overhead slides, Let me dim those lights in here so they can see it better. I want to make sure the audience gets to see it. As Bill pointed out to you, the entire property is 2.8 acres, but 1.5 acres is already zoned R3, which is the zoning that we're requesting for this property, which is 1.3 acres, which is zoned professional office. So the entire neighborhood on this side is zoned R3. It's developed into single-family homes. As I explained, we met with the neighbors initially in March, and they wanted to have single-family homes on this portion of our property also designated and restricted to single-family homes, and we've done that. The other thing that they very much wanted was no access from this development by way of vehicle or pedestrian to get to Mill Ridge Road, and we have agreed to do that. So there is no vehicular access except for these two single-family houses here, but none to the townhouses. The additional objection was they didn't want to have access from the proposed area to be developed as townhouses right in here. into their private park that they've got, and they pay for out of their own deed restrictions. We're not a part of those deed restrictions. We wouldn't pay anything, so we believe that they were reasonable in requiring us or asking us not to have access to get into a park that they're paying for. So we don't have any access from our development into the private park that they have. Now, we did commit to them at their request that these two houses that we're going to build, these two lots, they will be subject to the restrictions for Willow Oak, and they will be paying the dues that are required for Willow Oak, and they will become part of that neighborhood. But there won't be any access from those two single-family homes to the townhouses at the rear. Now, the other significant fact is, which really is important for any zone change, and I ask everybody to pay attention to this because it's significant. Under the, if we go to the next slide, under existing zoning for the R3 and the P1, P1 is for business office, professional office, R3 is for residential, But you can put apartments there. You can put duplexes and townhouses, dormitories, boarding homes, assisted living facilities, community residences, a number of other uses that are allowed by right. In other words, you can do this without, if it's zoned that way, those are the uses that you can put on the R3 property. If we look at just the R3 property that's 1.5 acres that's already zoned, which we're going to put two single-family houses in part on, if we opted not to put the single-family houses there and just went with the existing R3 zoning, we could get 16 townhouses on their property without a zone change. Based upon the current zoning of the property, we wouldn't need to come before you. we would file a development plan, and as long as we were in compliance with the subdivision regulations, we could put 16 houses, 16 townhouses on the property. The other significant feature of that is, with respect to residential zoning of R3 that is adjacent to R3, we wouldn't have to put up any fencing, we wouldn't have to put up any screening, We wouldn't have to put any trees or vegetation. None of that is required under your ordinances. Now, we're going well beyond that, and I'll talk about that in a moment. But just I want you to know, because it's important, what the property owner can do without a zone change. And for 1.5 acres of this 2.8 parcel, he can put 16 townhouses. Now, on the P1 portion, the park that we're seeking are rezoning the 1.3 acres, which is actually subject to the rezoning request. It's before you tonight. You can have various business offices, such as banks and fraternal, political, religious, charitable organizations, research and development laboratories, funeral parlors, medical and dental offices, community centers, private clubs, churches, hospitals, nursing homes, rest homes. daycare centers, business colleges, and the like. Under that existing zoning for the property that were before we denied to rezone, the 1.3 acres, we could build, under the existing ordinances, a 17,000-square-foot office building two stories. In addition, on the second floor, we could have residences there. So we could have, under the existing zoning, the 16 townhouses on the R3 section, which is 1.5 acres, and we could have a 17,000-square-foot building with professional offices, businesses, and the like on the first floor, and apartments on the top floor. We could actually have then 28 residential units on the site, and we would not need a zone change as long as we were in compliance with the subdivision regulations and the zoning ordinances. So that's what could be, and we wouldn't need to come before the council. But Brian wanted to have a handsome, well-designed townhome development, and in the process of meeting with the neighbors on the two occasions that we met with them, plus entertaining emails and calls from a couple of them to focus in on certain things, which we did do, particularly a joining neighbor who wanted additional landscaping. We did that. We've come up with what we believe is actually, without question, a down zoning. You're going from professional office business to a residential development, and we're offering screening that's not required. And as I'll share with you in just a moment, the amount of extra screening in terms of an eight-foot fence surrounding the property, the extra pine trees, vegetation, deciduous trees, hedges, and the like, is $40,000 more than what the ordinance would require if we were to come in and just complete the requirements for the existing R3 and P1 zones, we could save $40,000. The other thing that he's done, this is a 2.8-acre piece of property. Brian wanted to make sure that there was plenty of access to the site to protect the future homeowners. And where most developers would just push for one access, we have two access points. to deal with issues of safety. The Division of Engineering, in terms of traffic, was happy with one, and we put in two. So before we ever got to the Planning Commission, we made commitments to the neighbors and to the staff and to the Planning Commission itself to go way beyond the minimum in an effort to address what we had understood to be neighborhood concerns. The next two or three slides that you're going to see, are the various iterations that I've already talked about very briefly. This was the initial proposal. A lot of times you don't know what the feedback or reaction is going to be from existing neighborhoods until you meet with them. And our initial proposal was for 28 townhomes, and we thought the major concern would be no access on Mill Ridge Road. and that's what we showed but we quickly learned that as demonstrated by the next slide that the neighbors wanted to have two single-family houses to finish out the cul-de-sac and Brian thought that was reasonable and that's what we've agreed to do there are almost 2200 square feet and I'll show you an exhibit in a minute but we match up very compatibly with the houses that are in close proximity to these two homes. And we reduced the number of townhouses to 25. We, in addition, committed to the fencing, the pine trees, and the screening all the way around the property to screen it because the neighbors didn't want to, when they come down the road into Willow Oak from Boston Road to their neighborhood, they indicated they didn't want to see the back ends of these townhomes along the detention pond. And so we agreed to put in additional screening and fencing eight foot tall in this way, which was over and above what we were required to do. Here's the two access points, and we've actually revised it based upon objections that we heard from the folks in Grassy Creek, because they said in the morning time it's very difficult for them to make a left-hand turn. And so we limit our access, as this is a, you can only come in here, you can't leave and go out this way. the only availability to leave is going through this access point here. This is strictly for coming into the 25 townhomes. And then we go on to the final one. And it just, we've dressed it up more, made commitments in riding. You can see along the left side of the plan there to reflect the commitments, which is really important because sometimes commitments are made, but they're not put on the development plan for enforceability. we put our commitments on the development plan for enforceability in terms of a landscaping plan, which is not required, but which we agreed to do in connection with this to show that we were serious about the commitment. And I think that's it. Isn't it, Chris? Three more? Yes. Okay. Under the tab number three, I mentioned to you the extras that we have agreed to commit to to demonstrate the commitment of screening and making it a high-quality development. We had Mark McCain, who's a registered landscape architect here in Lexington, examine our proposal in light of what's required for this zone change, and even under the R3 zoning that's already there, that we're trying to match with this 1.3-acre application, to examine the requirements that we would have to meet in terms of being in compliance with your zoning ordinance and look at what we had committed to over and above that, itemize all of those commitments, which he did do in his report that's under tab three, and to give us a cost difference of what we were doing in terms of the commitment, in terms of dollars. And as you can see on the last page, it's slightly over $40,000, over and above what the ordinance requires in terms of compliance with screening and buffering for this particular application. Under tab number four is the estimated cost for constructing the additional access point for this small portion of property. You can see it's a little over $30,000 for that extra access. Finally, under tab five, we examined the square footage of the nearby houses to see the two houses that are up on the screen that are going to be on Mill Ridge to see how they would match up with the square footage of the existing houses on Mill Ridge and also some whose backyards back up from Boston Road in this direction. These homes over here, they're all going to be close to here, plus the houses in the immediate cul-de-sac area. So we did the ten of the closest lots, and as you can see, we're larger than some, smaller than others, but overall we fit within what would be viewed as a compatible in terms of the size of the house. And this is going to be new construction. Cost of construction has certainly gone up appreciably and there will be new amenities added that typically weren't provided in houses when Willow Oak got developed. So price-wise when it gets complete it will be equal to or greater than the value of the homes in that cul-de-sac. And it'll be a top quality construction based upon what's already there and based upon the necessary construction cost of putting together a two-story, 2,200-square-foot house. This is a summary of what we have presented. This is a summary of what we have committed to in writing. We have reached out as much as we can and to meet with any and all objectors with respect to this. Obviously, we have some folks tonight that still want to be heard, and that's why these hearings are held. We'll be happy to respond to any questions that you may have. Jeff Pearson is here, the architect. Fred Eastridge is here. Brian Wood is here to respond to any questions, and we'll be also here to respond in terms of any rebuttal that may be necessary for our application. We thank you for your attention. Thank you. That would bring us to any opponents who wish to speak. I have two people signed up. If you've not signed up and you wish to speak, I can still add you to the list. The first person would be Donna Kwan. and if you would just give your name and address hi my name is donna kwan i live at 892 willow oak circle in the willow oak subdivision and um you know i live there with my family my daughter and my husband um we uh i don't know how far we live away from this development but it's about roughly maybe two or three blocks from our home. I don't remember ever receiving any notices about this in the mail, but obviously we've heard about it through e-mails and through our subdivision HOA association. I first want to say that I appreciate the fact that our voices have been heard. I attended at least one of those meetings at the Anchor Baptist Church. And I do want to say that I would say most of the people who attended from our subdivision, the Willow Oak subdivision, which is the closest or one of the closer subdivisions to this development proposal, most of the people did raise objections to the first, at least the first development proposal. there are various reasons I think I'm not going to go into them but a lot of them have been addressed I guess you know even though our voices have been heard and they've incorporated our feedback I still want to say that I'm still opposed to this development and partly because I really value the adjacent green space and I'm very concerned about what this development will do to the pond, which has already been very overstressed by ball home development in the area. And it's, we've dealt, we've, as a subdivision, we've worked really hard recently. I'm not on the board, but we've worked really hard to maintain this space. And we've recently won a lot of, we've worked things out with ball homes. We've reclaimed the space, and we've installed two fountains. The pond, before these fountains were installed and they've done other things to treat the pond, was just a stinking mess in the summer with algae, and we've done a lot. The board has done a lot to rectify the situation. I'm really concerned what any additional sediment or things with the construction of this area what that will do to the pond. And the pond is already pretty shallow, and it's filled a lot with sediment from what I've heard. So I just don't know how much it could take. And this is very close to the pond. I do want to say that this is an area that has a lot of wildlife. Of course, you know, we're all familiar with the ponds in Lexington, and they have, you know, ducks and geese, and we've seen turtles there. We've seen herons, of course, with other types of wildlife. There's turtles who actually, we've seen their eggs adjacent to the pond. And so I just value this place as a really wonderful green space in this area. We don't have a lot of parks in the Willow Bend, Willow Oak area. And obviously there's a great, there's a lot of trees here. And I know that they're trying to preserve some of the trees, and I appreciate that. But a lot of them will be raised. And a lot of that area is sloped. The area that's close to the pond is sloped. And I imagine they're going to have to level that. I'm not sure exactly what they're going to do, but I can't imagine that they're not going to destroy a lot of the natural habitat of that area. That's pretty much it. Those are my main concerns. I really enjoy this area. We walk down there every other day, as do many of my neighbors. A lot of people fish there in the pond. I just feel that I understand that there is a need for housing, other types of housing in the area in Lexington. But I do think there are other condos already that have been constructed and apartments and things like that. And I just, as a member of that neighborhood, I value it more as a green space. So thank you. Thank you very much. The next speaker would be Stephanie Follensbee. My name is Stephanie Follensbee, and I live at 736 Mill Ridge, which is the street right on the edge of this proposal. I really appreciate you all taking time and letting our voices be heard, and I too appreciate some of the concessions that the developer has made for our area. I've lived in my homes since 1998 on this street, and my value of my home is important to me. One of my fears is that the value of our homes because of this development will decline. My equity in my home has afforded me the opportunity to buy a small business and, you know, produce more jobs and pay more taxes for the city to improve. It's just concerning to me that we're going to have this dense of a population increase. as Michelle, or as she was saying about the green space, our neighborhood has worked very, very hard to fight the battle of the developer and have been financially responsible for that area. And the pond really needs to be dredged, but we, as a small group, we can't afford to do that. And we're concerned that this development is going to make it worse. And we're finally getting up on the up edge, The pool has been taken care of. The pond is looking better and better. But we're afraid it's going to decline. But my biggest thing is the trees, the green space, and the value of my home. You know, that's the one big thing I have. And I would just hate to see in 10 years, when I'm ready to retire, that my little nest egg is gone. Thank you. Thank you. Did anybody else wish to speak in opposition? Seeing no one else. Staff, any additional comments? Thank you, Vice Mayor. only one, just to affirm Ms. Kwan's statement about not receiving a notice letter, checking the map. It is because her property is beyond the 500-foot notice area. Still glad she was made aware of the hearing, but she was outside of the area. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Petitioner, rebuttal? Just very briefly, members of the council, I certainly appreciate the testimony offered by the neighbors. We obviously started out with a lot more objectors than what showed up at the night or what showed up at the Planning Commission, but I still understand their concerns. And Brian Wood will tell you that keeping as many trees as possible, plus the additional $40,000 he's putting into his property for screening, is done for the express purpose of making his development as nice as possible because he certainly doesn't intend to spend over a million dollars to lose money. So we have the same interest in taking care of that pond and making sure that it's protected to make sure that the housing stock that we're going to put out for the public to purchase is of high quality because it fits in this area. And we're actually doing much less density than what we could do if we just didn't even pursue a zone change. We're going to have an organized association with assessments to take care of our property. We're not intruding on their property, except we are adding to their neighborhood with two lots that will help defer their homeowners' expenses in terms of those two lots. So we believe we've done everything possible, and we would ask you to approve this application like the Planning Commission did, like the staff has recommended, and the unanimous endorsement all the way along up to tonight. Thank you. Thank you. This is also an opportunity for summation by opponent and by the petitioner. I don't know if you've already done yours, Bruce, but summaries, comments by anybody else who are opposed. Bruce, any further? Thank you. At this point, we'll open the floor for council members to ask questions of anybody who has spoken. Council Member Fonemer Thank you Vice Mayor In looking at the map Would anybody want to park on Mill Ridge Or on Old Mill Lane Rather than in the parking provided It's a question for It's a toss up We can let the staff have it first Those are At one time Were private streets I believe They've been accepted as public streets since. And unless there is no parking signage or the yellow paint, they would be eligible to have parking on them, on-street parking. So they could park and walk through the woods or walk through the edge or whatever it is? I think on Mill Ridge, there would be the two lots that they would have to navigate to. Kind of a solid? All right, I agree with that. Parking there would probably be for those two dwellings. on Old Mill Lane, that would be more of an option were it not for what's shown on the plan that I did not mention during my comments. They are planning to erect a fence along that property line. But if that fence were not there, obviously if it had a hole in it, somebody could park on that street and walk. So, Mr. Simpson, these folks are going to buy, I mean the majority of them, will buy townhouses back up to a lake that they can't see. Is that correct? They can't even be able to see it at all? They'll be able to see it. It's just they'll probably have to see it from the second floor. But to reiterate Bill's point, there will be a fence around the entire property, even for the houses over here on Mill Ridge. There's a fence. So there's no access. That was one of the agreements that we committed to. The neighbors didn't want us going into their private park area close to Old Mill, and they didn't want access from Mill Ridge to Mill Ridge from this development, either pedestrian or vehicular. Very good. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Stennett. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Mr. Simpson, on your plan, is that a stormwater retention basin to the north? Right here. To the top? No. To the top, the blue area? Yes, right there. And so will this new development retain all of its stormwater? Is that the design of the stormwater flow? Yeah, it's already been approved of concepts through the Division of Engineering in terms of... None will flow into the pond? You know, it may flow into the pond, but the water is flowing into the pond now from the site. But we're controlling the rate, so it won't exceed the pre-development runoff rate. Plus, we're controlling water quality much better than what's there now. And what type of townhomes are you building? What price range are we talking about? Are they for rent or are they for sale or both? They'll be for sale. and just to correct the bill a little bit, the actual minimum size is 1,760 square feet. It's 880 square feet. On the bottom, it's two-story. Each one of them will be two-story. The ones along the lake will be actually, could be bigger because they'll have walkout basements. And, I mean, the price range is going to be whatever the market is, you know, ranging from around $150,000 up, depending on what all the amenities that they want. And then the access into the property, are you going to do a left turn only? Are you going to do a barrier there? Yeah, right there. It's direction limited. It's just one lane. It'll have signage restricting access only to coming into it. It's one way, clearly marked this way. This is a much wider access point. And the reason is for site distance issues that's safer coming out at this point than it would be right here, and it wouldn't be right opposite Grassy Creek, which is what those folks had complained about. But there's no physical barrier there to prevent someone from leaving there? No, there's no physical barrier, but it's, you know, like 10 or 12 feet as opposed to 20. Okay, very good. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Evans. I think this question is for you, Mr. Simpson, because it's kind of an extension of the question Councilmember Stanton was just asking. So using that entrance on Boston Road, is there going to be or do you foresee a time that you're going to be asking for an additional lane or change lane? That's the next 10 years, 15 years kind of projection. That's not going to be an issue that you're going to need more traffic. No, but this is just 25 townhomes. I mean, you don't need traffic engineering was good with one access point. Okay. We accommodated some concerns of the fire department of having an additional access point. So one is all that we would need, but to be, Brian wanted to address any potential questions whatsoever. Okay. It's a pretty low density for two access points. and i had one more question just because i couldn't quite follow or figure out where it would be so how would the the the homeowners association now how would they gain access to that park in that that water area where because if i'm understanding that it's going to be closed the townhouses are going to be closed off so how are they going to gain entrance into the wildlife area that they were talking about? Is something going... Yeah, that's my question. The new development, the folks that just live in the townhouse property segment here cannot have access to their park. I'm talking about the current homeowners that are right there. Are you blocking off their entrance to the park? No, no, no. We're not blocking off anything for them. We're blocking it off because at their request, they didn't want us to come on their property because we're not paying anything. Now, these two houses that we're going to build, they will be paying assessments, and they'll have access to the park, but they won't be able to get to it unless they drive down Mill Ridge and kind of come around to the park that way. Okay, so there was no argument made that because that's being created, that was our cut through. so we can't gain access. No. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Lamb. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Mr. Simpson, it says in the staff report, it talks about the sanitary sewer and storm sewer improvements to the properties. Can you explain a little bit about what type of improvements that you're going to be making to those properties? Well, I mean, it's obviously we're installing new sanitary and storm sewers because the property is undeveloped. We have vetted our application through the Division of Engineering for both. We have been assured there's capacity in the sanitary sewer system to accommodate these 25 houses. So that's why when Bill mentioned it was a certified plan, we got an approval from everybody in terms that we would improve development of this site at this point, indicating that we've complied with all of the conditions for approval of the development plan. So we've done as much as we can do until we get the zoning. And then we still have to come back to the Planning Commission for final approval to get construction. So there's still another level of review after tonight should we get the rezoning approved. Okay. And what is the size of the retention basin that you're going to add to the property? The size of it. Fred, can you answer that question? Do you want to know the size of the basin approximately up here? Yes, ma'am. The size of it is going to be around 40 feet by 120 feet by 3 feet deep. And I noticed that Mr. Simpson said something about that, that it is still possible that some of the runoff on the new development will still, as it does now currently as vacant property, will run into the existing pond or basin that's there. That's where the existing property discharges. That's where the watershed drains. There's no other alternative for switching the watersheds on this, and it wouldn't be correct. But what we're doing with the detention basin is we're going to have water quality cleaning up the water to meet the local standards and the state standards and EPA standards. And also we're going to knock the peak off of it because it's going to be an impervious area down to where it is pervious now. So there will be no additional cleaner water. It's less, equal to or less than the existing runoff going to the pond. And what you just said was regarding the new retention? That's correct. Okay. All righty. Have there been any attempts to help with making the existing pond as a good neighbor? I mean, you know. That's a sticky sort of wig. I think that detention pond has been a source of major concern for the neighbors for a long, long time. Sure. I think they recently took ownership of it, and I think the previous owner maybe had given them some money to start taking care of it. Clearly, with 12 of the most expensive townhomes facing that pond, we certainly have a vested interest in making sure that it's clean, it doesn't stink, and all those kinds of things. Sure. But we don't have access to their area. We can't fish in that pond, and if we work out something down the road, that's something we can look at. Okay. Well, just, you know, that's all in being a good neighbor, and I know you guys are trying. It sounds like to me you all are trying to be that. So you mentioned there's going to be a fence around the entire development. What type of fence are you putting in, please? It's an eight-foot wooden fence. I mean, we haven't picked out the specific type. And it's supplemented by pine trees as well and other deciduous trees. And the neighbor over here had specific concerns, the gentleman that lives here. He wanted some extra screening that we're going to accommodate that we put on our landscaping plan that we filed and put a note on the development plan that we would have to comply with that. Very nice. Okay. And I guess the other, the second entrance only, I know in some new developments I've seen where there, and I don't know the technical terms, so I'm going to butcher this, but where it's intentionally that you can only enter, you configure the curbs so that you can never exit. And is that something that you all are considering there? Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm going to let Fred come up and respond to that question. Again, what you see on this development plan was what we did in response to suggestions from the fire department and the Division of Traffic Engineering with the Erbendon County government. Sure. We said, what is it you want? And that's what we did. Sure. Fred, do you want to comment on that? Yes. As my instructor from engineering told me once, you can't stop people from driving. You know, highway should be designed with two eight-foot walls on each side to keep people bouncing in the middle and in play. The entrance is provided right there at the Grassy Creek entrance. The traffic engineer deemed that it was a bad sight distance to turn out of that development. So the fire department, we've met with the fire department. They want or would like to have a second entrance that they can manipulate and go into. and we decided to make it into an inn only. So people coming in and turning left off of Boston Road to go into the site or go down to the second entrance, but they cannot come out. To accommodate the fire trucks and their own wing, to put a maneuvering barrier curb on there that would allow only turns from one direction would be kind of difficult and hinder our response to the fire department on keeping it available for their use to come to get in and out in case of emergency. They want to make sure they asked for it and we gave it. They always like to have two ways in if there's an emergency. If I'm in the back and had a heart attack, I like to make sure somebody's car is on fire in the front one. I want to make sure they get there and can get me. Right. Take me out. So to channelize the traffic just for that, it would be a hindrance to the fire department and emergency vehicles for their use. Sure. I understand that. We actually have a development over in my district that has a grassy-type entrance that's just specifically for fire vehicles. So I understand that. But I was just curious. As Bruce said, it's narrow. It's going to be uninviting. Right. But it's important that the fire has access two ways. So, okay. All right. And I think that is all of my questions. So thank you. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Massadi. Thank you, Vice Mayor. And thank you to the residents that came forward tonight. I appreciate your testimony. From what I understand, it looks like there is a couple of concerns. One is the pond. And as Mr. Simpson has stated, and I've been working on this issue since I've been in office, the pond no longer is owned by Mr. Ball. Mr. Ball has given it over to the Neighborhood Association, Willow Oak, plus a pretty healthy stipend. The pond was in pretty bad shape when they received it, but they've worked out some issues. And I think with the help of this retention pond, that water in there, it's going to be a lot better than what it is now. And as far as the next question I have for you, Mr. Simpson, is the way the townhouses are going to be built, you said you can look at the pond from the second floor window, so they're going to be kind of an angled. Would the backyards be angled that would go down into the pond? I'm just concerned about silt or anything that would go, sediment that would go into the pond. Are you talking about where our stormwater exits into the pond? Yes. I'll let Fred's the one who's designed the system that's been approved thus far by the government. I'll let him respond to that. Mr. Councilman, the townhomes that are along the bank of the pond are going to have a basement in them. Because right now the elevation is very high in the steep bank, so we'll be cutting out to lower that grade in there for the basements and then building up and keeping the grade high on the front side. The water will drain from the front of the roofs back to the parking lot, go through the water quality systems, and then into the retention basin. And then it will be discharged from an outlet pipe in the detention basin into the natural flow channel that goes to the pond. Is there going to be any type of fencing around the retention pond? I'm sorry, ma'am? Any type of fencing around that retention pond or is it a detention pond? I'm not sure. Is it retention or detention? Well, it's detention. It's going to be dry bottom. It won't be retention. The Urban County government does not permit or really persuades having fencing around the detention basin. In case something happens, somebody gets in there and needs to be maintenance, you can get into it. I just worry about maybe young children in the area, you know, safety issues. That's why we're trying to keep it around three feet deep and things like that. But as the Urban County Engineer's Office told me numerous times is you don't want to have somebody in there that needs help, and you can't get to them because of the fence. I'm concerned about three feet as far as with young children because that neighborhood is full of kids and is there any I guess Mr. Simpson any thought on your in your experiences as far as maybe that being a concern for the neighborhood that detention basin being open I think the greater concern would be that pond as an attractive nuisance for kids in terms of trying to get into it and swim it, and I don't know how deep it is. You know, Fred mentioned it's three feet deep. That's to accommodate a really significant rainfall event. Typically, it would never get that high unless it was a... And that dissipates pretty quickly, doesn't it? Yeah, very quickly. Okay. And I'm not sure other than that was Ms. Kwan's concern, and then I think you all just had the concern. You just didn't want anything there. Is that correct? So, and unfortunately... Well, unfortunately, sometimes we have to compromise, and it looks like that you had two neighborhood meetings. And there was 100, you said, at the first meeting, and you were able to take their concerns and go forward. Then you had a second one with approximately 35 folks and took their concerns and went forward. So you feel like you've addressed those concerns pretty well. I will have to say I've had the privilege to represent a lot of applicants, but Brian Wood has done more to accommodate neighborhood questions, issues, and objections than anyone I've ever represented. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Simpson. And, Vice Mayor, if you'll come back to me later for a motion. Thank you. Councilmember James Brown. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Since this is my first public hearing, I don't know what's appropriate to ask, but I was wanting to know if you could tell us what the price point is going to be for the townhouses and the single-family homes that's going to be built. Hello, counsel. I'm Brian Wood. I'm the applicant owner of the property. Price point for those particular houses, I can't tell you. I can tell you that depends on the interior design of them, that they're going to be minimum of everything that's on that street currently right now and nothing less. I can tell you that much. I have not priced the plan out, but our goal is just to mimic their neighbor, keep it nice with the part of the street that's going there, and nothing less to that. Okay. What about the townhouses? You can't disclose that either. Townhouses, price point, as Mr. Simpson said, $140 in that ballpark, depending on if you look at the ones on the back side there, Those would be a little bit more because they had basements. The other ones on the front side would be more slab without basements. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. I see no other council members signed up, so I will declare the hearing closed, and now the council can deliberate about its decision. Council Member Massadi? Thank you, Vice Mayor. I would move to approve MAR 2015-5 Boston Road, LLC. So moved. Second. I believe we have to adopt findings of fact first. So if you'd like to make a motion about findings of fact. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'll move to approve to adopt the findings of fact for MAR 2015-5 Boston Road, LLC. Are you moving to adopt the same findings as the Planning Commission? Of the Planning Commission. Yes, ma'am. I have a motion to adopt the findings of fact from the Planning Commission. Do we have a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. Discussion on the motion? Seeing none, we'll take a vote. This needs to be a roll call. Roll call vote. Ms. Evans? Yes. Mr. Farmer? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Gibbs? Yes. Mr. Kay? Yes. Ms. Lamb? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Maloney? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Massadi? Yes. Ms. Scutchfield? Yes. Mr. Stinnett? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Bledsoe? Yes. Mr. Fred Brown? Yes. Mr. James Brown? Yes. Thank you. That reflects passages of motion. I would now entertain a motion to approve the zone change. Vice Mayor, I make the motion to approve MAR 2015-5 Boston Road, LLC. Second. I have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion of the motion? Seeing none, I will take a roll call vote. Ms. Evans? Yes. Mr. Farmer? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Gibbs? Yes. Mr. K? Yes. Ms. Lamb? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Maloney? Yes. Ms. Massadi? Yes. Ms. Scutchfield? Absent. Mr. Stinnett? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Bledsoe? Yes. Mr. Fred Brown? Yes. Mr. James Brown? Yes. Thank you. That vote also reflects passage of the motion. That concludes our business. Thank you all for coming this evening. Appreciate your time. ¶¶ you