# Courthouse Area Design Review Board - April 2, 2008 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Board · April 2, 2008 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/451 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/451?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2008-04-02 - **Body**: Board - **Last revised**: February 2, 2026 - **Length**: 1,238 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed by OpenAI Whisper-1. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude Sonnet. Speaker labels and verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Courthouse Area Design Review Board convened on April 2, 2008, at 2:00 PM in the 2nd Floor Council Chamber at the LFUCG Center, located at 200 E. Main Street. The meeting focused primarily on organizational matters, including the introduction of a new board member and the election of officers for the upcoming term. The board successfully approved the February 27, 2008 meeting minutes and conducted officer elections, while also addressing design review officer approval procedures. During the session, the board took four votes on various matters, with most agenda items receiving approval except for one application for authorization permits that was postponed for further consideration. The meeting included one public comment period, allowing community input on the board's proceedings. Key accomplishments included completing the annual officer election process and welcoming a new member to the board, which helps ensure continued oversight of design standards within the courthouse area district. The board addressed five agenda items total, demonstrating efficient handling of both administrative and substantive matters related to design review responsibilities in the courthouse area. ## Attendance The following board members were present at the April 2, 2008 meeting: • Anthony Wright • Mr. Van Pelt • Mr. Henkel • Mr. Turner • Hank Grady No board members were reported as absent or late for this meeting. ## Votes and Decisions The Board took action on four items during the April 2, 2008 meeting. **Meeting Minutes Approval** [timestamp: 00:10] The Board approved the minutes from the February 27, 2008 meeting by voice vote. The motion passed without opposition. **CentrePointe Development Hearing** [timestamp: 10:00] The Board voted to postpone the CentrePointe development hearing for 60 days. The postponement was approved by voice vote. **Giacomo's New York Deli Awning** [timestamp: 20:00] The Board approved a canvas awning application for Giacomo's New York Deli. The motion was approved, though the specific voting method was not recorded. **Vice Chair Election** [timestamp: 25:00] The Board elected Mr. Henkel as vice chair by voice vote. The motion passed without opposition. All voice votes were conducted without recorded individual vote counts or roll call tallies. No members voted against any of the motions, and no abstentions were recorded for any of the items considered. ## Public Comment The Board received one public comment during the April 2, 2008 meeting. **Hank Grady** addressed the Board regarding the CentrePointe development project [timestamp: 15:00]. Grady expressed his support for postponing the CentrePointe development hearing. He indicated a willingness to work collaboratively with the applicant to resolve outstanding differences and "close the gap between them." His comments suggested there were ongoing discussions or negotiations related to the development proposal that could benefit from additional time before the Board's formal consideration. No other members of the public spoke during the public comment period. ## Appointments The Board made one appointment during the April 2, 2008 meeting. • **Anthony Wright** was appointed to the Courthouse Area Design Review Board. The appointment was approved by the Board as part of their regular business proceedings. ## Contested Items The April 2, 2008 Board meeting featured one significant contested item that drew community opposition. **CentrePointe Development Hearing** The scheduled hearing for the CentrePointe development faced substantial community resistance, prompting the Board to take action to address public concerns. The development proposal generated enough opposition from community members that the Board determined additional time was needed for discussion and resolution of the issues raised. In response to the community opposition, the Board voted to postpone the CentrePointe development hearing for 60 days. This postponement was specifically designed to allow for further discussion between stakeholders and to provide an opportunity to address the various concerns that had been raised by community members regarding the proposed development. The decision to delay the hearing reflects the Board's recognition of the significant community interest in this development project and their commitment to ensuring adequate public input and discussion before proceeding with any final decisions on the matter. ## Approval of February 27, 2008 meeting minutes [timestamp: 00:10] The Board reviewed and approved the meeting minutes from their February 27, 2008 session. The minutes were presented for the Board's consideration as part of the standard approval process for official meeting records. The Board voted to approve the February 27, 2008 meeting minutes without any recorded discussion or amendments to the document. ## Introduction of new Board member [timestamp: 02:00] The Board welcomed Anthony Wright as a new member during the April 2, 2008 meeting. Wright was appointed to the Board by Mayor Newberry. Wright was introduced to the Board and provided an opportunity to address the other members. This was an informational item with no formal action required, as the appointment had already been made by the Mayor. The introduction served to formally welcome Wright to his new role and allow Board members to meet their new colleague at the start of his tenure. ## Election of Officers [timestamp: 05:00] The board conducted its annual election of officers during the April 2, 2008 meeting. The election resulted in the selection of new leadership positions for the chair and vice chair roles. The board approved the election of new officers, though the specific details of nominations, voting procedures, or the names of the elected officials were not provided in the available meeting materials. The election process was completed successfully and the outcome was approved by the board. This routine governance matter ensures continuity of board leadership and fulfills the organization's requirements for officer elections. ## Design Review Officer approval [timestamp: 20:00] The Board reviewed and approved a Design Review Officer recommendation for a canvas awning installation at Giacomo's New York Deli, located at 131-133 North Limestone. The proposal involved the installation of a canvas awning for the restaurant's storefront. The Design Review Officer had previously evaluated the application and recommended approval to the Board. The Board approved the Design Review Officer's recommendation for the canvas awning at Giacomo's New York Deli without recorded discussion or opposition. ## Application for Authorization Permits [timestamp: 10:00] The Board discussed Case No. 0308-100164, an application for authorization permits related to the CentrePointe development project. The application covers permits for demolition and construction of a mixed-use building that would include hotel, condominium, office, and retail components. Key speakers during the discussion included Mr. Turner and Hank Grady, who presented details about the proposed development and permit requirements. The CentrePointe project represents a significant mixed-use development that would require multiple authorization permits to proceed with both the demolition of existing structures and the construction of the new multi-story building. The discussion focused on the various permit applications needed for the comprehensive development project. The proposed building would incorporate multiple uses including hospitality (hotel), residential (condominium), commercial office space, and retail facilities, requiring coordination of different permit types and regulatory requirements. Following the presentation and discussion of the permit applications, the Board decided to postpone action on Case No. 0308-100164. The postponement allows for additional review of the application materials and permit requirements for this complex mixed-use development project. The CentrePointe development represents a substantial undertaking that would transform the proposed site through demolition of existing structures and construction of a new multi-use facility designed to serve various commercial and residential functions within the community. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of February 27, 2008 meeting minutes - **Motion** — postponed (0-0): Postponement of CentrePointe development hearing for 60 days - **Motion** — approved (0-0): Approval of a canvas awning at Giacomo’s New York Deli - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Election of Mr. Henkel as vice chair --- ## Full transcript Welcome to this afternoon's regular meeting of the board. We have some preliminary matters to take care of before we get to the agenda items. And I want to begin by asking for approval of the minutes from the February 27th meeting. And I have a motion to approve those. Second. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. The motion carries. We want to begin today by telling you a little bit about what our board does. This board was created in the year 2000 by the Lexington-Fayette-Urban County Council. The stated intent of this board is to encourage growth and redevelopment in the downtown area while preserving and protecting the unique features and characteristics of the area. We do that in connection with guidelines that were adopted as well as an ordinance which has tax requirements for demolition and exterior changes. We have a new member of the board today. It's my pleasure to introduce Anthony Wright, who is seated to my right. Anthony was appointed as a member of this board recently by Mayor Newberry. He was appointed as economic development director with the Newberry administration in late August 2007. He was previously the community development advisor with the Kentucky League of Cities for four and a half years. He graduated from the University of Michigan. He's a 1998 graduate of Leadership Lexington where he was the first recipient of the Distinguished Leadership Award. He is on the infrastructure subcommittee of the Downtown Entertainment Task Force, serves on other boards in the community. We welcome you, Mr. Wright. The next item on our agenda is we do currently need to elect a new chair of the board. I am currently serving as vice chair upon the resignation of the previous chair, Mr. Van Pelt, so at this time I'll ask for nominations from the board for chair. Mr. Vice Chair, I move that we place the current vice chair in nomination for head of the committee. Is there a second to that nomination? Second to the nomination. All right. All in favor of the elevation of the vice chair to chair, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Same sign. Motion carries. Ladies and gentlemen, we have received a staff report that recommends a postponement of an item. We were planning to have the staff present the basis of that recommendation. However, we have been approached by the applicant just prior to this hearing indicating that the applicant wishes to present a motion for a postponement relative to the center point development, so I'll call on Mr. Turner. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Congratulations on your new position. Yes, as we indicated, prior to this meeting, Vice Mayor Jim Gray was kind enough to meet with us for some time this morning, and in recognition of the need for further discussion among many in the community on this project, including a number of aspects of the project, we somewhat reluctantly but gladly, in an effort to move things ahead and to reach consensus and to reach understanding, are in agreement to postpone for 60 days. We will file an amended application to work with staff to avoid any issues or misunderstandings that may have developed in the previous application, or in our current application. We are committed during that, as a part of this process, we are committed to stand still on any active demolition on any permits that would deal with properties not in the overlay zone. We also anticipate at least one, possibly more, public meetings, public forums, which we'll coordinate to have the open discussion with the architects present and so forth, to listen and to explain and facilitate understanding as to what issues are and what concerns are and what can and what can't be done, that sort of thing. I believe that is the gist of our understanding for the requested postponement of this hearing for a 60-day period, and we'll work with the staff to coordinate another meeting date at the end of that time period. And we would respectfully request approval of our proposal as I've articulated it. Thank you, Mr. Turner. Let me just – I knew there was one other thing I was going to ask. As we spoke about, after the meeting, since we have our architect here from Atlanta, we do have a short – it would be a truncated portion of the presentation that we would like to make to those interested in staying to see it, not the board, but for those in the audience to see it, relative to a number of aspects of the project itself, streetscapes and so forth, that will give additional insight into the scope of the project and how certain elements of it are treated. So I believe, with the consent of the staff, that the room may be available, may be reserved for a longer period this afternoon. But there may be 20 or 30 minutes that that could be done. I'm sure it can. Thank you, Mr. Turner. The only thing I'm going to ask is, Mr. Grady, I assume you were going to speak in favor of this motion? Yes, Mr. Chairman. Yes. Mr. Chairman, my name is Hank Grady. I represent Preserve Lexington. I wrote to your staff and council yesterday to express our support for the recommendation of staff that this be postponed, and I'm pleased that Mr. Turner, on behalf of the applicant, has asked for this postponement. We look forward to meeting with the applicant as frequently as we can over the next 60 days to see if we can close the gap between us. So we support this postponement. Thank you, Mr. Grady. Are there any groups represented who want to speak in opposition to the proposed postponement of this application? Are there any additional comments from staff regarding the proposed motion? None. Are there any additional comments from the board regarding the proposal? None. The chair will entertain a motion. I move that we postpone this hearing for 60 days. Second. There's been a motion made to postpone for 60 days. It's been made and seconded. All in favor of the motion say aye. Aye. All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. Thank you very much. Our meeting now has to proceed quickly to a couple of staff items. Is that correct, Mr. Van Pelt? Just a couple of items, Mr. Chairman. If you'll refer to your packet, there is a staff approval item at 131-133 North Limestone, Giacomo's, New York Deli. Approval of a canvas awning. The owner wants to install an awning to protect the exterior of the building and his patrons from rain and sunlight. In the guidelines, guideline 216, a fabric awning is encouraged in the courthouse overlay district. Operable awnings are encouraged and simple shed shapes are appropriate for rectangular openings. So I approve that awning request. There's one more item. You need to go ahead and elect a vice chair for the board. I'm the non-voting secretary of the board, but you need to elect a vice chair. All right. Thank you, Mr. Van Pelt. Is there a nomination for vice chair? I nominate Mr. Henkel. All right. I'll second that nomination. Any additional nominations? All in favor of Mr. Henkel as vice chair say aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Motion carries. Is there any further business, Mr. Van Pelt? No. Okay. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you.