# Courthouse Area Design Review Board Special Meeting - June 19, 2019 > Auto-transcribed civic record · June 19, 2019 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/4775 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/4775?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2019-06-19 - **Last revised**: July 15, 2026 - **Length**: 3,912 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 Courthouse Area Design Review Board met on June 19, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chamber of the LFUCG Center, with Mayor Linda Gordon presiding. The board addressed six agenda items during the meeting, including approval of previous minutes, consideration of postponements and withdrawals, review of applications for authorization permits, and a presentation on the LexLights! program. The board took three votes and heard four public comments during the session. Key outcomes included approval of the November 14, 2018 minutes, approval of a summary of staff-approved authorization permits, and adjournment of the meeting. ## Attendance The following individuals were present at the meeting on June 19, 2019: * Linda Gordon * Jim Duncan * Beverly Fortune No members were recorded as absent or late. ## Votes and Decisions **Approval of November 14, 2018 Minutes** [timestamp: 0:06:31] The minutes from the November 14, 2018 meeting were approved by voice vote with no abstentions. **Motion to Postpone Case No. 2-2019 (Rugged Cross, LLC.)** [timestamp: 0:34:21] A motion to postpone Case No. 2-2019 concerning Rugged Cross, LLC. was made and seconded by councilmembers. The motion passed by voice vote with no abstentions. The case has been postponed to the next scheduled meeting on August 14th. An accelerated meeting may be scheduled prior to that date if proper documentation is provided. **Motion to Adjourn** [timestamp: 0:35:24] A motion to adjourn was made and seconded by councilmembers. The motion passed by voice vote with no abstentions. ## Public Comment **LexLights! Initiative Overview** Beverly Fortune presented an overview of the LexLights initiative, a voluntary downtown lighting project designed to improve safety, aesthetics, and pedestrian friendliness through facade and sidewalk lighting [timestamp: 0:07:34]. She emphasized the need for coordination and potential future planning to avoid light pollution and ensure visual harmony. **Coordination Concerns** A councilmember expressed concern about uncoordinated variable color lighting across downtown [timestamp: 0:20:21]. They suggested the need for a broader strategy to control color use and prevent visual clutter, particularly as other projects like the pedways and City Center gain momentum. Another councilmember supported the LexLights initiative but emphasized the importance of long-term planning and coordination to maintain the uniqueness and visual impact of lighting displays [timestamp: 0:22:39]. They noted that widespread use of similar lighting could diminish the distinctive effect of individual projects. **Staff Coordination and Permitting** Beverly Fortune requested that staff work with building owners to clarify permitting processes and ensure they know whom to contact [timestamp: 0:26:02]. She highlighted the need for clear communication, especially for new building owners unfamiliar with the board's role in the initiative. ## Contested Items **Coordination of Variable Color Lighting** A heated discussion arose regarding the uncoordinated use of color-changing LED lighting across downtown. Councilmembers expressed concerns about the visual impact of these installations, citing potential issues with visual clutter and light pollution. They called for the development of a broader strategy to maintain aesthetic continuity throughout the downtown area, indicating that the current piecemeal approach to lighting installations was creating an undesirable effect on the urban landscape. ## Approval of the November 14, 2018 minutes [timestamp: 06:31] The minutes from the November 14, 2018 meeting were presented for approval. The minutes were approved by voice vote without opposition. ## Postponements and Withdrawals The board addressed postponements and withdrawals as the third agenda item of the meeting. [timestamp: 06:31] Jim Duncan presented the staff recommendation regarding Case No. 2-2019. The case was recommended for postponement due to two primary issues: the applicant was not present at the meeting, and the application documentation was incomplete. Based on the staff recommendation, the board adopted the postponement by voice vote. Case No. 2-2019 was therefore deferred. ## Applications for Authorization Permits [timestamp: 32:11] Jim Duncan presented Case No. 2-2019 involving Rugged Cross, LLC., which sought authorization for a permit to modify the front of a building located on North Limestone. The applicant did not appear at the meeting. Staff noted that the application contained insufficient documentation to proceed with a decision on the permit request. Due to the missing applicant and incomplete documentation, the board postponed consideration of this matter to August 14, 2019. ## Citizen Item: LexLights! Overview Beverly Fortune presented an overview of the LexLights initiative, a voluntary downtown lighting project designed to enhance safety, aesthetics, and the pedestrian experience in the community [timestamp: 0:07:34]. **Project Components** The LexLights initiative includes several lighting enhancement projects: * Sidewalk lighting improvements * Facade illumination on downtown buildings * Color-changing displays on structures including the pedways and City Center **Concerns Raised** During the presentation, concerns were raised regarding two key aspects of the project: * Coordination of the various lighting elements across downtown * Potential light pollution impacts **Outcome** The agenda item was presented for informational purposes, with no formal action taken at this meeting. ## Summary of Staff Approved Authorization Permits Staff reported on an authorization permit that was approved through the staff approval process. [timestamp: 00:30:27] **Project Overview** The permit involved Alfalfa's request to establish a sidewalk cafe. Staff determined that the project met the criteria for staff-level approval and did not require full board review. **Key Speaker** Jim Duncan presented information regarding this authorization permit. **Outcome** The permit was approved. No formal motion was required or passed, as the project was deemed staff-approvable under the established authorization process. ## Adjournment A motion to adjourn the meeting was made and seconded. The motion passed by voice vote, concluding the meeting. [timestamp: 35:24] --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed: Approval of the November 14, 2018 minutes - **Motion** — postponed: Motion to postpone Case No. 2-2019 (Rugged Cross, LLC.) - **Motion** — passed: Motion to adjourn --- ## Full transcript Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. item number two is the approval of the November 14 2018 minutes I move to approve the November 14 2018 minutes can I have a second second all right That's okay. All those in favor say aye. Aye. None opposed? Motion passes. Item number three looks like postponement and withdrawals. We have recommended postponement for the application before you today, case number 2-2019. it appears that the applicant is not present. So we would maybe recommend that you go ahead and have Ms. Fortune do her presentation and then we circle back and see if the applicant does arrive. Okay. So, you know, we haven't had to do that. Do we do a motion to postpone it or do we just decide to do that? I think we can just decide to go out of order. All right. So we'll go ahead and that was the only item that you were recommending postponement or withdrawal from. That is correct. Okay, so we'll go ahead and skip over item number four and go directly to item number five, which is the Lex Lights overview. Good. I'm Beverly Fortune with the downtown Lexington Management District. And I thought it was important to just come and tell you all about the Lex Lights initiative because it's about exterior lighting and I know that that's exteriors of buildings is your concern. And several of the lighting projects that are being considered right now are within the courthouse area design review district. So I just wanted, so you just didn't get information in little dibs and dabs. I I just wanted to come and tell you about the project, which is really quite simple, and then answer questions. So Lex Lights is, we're calling it an enhanced lighting initiative for downtown. I was hired the 1st of April by the management district. A couple of these projects were already in the works when I was hired, but we have done a lot of work real fast. Okay, when the sun goes down, a lot of downtown goes dark. Now, it's difficult to see, but this is the block across from the police station. This is the block across from city center. dark. So Lexalight is an initiative that was started by the Downtown Management District and the Downtown Lexington Partnership. And the goal is just to make downtown more attractive and inviting and fun and safe at night by bringing more lighting to downtown. So, beautiful. Lex Lights has two priorities. One is to light the sidewalks. We're finding in many instances that getting light, and I am perfectly aware that we have street lights, but getting pools of white light on the sidewalks to make the sidewalks more pedestrian friendly, honestly, is nothing more complicated than calling attention to the fact that lighting fixtures on many buildings downtown The lighting fixtures are broken, they're burned out, the bulbs are burned out, they're missing, or the lights are so anemic they don't put out any light at all. And this is an example. This is the front of great construction. My husband and I go to the Kentucky Theater a lot and pass by here. There are four big can lights in that overhang. Three of those lights have been burned out. I can't tell you for how long. So in a recent conversation that I had with Jim Gray, I just mentioned that. And he said, well, I'll see what I can do. So a few days later, he sends me some email exchanges he's had with the building manager. And so what do they do? There are now four big, bright, white lead lights. And look what it does. It lights the front of the building so it's attractive. and it puts a nice pool of white light right there on the sidewalk to make it pedestrian friendly. And many owners that we have talked to, they say, you know, there are light fixtures over the doors in the entranceway, sconces by the doors. They're not on. And the owners frequently say, gosh, you know, I didn't know that because they don't come downtown at night. so lighting the sidewalks and then light putting light on building facades and this is Millward's up on North Broadway all they have done was put white lights around the roof line that illuminate the front of the building and make it really nice looking and then they push those lights push light down on the sidewalk which again you know puts white light on the sidewalk and makes people feel more comfortable and it pedestrian friendly so lighting can also be directed to accent architectural features lights is public art the helix garage which we all love and of course the recent city center light display which has become popular I mean you see people standing in the courthouse yard looking just looking at the changing light colors okay so let me show you you want to see what the center city looked like before the lights went on you can barely see the building and let me tell you there are buildings all over downtown that look just like that they're just dark hulks silhouetted against the evening sky that's the magic of lights so the way it works is Lex lights is a completely voluntary and voluntary initiative we talked to building owners and asked them if they would be interested in putting lights on the front of their buildings we can put them in touch with lighting designers lighting companies and this is an example when I started with Lex lights I thought I didn't know how much it would cost to light the front of a building so I I thought, God, how much of a challenge is this going to be? So I called Tom K. Wood with Outdoor Lighting Perspectives and just said, if these owners, and the owners are Joe Rosenberg and Jim Ross, a retired architect, they own the McAdams and Moorford building, I said, if they wanted to do just some simple lighting, how much are we talking about? So he called back a few days later. There are 11 of those columns across the front to put lighting, just simple white lighting at the base and buy the fixtures and do the installation is $329 per column. Okay, that's about $3,600. Is that going to break the bank? No. And if you want lead lights with color-changing capabilities, that was going to be about, I don't know, $1,200 to $1,500 more. So say $6,000 for lead lights on the front of that. They could apply for a facade improvement grant from the management district and the DLP. That cuts it to $3,000. Divide that. So Joe Rosenberg and Jim Ross, $1,500 each to light their building. And believe you me, we will give them certainly lots of positive attention. Look what these two business owners have done for downtown. So we do have the facade improvement grant program that offers incentives. to building owners to light the front of their buildings. And we've had really positive response in that little handout that I gave you. Those are people that we have talked to who either are in the process of putting lights on the building or they're talking to a lighting company. I mean, who can be against lights? We all like lights. And honestly, the program is no more complicated than that. But let me show you real quickly three projects that are in the works. These are not in the courthouse area design review zone, but this is Triangle Park. And Triangle Foundation is talking to a lighting company about uplighting all the trees in Triangle Park with LED lights, so color changing, just like on the Helix garage. The Lexington Opera House is due to get a marquee and a sign out front. Luann Franklin, who's the general manager, said they hope that these may be installed by late August. And this was made possible through the, they didn't pay for all of it, but they were very generous, the Lexington Opera House Foundation. oh darn I don't suppose you can make that bigger okay so I'm sorry these slides are so you can't see more but anyway this is taken at night and this is that pedway between the Hyatt and Central Bank okay essentially there are two pedways over Broadway and they are we have been working with Vincent lighting systems in Cincinnati they've developed a plan to light both of those so they are like light installations that you view from the street like the Helix garage the month and this was this was a you know an expensive project this is a $200,000 project the money has all been raised it's in hand the order went in for the lights because they have to be custom-made so that light went into the manufacturing company in China the first of June and I mean this is not exactly what they're going to look like but you know that gives you an idea that again And lots of color possibilities, patterns that could be chasing each other up and down and around the pedway. So those two pedways are going to be lighted. Now, those were paid for by the downtown Lexington Management District, the parking authority, Visit Lex, the downtown Lexington partnership, and then those major stakeholders all contributed. and that's Luther Deaton at Central Bank, Langley Properties, the Hyatt, the Web Companies, the Anderson Group, and Farrah Alford, who owns Triangle Center. So you now have an overview of Flex Slice, and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. All right. Thank you very much. And I'll go ahead and open up to the board for any questions. Is someone looking at the overall lighting plan to coordinate all these projects? No. My biggest concern is I see the, first I want to applaud the desire to improve the streetscape of downtown through lighting. There are several immediate concerns that come to mind based on prior experience of mine having to do with light pollution in cities and how when you mention that there are lighting designers involved in these projects, that's good because they're very aware of these issues of how we're over lighting the sky, meaning too much up light, which causes all kinds of other issues. right but in say approaching downtown and lighting downtown and I see all these projects that are getting variable color LEDs immediately I start getting quite concerned that all of a sudden downtown is going to be popping with all these colors and so my question would be more is there a desire to coordinate a broader strategy for the city and to designate certain zones or locations where variable lighting could be controlled as opposed to everybody being able to put up whatever color they want at any moment you know honestly not at this point I started the first of April so I've been working on this about two and a half months that issue only that question only came up recently and I I mean, if you guys have a suggestion of a lighting designer who could do an overall plan, that would be great. I'm not sure where to turn. And I know that there is a possibility that several buildings with these lights, like the center city, I think we could only hope that that might be something to deal with. I have a feeling that many of these projects will just be white lights. But to answer your question, no, there is not an overall lighting plan. Other questions? Well, I too would like to say that I commend you on and you all on trying to make the downtown better. And I think the lighting is definitely something that can be vastly improved. I do think it would be good even, I'm sure there's individuals out there that can be tracked down, that can participate in something of a planning as you go along. I understand when you get started, you have to get traction. I do think that things like City Center, Helix Garage, as they gain momentum, will actually put a focus on that and then help there to be that. When you do the pedways, for instance, I think there's typically a tipping point on things like this. And I think that it is important to keep in mind that that type of lighting is going to be really beautiful. And part of the reason that it is is because it's unique where it stands out. However, once all the voices in a room raise, it doesn't stand out any longer. So I think there is a happy medium to be done to make sure that there's still beautiful displays, but that it isn't competing. And obviously we see examples of that out there in other cities. On ours, we have a long way to go to that. I totally agree with that. So I commend you for that. And I think that Martin's just question there and our question, we're totally behind it. But at the same time, I think as it grows, as it gains momentum, then it would be great to try to participate with each other to make sure you have some kind of continuity between the plan. I think that's a good suggestion. I have a question for you. when a building owner wants to put light on the front of their building, if it's nothing more than like a little sconces to wash some light up the front, can any of this be done on staff level or do you have to have a meeting? I will actually turn that question over for staff input on that one because there's other boards potentially or other regulations involved. At this point, any lighting fixtures that are going onto the facade of the building are under the board's purview. You all do have the ability to change what is staff approvable. At this time, that is not something that is approvable by the staff. It does have to go before your full board. Anything that would be in the right-of-way, for example, would not be covered under this board's jurisdiction. beyond that, you know, any other permits that would be required would be separate, but would still require your approval for any fixtures going on in the building. Yeah, and I am aware of that. I didn't know if there was other lighting traffic, you know, board, you know, whatever other regulations that might be out there, boards that they need to pay attention to. I would think that anybody whose building is within this courthouse design review zone would be aware of that and also aware that for any exterior changes that they would have to come to your to autumn's office as a starting point to planning and we would hope so but that's not always the case oh really that's just the reality of the situation especially new owners who come into the they just never have heard of the of the board and frankly you know I can't say that I had until we're appointed to the board well maybe not quite that moment I had to go out and research but yeah and in I do see you know over time the importance if we look at the design side and we look at what had been done throughout time 50s 60s 70s we've had the benefit of having individuals bring those up and we get to see and you know beautiful we've lost a lot from this town so you know just from that from a historical side and so that's part of the reason we're here is to protect what's there but also to assure some form of continuity as well so it's it's a you know i believe in the mission of the board obviously otherwise i wouldn't serve and the lighting side yeah we're gonna you I think that we've all, maybe not all three yet, but I know that all three of us support those initiatives or for them. We just, there's other things that you have to take into consideration as well on the lighting. What does it impact? How is it installed? Does it affect the historical nature of the building? And then there's obviously issues with traffic patterns and does it affect that, et cetera, et cetera, that may be on the purview of this board, but those are the things that need to be there. I would recommend somebody on your staff also, really go through and work with staff and the other entities to make sure you know what the law is, because it would be nice for what the laws and regulations are. It would be nice for them, those business owners who I represent in this district, in this area, to have somebody go to and ask those, to say, hey, who do I talk to on this and that? Because you're going to be somebody that they will be approaching on this very topic. So that definitely would be very beneficial for them and also for us, but for them to know, to talk to an Autumn and talk to other people, what the effect is, et cetera. There's very few authorities on a topic like this, obviously, Because most don't have to deal with it or haven't had to deal with it in the past, or very rarely. Well, I appreciate your observations. The staff of this is me, myself, and I. So I will certainly be in touch. But I think that's good because we want this to move along quickly. As a practical matter, the downtown management district is up for reauthorization in May of 2020. And I think there is, on the board, there are board members who think that this is a very beneficial project for downtown. And property owners and business owners, you know, they've embraced it wholeheartedly. wholeheartedly and that it would help the management district in its reauthorization efforts. Okay. Well, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. And there was no other call. Okay. I think we're done. Thank you. And there was no need to pass any motions on that. It was informative. Thank you. All right. So that takes care of item number five. We will, at this point, do we go to item four? Did you want to proceed on to item six and then come back to that? Staff, are you recommending? We can go ahead and discuss, I guess, item number six and then go back. I'm guessing that the applicant is not going to make an appearance today. So we can move on to item six then? Sure. I don't know how you all typically deal with with staff approval items it says in the ordinance that we have to report that to you at the meeting I don't know how how that usually happens but I do have the application information here for alfalfa which we approved an authorization permit for them to establish a sidewalk cafe in March. Here are their renderings. I think that this has been installed, at least I believe this harvest table has been placed, I'm not sure about on the other window. So we determined that sidewalk cafes consisting of planters and furnishings did not have to go before the full board and we're approvable at a staff level so we reviewed this and referred them to building inspection for their sidewalk cafe permit and approved this application. If you have any questions, the staff report is provided in your packet as well as all of the application materials. Any questions? All right. I think we count ourselves informed. Do we have to pass a motion on that? I don't think so, right? I don't think so. It's just informational. It's informational, yeah. Okay. Thank you. All right. I think that brings us back to item number four, which was the case number two, 2019, Rugged Cross LLC, 119 North Limestone. Correct. I take it there is nobody here representing that case. It doesn't look to be. So honestly, this is the first time that's happened in six years. I'll take a little bit of the blame on not probably having the most complete application when we called this meeting for this applicant. they had indicated that they were in quite a bit of a hurry and we went ahead and scheduled the meeting and then then we've not really gotten the complete drawings that we need to make a motion so we've recommended postponement I can can give you a brief presentation on that if you'd like I think you've all read through the staff recommendation though so if you would like to make a motion to postpone that would certainly well with the applicant not here with the information not provided that was requested by staff i would put on record also that this board does take seriously when staff recommends a postponement due to there being not enough information and the reason i make that statement is so that there there is precedent and understanding by the public that that we do need to have adequate information in order to make a a decision or a judgment, so rushing to put something before the board without the full amount of information, for instance, rendering where we can see elevation or when it's needed and necessary, especially on a radical change or a bigger change for that matter, to the facade of a building in the district is, you know, causes us to not be able to make a fact-based judgment and it's it's our job on this board to make judgments based on fact and based upon the regulations and guidelines set forth by the board and we don't have enough information we just simply cannot do that and at that point we have to postpone so at this point go ahead any other comments i don't have any comments i just make a motion to postpone case number 2 2019. all right do you have a second second all right all those in favor say aye aye and those opposed motion passes to when are we postponing the application our next scheduled meeting is august 14th yeah um so that would probably be yeah and i would say this you know we also are open if there it is necessary to have something accelerated in terms of a board meeting because We understand that that's sometimes necessary with business. So if that were to become necessary with the proper documentation and specifications provided, we would be open to looking at opportunities to do that should they become necessary. All right, so that was item four. Is there anybody from the public that has signed up to make comments? No? Okay. Well, that does it for the items on here, so I need a motion to adjourn at this point. So moved. And a second? Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Motion passes. And that adjourns the June 19th Courthouse Area Design Review Board meeting. you