Planning Commission Meeting

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Urban County Planning Commission met on August 9, 2012, at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Urban County Government Building, 200 East Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky. Mike Owens presided over the meeting, which included 10 agenda items and resulted in 10 motions and votes. The Commission heard 5 public comments during the session.

The meeting covered a range of planning and zoning matters. The Commission approved the minutes from the previous meeting and processed a consent agenda with no discussion items. Several development proposals were approved, including a development plan for Victory Apostolic Church, Inc. (DP 2012-62), a unit plan for Masterson Hills & Masterson Station, Unit 10 (PLAN 2003-209P), and an amendment to the Red Mile Mixed-Use Development zoning district plan (ZDP 2012-13). The Commission also approved matters related to performance bonds and letters of credit, and adopted a resolution honoring a former Planning Commission member.

One item was postponed or withdrawn during the meeting. The Commission denied an appeal by Michael Hayes (BOAR 2012-1). The meeting concluded with approval of a motion to initiate a zoning ordinance text amendment.

Attendance

Present: Mike Owens, Eunice Beatty, Will Berkley, Carla Blanton, Mike Cravens, Karen Mundy, Carolyn Plumlee, Lynn Roche-Phillips, and William Wilson.

Absent: Patrick Brewer and Frank Penn.

Late: Will Berkley arrived after the meeting had begun.

Votes and Decisions

All votes taken during the August 9, 2012 meeting passed unanimously with 9 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions.

Minutes Approval [0:33:59] The minutes from June 14, 2012 were approved on a motion by Eunice Beatty, seconded by Carla Blanton. Eight members voted in favor.

DP 2012-60 Postponement [0:35:34] A motion by Mike Cravens, seconded by Will Berkley, to postpone DP 2012-60 (Sebastian Property, Unit 2) to August 23, 2012 passed unanimously.

Consent Agenda [0:39:17] The Consent Agenda items, excluding Victory Apostolic Church, were approved on a motion by Lynn Roche-Phillips, seconded by Karen Mundy.

DP 2012-62: Victory Apostolic Church, Inc. [0:44:51] The development plan was approved with a condition to relocate the dumpster to the southeast corner of the parking lot. Motion by Lynn Roche-Phillips, seconded by Karen Mundy.

PLAN 2003-209P: Masterson Hills & Masterson Station, Unit 10 [0:51:34] The preliminary subdivision plan was approved with revised conditions including denoting a 50-foot "No Disturbance" area around the cemetery, submittal of cemetery map, denoting screening and landscaping requirements, and noting that excessively deep lotting will be reviewed with any Final Record Plat. Motion by Mike Cravens, seconded by Eunice Beatty.

ZDP 2012-13: Red Mile Mixed-Use Development (AMD) [0:56:53] Reapproval was granted with the original 11 conditions, including Urban County Council rezoning to MU-3, various engineering and planning approvals, pedestrian connections to public sidewalks, and resolution of building lot line conflicts at final development plan stage. Motion by Will Berkley, seconded by Eunice Beatty.

Bond Release and Call [0:57:28] Approval of release and call of bonds as detailed in the August 9, 2012 memorandum passed on a motion by Mike Cravens, seconded by Eunice Beatty.

BOAR 2012-1: Michael Hayes Appeal [2:10:10] The appeal regarding Certificate of Appropriateness for wood-clad vinyl windows at 354 & 358 Oldham Avenue was disapproved. Motion by Will Berkley, seconded by Eunice Beatty.

Zoning Text Amendment: Private Walkways [2:21:02] Initiation of a zoning text amendment to prohibit construction of private walkways facilitating illegal vehicular parking passed on a motion by Mike Cravens, seconded by Lynn Roche-Phillips.

Zoning Text Amendment: Notification Area [2:26:11] Initiation of a zoning text amendment to increase notification area for zone change applications from 400 to 500 feet passed on a motion by Will Berkley, seconded by Lynn Roche-Phillips.

Public Comment

Five speakers addressed the Board regarding a window replacement appeal in the historic district.

Michael Hayes 1:14:29 appealed the Board of Architectural Review's denial of wood-clad vinyl windows for his property. He argued that the windows are visually indistinguishable from original wood windows when viewed from the street, offer improved energy efficiency, and support affordable housing goals. He requested approval based on the visual and functional integrity of the windows and the intent of the historic district guidelines.

Amelia Armstrong 1:07:44, Historic Preservation staff, presented visual evidence of the window replacement and confirmed that vinyl windows do not comply with design guidelines, regardless of wood cladding. She stated that the Board of Architectural Review's decision was consistent with established precedent and the intent of the guidelines.

Jim Dickinson 1:40:15 supported the staff recommendation to uphold the Board's decision. He noted that Mr. Hayes bypassed the proper approval process and destroyed existing windows without a permit. Mr. Dickinson emphasized that design guidelines explicitly prohibit vinyl windows regardless of cladding, and warned that allowing exceptions would undermine the integrity of the historic preservation process.

Carla Blanton 1:54:28 expressed concern that the process lacks common sense, particularly when a visually indistinguishable, energy-efficient window is denied. She questioned whether the law should be reevaluated to reflect modern materials and affordability considerations.

Mike Cravens 1:55:30 stated that the code is clear: no vinyl windows are permitted. He emphasized that violating the code, even with good intentions, sets a dangerous precedent and noted that alternatives such as wood windows remain available.

Contested Items

Approval of Wood-Clad Vinyl Windows at 354 & 358 Oldham Avenue

A heated discussion arose regarding an appeal for approval of wood-clad vinyl windows at two properties on Oldham Avenue. The core disagreement centered on balancing historic preservation requirements against practical affordability considerations.

Commissioners were divided on whether the visual and functional equivalence of the proposed windows justified granting an exception to the existing explicit vinyl ban. The debate reflected a fundamental tension between maintaining strict adherence to preservation standards and accommodating property owners' cost constraints when alternatives met similar performance criteria.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the June 14, 2012, meeting were presented for approval. 33:59

Eunice Beatty moved to approve the minutes, and Carla Blanton seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously.

Postponements or Withdrawals

35:34

The board considered a motion to postpone DP 2012-60: Sebastian Property, Unit 2. Mike Cravens and Will Berkley were the key speakers on this item.

The motion to postpone the item was approved unanimously. As a result, DP 2012-60: Sebastian Property, Unit 2 was moved to the August 23, 2012, meeting.

Consent Agenda - No Discussion Items

The consent agenda was presented for approval at the meeting on August 9, 2012. 39:17

Speakers: Chris King and Bill Sallee

Action Taken:

The consent agenda was approved with one exception. Item DP 2012-62: Victory Apostolic Church was pulled from the consent agenda for separate discussion and consideration. All remaining consent agenda items were approved unanimously.

DP 2012-62: Victory Apostolic Church, Inc.

The plan for Victory Apostolic Church, Inc. was presented as agenda item 1a and discussed by Bill Martin and Jason Banks 44:51.

Outcome

The plan was approved. A new condition was added to the approval requiring relocation of the dumpster to the southeast corner of the parking lot. This condition was agreed upon by both staff and the applicant prior to the vote.

Discussion

No objections were raised during the discussion of this agenda item.

PLAN 2003-209P: Masterson Hills & Masterson Station, Unit 10

51:34

The preliminary subdivision plan for Masterson Hills & Masterson Station, Unit 10 was presented for discussion and approval. Key speakers on this item included Chris Taylor and Rory Kahly.

The plan was approved with revised conditions focused on cemetery protection. The specific requirements established include:

• A 50-foot no disturbance zone around the cemetery
• Submission of a cemetery map
• Compliance with zoning ordinance requirements

The outcome of the discussion was approval of the preliminary subdivision plan.

ZDP 2012-13: Red Mile Mixed-Use Development (AMD)

Chris Sallee presented the reapproval of the zoning development plan for the Red Mile Mixed-Use Development 56:53. The plan required recertification because the prior approval had expired and needed to be renewed within a two-week window.

The zoning development plan was reapproved with the original 11 conditions intact. No modifications to the conditions were made during this recertification process.

Outcome: The plan was approved.

Performance Bonds and Letters of Credit

The board discussed the release and call of bonds as outlined in the August 9, 2012, memorandum. Key speakers on this agenda item included Mike Cravens and Eunice Beatty. 57:28

The discussion resulted in unanimous approval of the bond matters presented in the memorandum. No specific concerns or objections were raised during the deliberation.

Resolution for Former Planning Commission Member

A resolution honoring Marie Copeland was presented and approved during this meeting 2:26:43.

Presentation

Mike Owens presented the resolution, which recognized Copeland's four years of service and dedication to the Planning Commission and the community.

Outcome

The resolution was approved.

BOAR 2012-1: Michael Hayes Appeal

2:10:10

The Commission considered an appeal of the Board of Architectural Review's (BOAR) denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness for wood-clad vinyl windows.

Key Participants

The discussion involved Barbara Rackers, Amelia Armstrong, Michael Hayes, and Jim Dickinson.

Decision

The Commission denied the appeal and upheld the BOAR's original decision to deny the Certificate of Appropriateness. The denial was based on design guidelines that prohibit vinyl windows.

Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment Initiation

The Commission initiated a text amendment to the zoning ordinance regarding notification requirements for zone change applications. 2:26:11

Proposal

The amendment proposes increasing the notification area for zone change applications from 400 feet to 500 feet. This change would improve consistency with the notification requirements already in place for conditional use permit applications.

Key Participants

Chris King and Chris Taylor were the primary speakers on this agenda item.

Outcome

The Commission approved the initiation of the zoning ordinance text amendment.