Board of Adjustment Meeting

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Urban County Board of Adjustment met on November 30, 2012, at 1:01 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 200 East Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky. Barry Stumbo presided over the meeting, which included seven agenda items. The board took 11 motions and votes during the session and heard 10 public comments. The meeting covered routine business including attendance, approval of previous minutes, consideration of postponement or withdrawal of scheduled business, and informational items regarding staff matters and the next meeting date.

Attendance

Present: James Griggs, Thomas Glover, Noel White, Joe Smith, Barry Stumbo, Jim Gallimore, Chuck Saylor, Jim Marx, Tracy Jones, Jimmy Emmons, Bill Sallee, and Wanda Howard

Absent: Kathryn Moore and Janice Meyer

Late: None

Votes and Decisions

All votes taken during the November 30, 2012 meeting passed unanimously with five votes in favor and zero votes against or abstaining.

Approval of Minutes 1:00 The minutes from the September 28, 2012 meeting were approved. Motion by James Griggs, seconded by Noel White. All five members voted in favor: James Griggs, Thomas Glover, Noel White, Joe Smith, and Barry Stumbo.

Administrative Review Postponement 4:11 A-2012-45 (Cherokee Park Neighborhood Association administrative review) was indefinitely postponed. Motion by Noel White, seconded by James Griggs.

Variance V-2012-79 8:10 Approved a variance for Independent Healthcare Properties, LLC to reduce sign setback from 10 feet to 1 foot in the P-1 zone at 225 Ruccio Way. Motion by James Griggs, seconded by Thomas Glover. Conditions included compliance with submitted plans, obtaining necessary permits from Planning and Building Inspection, and review by Traffic Engineering prior to sign permit issuance.

Variance V-2012-80 12:33 Approved variances for Ralph Senninger to reduce front yard from 50 feet to 15 feet and rear yard from 25 feet to 5 feet in the A-R zone at 8839 Beach Road. Motion by James Griggs, seconded by Thomas Glover. Conditions required development according to submitted plans and obtaining applicable permits.

Conditional Use Permits - C-2012-76 15:24: Approved for Ideal Exchange, Inc. to operate a pawn shop in B-3 zone at 510 E. New Circle Road, Suite 180. Motion by James Griggs, seconded by Noel White. Conditions included landscape buffer compliance, prohibition on outdoor merchandise display, and restriction on firearm sales without amended approval.

• C-2012-74 17:02: Approved for Four Seasons Martial Arts/Colleen O'Donnell to establish an athletic club in I-1 zone at 951 Floyd Drive. Motion by Thomas Glover, seconded by Joe Smith.

• C-2012-77 26:19: Approved for Bluegrass Regional Mental Health to establish an assisted living facility in B-6P zone at 3479 Buckhorn Drive. Motion by Noel White, seconded by Thomas Glover.

• C-2012-78 28:24: Approved for Total Grace Baptist Church to establish a child care facility in R-3 zone at 1313 N. Limestone Street. Motion by James Griggs, seconded by Thomas Glover. Conditions included relocation of outdoor play area, traffic engineering review of student drop-off procedures, and limitation to 50 children total.

Administrative Review Continuation 30:01 A-2012-62 (Division of Building Inspection permit for paving in front yard at 626 Kastle Road) was continued. Motion by Thomas Glover, seconded by James Griggs.

Committee Reappointment 31:39 Mike Cravens was reappointed to the Landscape Review Committee for a four-year term. Motion by James Griggs, seconded by Thomas Glover.

Revocation Hearing 50:11 A revocation hearing was scheduled for C-90-45 (Con Robinson Contracting Company, Inc.). Motion by James Griggs, seconded by Thomas Glover.

Public Comment

The meeting included public comment on multiple development and conditional use applications, with representatives speaking in support of various proposals.

Variance Requests

Tony Barrett, representing Independent Healthcare Properties, LLC, spoke in support of variance V-2012-79 regarding sign setback requirements 7:35. He stated agreement with staff recommendations and conditions, emphasizing the need for improved visibility and safety.

Matt Carter, representing Ralph Senninger, addressed variance V-2012-80 9:18. He confirmed agreement with staff conditions and explained that the proposed home would be only slightly larger than the previous structure, with variances necessary due to the lot's unique configuration.

Conditional Use Permits

Rich Coppersmith, representing Ideal Exchange, Inc., spoke in support of conditional use C-2012-76 13:41. He confirmed agreement with six conditions, including landscaping requirements and prohibition on outdoor sales, and clarified the location of required hedges.

Gary Thompson, representing Four Seasons Martial Arts, addressed conditional use C-2012-74 16:26. He confirmed agreement with two conditions and stated the facility would generate minimal traffic.

Steven Garrison, representing Bluegrass Regional Mental Health, spoke in support of conditional use C-2012-77 19:05. He explained the supervised nature of the program, its compliance with state licensing, and addressed neighbor concerns about resident behavior and safety. David Haydon, also representing the organization, provided additional regulatory information 22:56, confirming the program is licensed by the Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health and accredited by the Joint Commission, with tri-annual inspections.

Sherrod LaDette, representing Total Grace Baptist Church, addressed conditional use C-2012-78 27:21. He confirmed agreement with all four conditions, including relocating the outdoor play area and managing drop-off and pick-up traffic.

Administrative Matters

Richard Murphy requested an indefinite postponement of administrative review appeal A-2012-45 2:00, representing the property owner at 1713 Nicholasville Road. He cited ongoing negotiations and the desire to avoid repeated legal advertisements.

Jimmy Emmons presented a staff recommendation to continue administrative review A-2012-62 28:56 due to the absence of appellants and Building Inspection representatives.

Jim Marx presented staff findings regarding conditional use permit C-90-45 33:17, recommending a revocation hearing based on evidence that Con Robinson Contracting Company was operating a quarry under the guise of composting, violating the original permit.

Appointments

Mike Cravens was reappointed to the Landscape Review Committee.

Contested Items

Authority to Grant Indefinite Postponement

Mr. Glover questioned whether the Board possessed the authority to grant an indefinite postponement of an appeal. Staff affirmed that this action had precedent, with the critical condition that the applicant would need to be re-notified if the appeal were to be re-docketed in the future. [timestamp information not provided in source data]

Precedent Concerns for V-2012-80 Variance

A heated discussion arose regarding the V-2012-80 variance when Mr. Griggs expressed concern about setting a precedent by allowing the enlargement of a non-conforming structure. Staff clarified an important distinction: the structure in question was non-conforming, but the use was not. Staff further explained that the lot's particular configuration made it impossible to construct without variances, addressing the concern that approval would create problematic precedent for future cases. [timestamp information not provided in source data]

Legal Authority to Revoke Conditional Use Permit

The Board engaged in a heated debate over the legal soundness of revoking a 22-year-old composting permit based on alleged quarrying activity occurring on the property. Staff asserted that the Board had authority to revoke the permit, arguing that the quarrying activity constituted a misuse of the land and a violation of the original conditions under which the composting permit had been granted. The core disagreement centered on whether the alleged new activity sufficiently violated the permit's terms to justify revocation of a long-standing authorization. [timestamp information not provided in source data]

Attendance

Chair Barry Stumbo called the meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. 0:00. Five members were present at the meeting, while two members were absent. Staff and other officials were also in attendance.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the September 28, 2012 meeting were presented for approval. 1:00

James Griggs moved to approve the minutes, and Noel White seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously.

Postponement or Withdrawal of Scheduled Business

4:11

The Board considered a motion to indefinitely postpone item A-2012-45. Noel White made the motion, which was seconded by James Griggs.

The postponement was requested due to ongoing negotiations between the property owner and the neighborhood association. The Board unanimously approved the request to postpone the item indefinitely.

Key speakers on this matter included Noel White, James Griggs, Richard Murphy, and Jimmy Emmons.

Outcome: Item A-2012-45 was postponed indefinitely.

No Discussion Items

4:42

Jimmy Emmons presented the no-discussion items to the Board. The Board confirmed that all items listed as no-discussion items had staff recommendations, appellant agreement, and no objections. This confirmation allowed for immediate action on these items without requiring debate or further discussion.

The outcome was approved.

Staff Items

30:31

Staff presented two items during this portion of the meeting.

Reappointment to Landscape Review Committee

Staff presented the reappointment of Mike Cravens to the Landscape Review Committee. This item was presented for informational purposes.

Revocation Hearing Request

Staff also presented a request for a revocation hearing regarding C-90-45. The request was prompted by alleged unauthorized quarrying operations. This matter was presented for informational purposes.

Key speakers on these staff items included Jimmy Emmons and Jim Marx.

Next Meeting Date

Barry Stumbo announced that the next meeting would be held on December 14, 2012. This date was scheduled two weeks earlier than the usual meeting schedule to accommodate the Christmas holiday.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by Barry Stumbo after all agenda items had been addressed. 50:41