Urban County Council Special Meeting - Public Hearing - Zone Change

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Urban County Council met on September 17, 2013, at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Chuck Ellinger presided over the meeting. The Council considered one agenda item during the session: Ordinance 0839-13, which proposed a zone change for properties located at 4100 Nicholasville Road and 104, 108, and 112 East Tiverton Way. The ordinance was approved. The Council took one vote during the meeting and heard four public comments from members of the community.

Attendance

Present: Chuck Ellinger, Lawless, Mossotti, Myers, Scutchfield, Stinnett, Beard, Clarke, Farmer, Ford, and Henson

Absent: Akers, Kay, and Lane

Late: None

Votes and Decisions

Ordinance 0839-13 3:24:51

The body voted on an ordinance to change zoning for property at 4100 Nicholasville Rd. and 104, 108, and 112 E. Tiverton Way. The ordinance would rezone 49.17 net acres from Agricultural Urban (A-U) zone to Mixed-Use Community (MU-3) zone, and 0.65 net acres from Single Family Residential (R-1D) zone to Mixed-Use Community (MU-3) zone. The ordinance also included dimensional variances.

The motion was made by Beard and seconded by Myers. The ordinance passed by roll call vote with 11 ayes and 0 nays.

The following voted in favor: - Lawless - Mossotti - Myers - Scutchfield - Stinnett - Beard - Clarke - Ellinger - Farmer - Ford - Henson

No votes were cast against the ordinance.

The approval was conditional, subject to the following requirements:

• Certification of ZDP 2013-22: Fritz Farm, LLC (Summit Lexington, Bayer Property) must be completed within two weeks of Planning Commission approval
• No commercial or business use shall be permitted within 75 feet of any single-family residential use

Public Comment

Four speakers addressed the meeting regarding the proposed zone change.

Leigh Buckley 2:15:44 spoke against the zone change, expressing concerns about increased traffic and the proposed entrance on Habersham Drive. She requested that a privacy wall be installed and that the Habersham entrance be eliminated to protect neighborhood integrity.

Joseph von Sternberg 2:19:33 expressed support for the zone change. He cited the Fritz family's long-standing presence in the area and noted the developer's proven track record with successful projects, including the Summit in Louisville.

Ron Winfield 2:20:42 opposed the development, raising traffic congestion concerns. He projected that the development would generate 20,000 additional vehicles per day and noted that the Manowar and Nicholasville Road intersection already operates at a failing level of service.

Edward Prentice 2:22:22 warned against allowing new streets from the development to connect to Tiverton and Habersham. He argued that such connections would create dangerous and unmanageable traffic patterns in what is currently a dead-end neighborhood.

Contested Items

Three significant areas of disagreement emerged during the meeting:

Traffic Impact Study Validity

Opposition groups challenged the adequacy of the applicant's traffic study, asserting that it contained fundamental flaws, including incorrect signal timing and a failure to calibrate findings with real-world conditions. The applicant and city staff defended the study's validity, emphasizing that it had undergone multiple reviews and received formal approvals from both city and state agencies.

Development Intensity and SPUI Foreclusion

Community opponents objected to the proposed development's intensity, arguing it would exceed the density of Fayette Mall and would foreclose the future construction of a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) that had been recommended in the Small Area Plan. These opponents requested that the development be scaled back to address their concerns about density and future infrastructure needs.

Procedural Dispute Over Signage

Opposition representatives raised a procedural objection, contending that the applicant had failed to post the required signage for the public hearing. The Council voted unanimously to continue the hearing despite this challenge. In doing so, the Council determined that there had been substantial compliance with notice requirements and concluded that rescheduling the hearing would be impractical given the 90-day statutory deadline governing the decision.

Ordinance 0839-13: Zone Change for 4100 Nicholasville Rd. and 104, 108, 112 E. Tiverton Way

The Urban County Council held a public hearing on a proposed zone change affecting approximately 50 acres. The proposal sought to rezone the properties from Agricultural Urban (A-U) and Single Family Residential (R-1D) to Mixed-Use Community (MU-3).

Presentations and Key Speakers

Planning staff presented the proposal alongside the applicant, Bayer Properties, LLC. Key speakers included Chuck Ellinger, Bill Sallee, Bill Lear, Adam Kirk, David Silverstein, and Darby Turner. Opposition to the proposal was presented by Hank Graddy.

Issues Discussed

The hearing addressed several substantive concerns:

• Traffic impact of the proposed development
• Stormwater management requirements and feasibility
• Compliance with the South Nicholasville Road Small Area Plan
• Development intensity and how the proposed project compared to existing nearby developments, including Fayette Mall

Outcome

The ordinance was approved by the Urban County Council.