Planning Commission Zoning Public Hearing

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Urban County Planning Commission met on November 19, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber, 2nd Floor of the LFUCG Government Center, located at 200 East Main Street in Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Chairman presided over the meeting, which included six agenda items and resulted in six motions and votes. The Commission approved the minutes from the previous meeting, deferred action on postponements and withdrawals, and approved three substantive items: PLAN 2015-118P for Patchen Place Subdivision, DP 2015-111 for Urban 221 (A Portion of), and MARV 2015-22 concerning H&J Properties of Lexington, LLC, and TLJ Properties of Lexington, LLC. The meeting also included five public comments from members of the community regarding the matters under consideration.

Attendance

Present (19 people): - Will Berkley - Mike Cravens - Karen Mundy - Frank Penn - Carolyn Plumlee - Carolyn Richardson - Joseph Smith - William Wilson - Jim Duncan - Bill Sallee - Barbara Rackers - Jimmy Emmons - Traci Wade - Tom Martin - Stephanie Cunningham - Andrea Brown - Casey Kaucher - Captain Greg Lengal - Lieutenant Joshua Thiel

Absent (3 people): - Patrick Brewer - David Drake - Mike Owens

Late: None recorded.

Votes and Decisions

MARC 2015-24: Larry Luttrell, Jr., Zoning Map Amendment & Lane Allen Park Subdivision, Lot 4, Zoning Development Plan 5:30

Motion by Frank Penn, seconded by Karen Mundy to postpone this item. The motion passed unanimously with 8 ayes and 0 nays.

PLAN 2015-118P: Patchen Place Subdivision (FKA Dallas Plaza, Unit 1) Preliminary Subdivision Plan 26:44

Motion by Will Berkley, seconded by Carolyn Richardson to approve the preliminary subdivision plan. The motion passed unanimously with 8 ayes and 0 nays. All eight members voted in favor: Will Berkley, Mike Cravens, Karen Mundy, Frank Penn, Carolyn Plumlee, Carolyn Richardson, Joseph Smith, and William Wilson.

The approval includes two conditions: no building permit will be issued for Lots 4 & 5 until a Final Development Plan is approved by the Planning Commission, and access to Gribbin Drive from Lots 4 & 5 must be resolved at the time of the Final Development Plan.

DP 2015-111: Urban 221 (A Portion of) Development Plan 42:34

Motion by Frank Penn, seconded by Frank Penn to approve the development plan. The motion passed unanimously with 8 ayes and 0 nays. The approval is subject to 25 conditions addressing various technical requirements including approvals from the Urban County Engineer, Traffic Engineer, Building Inspection, Addressing Office, Urban Forester, Bike & Pedestrian Planner, Division of Fire, Division of Waste Management, and Division of Water Quality. Additional conditions require review of variances, clarification of plan details, compliance with zoning ordinance articles, and discussions regarding pedestrian street improvements, open space requirements, building height limitations, and parking lot screening.

MARV 2015-22: Zoning Map Amendment from Professional Office (P-1) to Neighborhood Business (B-1) zone for 1400, 1402, and 1412 North Broadway 1:02:03

Motion by Mike Cravens to approve the zoning map amendment. The motion passed unanimously with 8 ayes and 0 nays. The approval includes prohibited uses and is subject to certification of ZDP 2015-22: Fairlawn Subdivision Lots 19-22 within two weeks of Planning Commission approval.

MARV 2015-22: Three Landscape Variances 1:02:03

Motion seconded by Karen Mundy to approve three landscape variances for MARV 2015-22. The motion passed unanimously with 8 ayes and 0 nays. Conditions include installation of a typical dumpster enclosure unless Waste Management has operational reason not to, and approval is subject to certification of ZDP 2015-22 within two weeks.

ZDP 2015-103: Recommend Approval Eliminating Condition #11 1:02:40

Motion seconded by Karen Mundy to recommend approval of ZDP 2015-103, eliminating condition #11. The motion passed unanimously with 8 ayes and 0 nays.

Public Comment

Five speakers provided public comment during the meeting.

Chad Meredith 5:00 requested a two-month postponement of MARC 2015-24 to resolve septic system issues and finalize plans for the rehabilitation home and subdivision.

Kevin Phillips 17:38 requested modification of a condition denying access to Gribbin Drive. He asked that the condition be revised to allow resolution at the time of the Final Development Plan, citing the early stage of the project and the need for grading permits.

Jacob Walburn 36:25 expressed support for DP 2015-111. He highlighted market research and community support for the project and introduced the developers and landscape architect.

John Carman 38:44 addressed fire code and open space questions. He confirmed compliance with fire code, addressed emergency access, and confirmed that the project meets open space requirements through balconies and a central area.

Peter Brown 1:00:21 expressed support for MARV 2015-22 and the associated variances. He agreed with all staff recommendations and confirmed cooperation with all conditions, including landscape variances.

Contested Items

Access to Gribbin Drive for Patchen Place Subdivision

The board debated whether to permanently restrict access to Gribbin Drive or defer the decision until a final development plan was submitted. The disagreement centered on balancing traffic impact concerns against the need for flexibility in future development planning. No single outcome is specified in the available records.

Landscape Variances for MARV 2015-22

Staff and the applicant engaged in a heated discussion regarding landscape buffer requirements. The dispute involved the adequacy of proposed hedge buffers compared to required fences. Staff prioritized safety and visual screening considerations, while the applicant emphasized topography constraints and access needs as justification for the variance request. The specific resolution of this disagreement is not documented in the available records.

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber at the LFUCG Government Center 0:00. Mr. Chairman presided over the session and welcomed attendees to begin the proceedings.

Approval of Minutes

4:28

A motion to approve the minutes from the September 24, 2015, meeting was presented. Ms. Carolyn Plumlee made the motion, which was seconded by Ms. Karen Mundy. The motion carried unanimously.

Postponements and Withdrawals

5:30

The Commission discussed the postponement of MARC 2015-24 during this agenda item. Key speakers Frank Penn and Chad Meredith addressed the matter.

The Commission unanimously voted to postpone MARC 2015-24 to the January 28, 2016 meeting. The postponement was granted to allow the petitioner additional time to resolve septic system issues associated with the proposal.

PLAN 2015-118P: Patchen Place Subdivision

7:35

The Commission reviewed and approved the preliminary subdivision plan for Patchen Place. Key speakers on this item included Tom Martin and Kevin Phillips.

The approval included revised conditions addressing two primary matters:

• Access to Gribbin Drive — The plan was modified to include revised conditions regarding how the subdivision would access Gribbin Drive.

• Development plan requirements for Lots 4 and 5 — Specific development plan requirements were established for these two lots as part of the approval conditions.

The Commission voted to approve the preliminary subdivision plan with these conditions in place.

DP 2015-111: Urban 221 (A Portion of)

27:58

The Commission reviewed and approved the development plan for Urban 221 (a portion of) during this agenda item.

Key Speakers

The discussion involved Tom Martin, Jacob Walburn, and John Carman.

Outcome

The Commission approved the development plan with multiple conditions.

Conditions of Approval

The approval included requirements related to:

• Landscaping
• Fire access
• Open space
• Technical review

MARV 2015-22: H&J Properties of Lexington, LLC, and TLJ Properties of Lexington, LLC

43:06

The Commission considered a zoning map amendment for properties on North Broadway owned by H&J Properties of Lexington, LLC, and TLJ Properties of Lexington, LLC. The proposal sought to rezone the properties from P-1 to B-1 zone.

Key speakers on this item included Traci Wade, Tom Martin, and Peter Brown.

The Commission approved the zoning map amendment with conditional restrictions. The approval included prohibitions on certain uses within the B-1 zone designation and required certification of a development plan for the properties. These conditions were incorporated into the final approval to address the specific characteristics and context of the North Broadway location.

The amendment was approved by the Commission.