Organizational Input

The Division of Planning broadcasted an open invitation for agencies and special interest groups to sign up for a time slot the week of March 21, 2022 to meet with staff. We requested feedback on the Goals and Objectives portion of the plan. It was explained that feedback will be used to update the Goals and Objectives that will be crafted by the Planning Commission over the summer and presented to the Urban County Council for adoption later this year. Ten organizations provided input and a summary of each follows.

Pensacola Park

Meeting Summary On March 21st , 2022, Planning Staff met with representatives from the Pensacola Park neighborhood to discuss transportation related issues identified in the Imagine Nicholasville Road corridor study. The corridor study called for encouraging development that would support future mass transit improvements through Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) infrastructure.

The neighborhood members provided materials to document the harm that single occupancy motor vehicles are having on the environment and their cost to the local economy compared to improved mass transit options. They point out that the significant growth of the region will only continue to exacerbate our congestion issues.

They provided a brief history on the rise and subsequent demise of the Lexington streetcar system and calling for a return of a similar scaled light rail project for the Nicholasville Road corridor. The group provided a list of potential funding sources and evidence from the federal government of emerging policies supporting mass transit improvements in cities.

In closing, the group shared a top 10 university cities ranging from 50,000 to under 1,000,000 residents that have significantly higher per capita transit ridership to indicate that there is significant potential for a shift in the transit habits of Lexington residents. They shared that there is a significant return on investment for communities that choose to invest in mass transit and that Lexington to be well served to do the same.

Community Ventures

Meeting Summary On March 22nd , 2022, Planning staff met with representatives of Community Ventures. They described the mission of Community Ventures within the communities they work in. They have focused their efforts in Lexington on the East End, trying to support a neighborhood that

is seeing displacement at a rapid pace. Before they even start to think about development they have extensive discussions with the community, to build their trust, and to try to fill some of their needs.

They are primarily focused on affordable housing, particularly multi-family and mixed use, but ideally would avoid having to use Low Income Tax Credits. One of the biggest challenges they are seeing is the lack of opportunity for someone to get into their first house – they are working to eliminate some of those barriers. As developers they are also facing the challenge of amassing enough developable land to create a significant development, title issues, easements, etc. that involve lots of time wasted in discussions back and forth with the City.

Having a more powerful and farther reaching housing trust fund would help immensely to partner with. The Artists Village, which is a conglomeration of live/work dwellings for artists with a communal central green space is an alternative they are working on. Greenfield development would be a challenge due to the cost of land and the increased gap they would have to subsidize, plus it does not meet their goal of serving underprivileged communities. They highlighted the need for better transportation for residents so they can get where they need to go, but also so people can come to them, to their businesses.

Commission for People with Disabilities

Meeting Summary On March 23rd , 2022, Planning staff were provided the opportunity to attend a regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission for People with Disabilities. Much of the discussion focused on the need for Universal Design standards to be more greatly considered. This especially applies to housing for individuals with disabilities, where ADA compliance or Universal Design are rarely factored into construction (e.g. 36” doorways, zero grade entrances, 10’ clearance in ground floor of parking structures to accommodate taller vans, visual and audible access). Transportation is another concern – Lextran Wheels serves the community as best it can but has its limitations.

There is also a need for transportation between Fayette and the surrounding counties to get people with disabilities to job opportunities. In terms of accessibility, the Complete Streets movement helps to take into consideration a wider array of needs, for instance raised speed tables help to slow traffic but they can also accommodate an at-grade crossing.

Finding employment for people with disabilities is a challenge. The government needs to step up and set an example by hiring a full time coordinator for and to offer employment for people with disabilities. This would help prevent unintended consequences like the improper (but

well-meaning) installation of curb delineators at intersections that now need to be replaced in nearly all instances, or the inclusion of more outdoor seating during the pandemic impacting mobility along sidewalks downtown.

Much of the needs of our aging population fall under this Commission eventually, so there is an added layer of thought required. For instance, how do we serve an aging population with disabilities who are in need of affordable housing along with aging services? Across the board though there is a desire for people with disabilities to feel included in the Lexington ‘community’, at home, at work, and during events.

Fayette Alliance

Meeting Summary On March 23rd , 2022, representatives from Fayette Alliance made a presentation to the Division of Planning staff on focus areas of importance to their membership. They proposed what they refer to as a ‘policy map’ to visually identify the Placetypes as currently identified in the Placebuilder element of Imagine Lexington.

Additionally, they reiterated support for creating new infill opportunities for missing middle housing. They suggested a zoning ordinance audit to assist in maximizing housing production within Lexington’s Infill and Redevelopment area, including creating new zoning classifications and proactively rezoning non-residential areas.

They also pointed out the economic impact of the agricultural economy in Fayette County both in terms of industry and tourism. They also called for implementing the recommendations from the Neighborhoods in Transition Task Force as well as the Mayor’s Commission on Racial Justice.

Regarding the future of the Urban Service Area, they called for the completion of the next steps of the Sustainable Growth Study and to develop tools to track growth and development annually to assist in a data driven approach to future expansion discussions.

Trees Lexington!

Meeting Summary On March 23rd , 2022, Planning staff met with representative of Trees Lexington! to discuss a number of issues important to their organization. Trees Lexington! is a non-profit that seeks to encourage community members to take an active role in expanding and maintaining the local tree canopy. Michael Potapov and Dave Leonard, both members of the Trees Lexington!

Board, communicated to Planning Staff that trees are an essential part of Lexington’s quality of life and sense of community.

They stated that a goal of Trees Lexington! is to provide education for the long term benefits of trees. In particular, they shared that Lexington has an urgent need to preserve and enhance our urban forest, which will require a coordinated effort between government agencies, development professionals, members of the public, and local organizations (like Trees Lexington!).

They provided a listing of the 2018 Comprehensive Plan Goals and Objectives, Policies, and Placebuilder Criteria which reference the importance of trees. In addition, they suggest four areas for improvement as 1) tree loss and removal practices, 2) tree care, 3) new tree installation, and 4) information and progress tracking. The meeting ended with a discussion of how Trees Lexington! might contribute to these areas.

Food Chain

Meeting Summary On March 25th , 2022, Planning Staff met with representatives of Food Chain to discuss comprehensive plan related policies that impact their organization. Food Chain’s mission is to get the community more connected to and involved with local food systems. Kristen Hughes, the Director of Education and Outreach, was explaining that often transportation is one of the largest barrier to accessing food, particularly healthy food and fresh produce. People don’t often consider that stocking up with staple items can be incredibly difficult without transportation. Home delivery is a solution, but it requires a tremendous amount of resources.

The Mayor’s Commission called for a mobile food market to try to counteract food deserts in marginalized communities, the planning of which seems to have stalled. Other transportation related issues they have seen working within the community are: bus stop locations that move; unexpected changes of routes; lack of clocks at stops; unsafe or inaccessible stops; inconvenient timing and length to transfer downtown; 2nd and 3rd shift workers unserved; and, transit routes that only skirt the edges of low-income neighborhoods.

We need to think about corner stores and convenience stores as being potential locations to host fresh foods and produce in the short term. There are very few parcels of land available for growing food on a small scale within the community. In addition to their outreach to the community, Food Chain provides hot meal hand-outs three times a week at their location in the Northside. They would like to do more, but are limited by resources.

Climate Conversations

Meeting Summary On March 25th , 2022, Planning staff met with representative from Climate Conversations to discuss a number of items they felt were in need of greater emphasis in the next comprehensive plan. Their team led the conversation and posed questions about how Lexington and the next Comprehensive Plan will address climate mitigation and adaptation.

The representatives asked “what does a climate resilient Lexington that we can all survive and thrive in look like?” They drew a relationship between climate change and community building by focusing on public transportation and more human scaled, walkable development and land use patterns. The groups seeks better public transportation options and noted that Lexington’s bus system has a stigma that needs to be changed. They also pointed out the need for better interconnectivity between neighborhoods and offered that infill development can create more connectivity as opposed to keeping areas separate.

There was a discussion of the missed opportunity in the way that the Hamburg area was developed with a lack of human scale, greenspace, and low walkability. Drawing a comparison to the Hamburg area, they stated that many current development patterns in Lexington work against human interaction—they say that these developments lack the community focused feel that comes with sidewalks and active storefronts where people can meet and build community. The group stated that the rhetoric around climate change can be doomsday-ish, but they want to foster more hopeful community conversations around climate action.

Bluegrass Climate Action Team (BCAT)

Meeting Summary On April 5th 2022, Planning staff met with representatives from the Bluegrass Climate Action Team (BCAT). They provided an introduction to their organization, a group that formed two years ago with the goal of bringing people together to present a unified voice on government policies on climate change. They stated that VM Kay and CM Liz Sheehan were involved with BCAT. BCAT Presented their research on the current status of climate change using various sources including the latest IPCC Report and NOAA predictions.

They discussed the importance of land use decisions in climate change mitigation. BCAT shared concerns about proposed expansion of the Urban Service Boundary and Lexington’s future plans for growth. They shared multiple findings on the negative impacts of urban expansion/sprawl including increased greenhouse gas emissions, increased cost to city governments and residents, and increased cost of transportation and decreased access to

services for those who would live in areas of expansion. They stated a desire for Lexington to pursue affordable housing focused on densification and access to services.

BCAT made three “asks”: (1) Make all feasible efforts to maintain the current Urban Service Boundary in the next Comprehensive Plan; (2) Evaluate future development in our city in terms of Greenhouse Gas Emissions; (3) Lead Lexington in the direction of densification and “people-first” city planning.

Fayette County Neighborhood Council

Meeting Summary On April 1st , 2022, Planning staff met with representatives of the Fayette County Neighborhood Council (FCNC) on topics of importance to their membership. Their starting point for guidance is that all land used for development should be held to the highest review standard possible to ensure compliance with the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan due to how finite a resource land is to Fayette County.

Of particular importance to FCNC is that development should be in context with its existing built area. They wish to see compatibility standards that govern height and setbacks as well as unique characteristics of individual neighborhoods. Additionally, FCNC stated concerns with planned efforts to increase density along major corridors where there are existing neighborhoods in those areas.

The group also brought up a need for the government to improve non-planning related activities in a number of areas. Concerns regarding crime and violence were mentioned and suggested the Comprehensive Plan should step up its data analysis regarding crime data. Also, they stated a desire for a rental licensing and registration program for landlords to incentivize improved maintenance and upkeep of rental properties.

FCNC also brought up a need to more substantively address affordable housing funding and programs to boost the number of affordable housing units in Lexington. Lastly, FCNC called for the Comprehensive Plan to include an implementation item to study stormwater facilities and their associated costs. They recommend additional policies are enhancing language around existing policies to step up the sustainability of future development as it relates to climate change.

Kentucky Tenants Association

Meeting Summary On March 24th , 2022, representatives from the Kentucky Tenants Association made a presentation to Division of Planning staff on a number of issues of particular importance to their constituency.

Of particular concern was the striking concern was the sharply increasing rental rates and what that means in terms of the numbers of Lexington residents that now lack secure housing. Their data indicated that over 46% of Lexington renters are now paying more than 50% of their income to rent. Further, among those making under 100% area median income (AMI) 51% of renters are paying over half of their income to rent. At the same time, many of those same tenants are also dealing with more units being in substandard condition.

The KTA had also undertaken a Listening Project involving 30 volunteer and paid phone bankers to canvas Fayette County resident by phone and text to ask about housing costs and unit conditions. 68.8% of respondents felt that rent in their area was unaffordable.

The group had strong recommendations for improving the existing equity policies of Imagine Lexington as well as guiding principles for implementation. They suggest prioritizes permanently affordable housing models that places those residents in a position of decisionmaking authority in those communities.