Committee recommends adding 3,012 acres to Lexington growth boundary. Find out where
A group tasked with adding to the city’s growth boundary has picked a little more than 3,000 acres in areas around Winchester Road, Athens Boonesboro Road and Parkers Mill Road and Man O War.
The Urban Growth Management Master Plan Committee, a citizens group that also includes council members and planning commission members, voted Tuesday to recommend the following acres be included in Lexington’s growth boundary:
- 1,017 acres along Winchester Road between Interstate 75 and Interstate 64
- 776 acres along Winchester Road and Cleveland Road and the Greenbrier subdivision
- 765 acres between Athens Boonesboro Road and Todds Road and I-75
- 338 acres east of I-75 and south of Todds Road
- 43 acres along Athens Boonesboro Road south of the Blue Sky Rural Activity center on Interstate 75
- 393 acres along Parkers Mill Road and Man O War Boulevard near Cardinal Run North.
The total amount of gross acres is 3,012. The net acres, or buildable land acres, is 2,801 acres.
At a Sept. 5 meeting, the group tentatively focused on approximately 3,000 acres along the Winchester Road corridor between Royster Road and I-64 in the rapidly growing east side of Lexington.
However, some land owners in the area told the committee during a Sept. 12 public hearing they did not want their land to be developed.
On Tuesday, the committee voted to remove a chunk of that land along Winchester Road to comply with the landowners’ request to remove the land from consideration.
The committee also agreed Tuesday to include the area east of Brenda Cowan Elementary School on Athens Boonesboro Road to I-75 as well as land on the other side of I-75. The group also included a small 43-acre parcel that is just south of the Blue Sky Rural Activity Center, which includes businesses around the interstate exit.
Representatives for those landowners told the committee during the public hearing the land was ready to be developed.
Also, it will be easier to put new pump stations on the land on the east side of I-75 then on the west side, said Charlie Martin, director of water quality for the city.
After much discussion, the committee ultimately did not include a small section along the east side of I-75 along Cannebrake Drive.
The biggest fight involved an area around Parkers Mill and Bowman Mill roads and Man O War Boulevard.
The owners of storied Mill Ridge Farm, the Headley and the Bell families, told the committee they wanted the farm included in the urban growth boundary and wanted to develop the farm.
But many on the committee said they were concerned about turning prime farmland into homes or other developments.
“It is the heart of horse country,” said John Phillips, a committee member. The soil quality in the area is some of the finest in the country, he said.
Moreover, Phillips said he has heard from dozens of people in that area they did not want that area to be developed.
Others said there is a serious sewer issue that has to be addressed. The pump station is over capacity and needs to be replaced. Adding land in that area will help the city acquire land needed to replace that pump station, Martin said.
Alison Davis said the council stressed more affordable housing when it voted to expand the growth boundary. The land in that area, near Beaumont, will not be affordable housing, she said. Nor will it likely be developed for jobs.
Vice Mayor Dan Wu recommended the group include a portion of land in the Parkers Mill and Bowman Mill area but that motion ended in a tied vote, which meant it was defeated.
The group ultimately decided to include about 393 acres along Man O War near Cardinal Run park and the future park Cardinal Run North.
Martin said he would have to work with land owners in the area that was not included to acquire land for a new pump station. Without that new pump station, the area in the Man O War Boulevard and Cardinal Run park area can’t be developed.
What’s next
In June, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted to add between 2,700 and 5,000 acres to the urban growth boundary. The advisory committee was formed to make a recommendation to the planning commission on how much land should be added and where.
The group looked at a series of criteria to determine what areas should be added. A top concern is installing sewer to the area. Other criteria included improvements to roads, and proximity to the current urban service boundary and protected farmland.
The group’s recommendation will now go to the Urban County Planning Commission for review. The commission could take up the recommendation later this month.
The city will then hire a consultant to develop a master plan that will guide development in the area — recommending which areas will be set aside for business and developed for housing.
Although the council cited affordable housing as a driver behind expansion, it has not set up a framework to guarantee affordable housing will be built in any new expansion area. Instead, it has asked the planning commission to take on that task.
The consultant will also help the city determine costs of expansion. A master plan must be completed by December 2024, according to the council’s charge.
Lexington Planning Director Jim Duncan said the planning commission will not vote to add new land to the boundary until a master plan is developed.
The last time land was added for development was in 1996 when approximately 5,400 acres was added. A little less than 2,700 acres in that boundary area has not yet been developed.
This story was originally published September 19, 2023 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Committee recommends adding 3,012 acres to Lexington growth boundary. Find out where."
