Disputed moratorium on demolitions approved. Why six properties could still be razed.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council gave final approval Thursday to a controversial six-month moratorium on zone changes and demolitions in the Pensacola Park neighborhood as residents apply to make the area a historic district.
Yet, there could be a record number of demolitions in the neighborhood in the next six months.
Owners of six properties in the moratorium area filed demolition permits prior to the council’s final vote Thursday. That means those demolitions can proceed.
The council’s 8-to-3 vote to approve the moratorium came after a more than month-long debate and several reversals about what areas should be included in the proposed moratorium for the neighborhood off Nicholasville Road.
The moratorium passed Thursday now includes properties from 1735 to 1915 Nicholasville Road. The council had voted in early February to remove the Nicholasville Road properties from the moratorium after some of those owners complained.
After the neighborhood protested, the council reversed its decision and put the Nicholasville Road properties back in the moratorium area at its meeting on Feb. 21. But a push to give the moratorium final approval failed.
Three property owners on Nicholasville Road filed demolition permits for five properties since that Feb. 21 meeting and prior to Thursday’s final vote. The demolition permits for 1801 and 1803 Nicholasville Road was filed Thursday prior to the council’s final vote. Other properties that previously filed for demolition permits include 1733, 1737 and 1855 Nicholasville Road. The demolition permit for 1855 was only for a detached garage.
A permit to demolish 118 Rosemont Garden, which is also in the moratorium area, was filed Tuesday, according to city building permit records.
That means those demolitions can proceed while the neighborhood’s application for a historic district, called a H-1 overlay, is reviewed, city officials have previously said. That application process — which involves a historical study — can take as long as six months.
There was no discussion prior to the council’s final vote on Thursday.
Those who voted against the moratorium: Jennifer Mossotti, Fred Brown, Bill Farmer Jr. Those who voted in favor of the moratorium: James Brown, Jake Gibbs, Jennifer Reynolds, Susan Lamb, Kathy Plomin, Vice Mayor Steve Kay, Richard Moloney, Josh McCurn. Three members recused themselves from the vote because of potential conflicts of interest: Angela Evans, Preston Worley and Chuck Ellinger.
This story was originally published March 8, 2019 at 10:11 AM.
