Lexington Habitat gets green light for townhouses near Manchester. Why it’s a first.
A Fayette County planning body voted unanimously Thursday to approve a zone change that would allow Lexington Habitat for Humanity to build five townhouses in the growing Manchester Street corridor.
The Urban County Planning Commission voted to approve the zone change from single-family residential to high-density residential for eight lots at 213-229 Perry Street.
The zone change must be approved by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council. It’s not clear when the council will take a final vote on the zone change.
The two-story townhouses on Perry Street are the nonprofit’s first multi-family development in Fayette County. Habitat has struggled in recent years to find cheap, affordable land for its longstanding home ownership program, which has housed 470 families since it began in 1986.
All of its previous projects were single-family homes.
The higher density will allow the nonprofit to build more units on the eight lots. The land is currently vacant.
The skyrocketing cost of land in Fayette County has meant Habitat has had to look at alternative models, Rachel Smith Childress, the chief executive officer of Lexington Habitat for Humanity, told the Herald-Leader in December.
Some residents in the Perry Street area had raised concerns about parking and traffic on the narrow street off of Manchester Street. To address those concerns, Habitat has agreed to provide a small driveway for each of the townhouses and a single-car garage.
That means there could be two cars at each townhouse, decreasing the need for street parking, Habitat officials said. There will also be a five-foot sidewalk in front of the property.
Still, some residents of the area said they opposed the zone change.
Roland Taylor, who lives across the street from the proposed development, said he remains concerned about street parking and traffic on the narrow street.
“I applaud their work,” Taylor said of Habitat. “I don’t think this particular location is ideal for this project”
Taylor said people who go to nearby Manchester Music Hall frequently park on that street.
This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 10:03 AM.
