Lexington council wants affordable housing in new expansion area. Some worry it won’t happen
The Lexington council voted Tuesday to move forward with an expansion of the city’s growth boundary but added language further emphasizing the need for affordable housing in the additional area.
The council made the change after Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton asked the council to consider adding a directive to the Urban County Planning Commission to set aside a portion of any new expansion area for affordable housing.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman Denise Gray made the amendment to add language that would emphasize a range of housing in an expansion area and direct the planning commission to develop programs or policies that will make affordable housing possible on land added to the growth boundary.
Any new program or policies currently not in existence would have to be approved by the council.
The amendment does not guarantee affordable housing will be created in an expansion area.
Councilwoman Kathy Plomin made a push to cut the number of acres added to the growth boundary but those efforts were narrowly defeated 7-6 by the council. Plomin said there were not enough votes on council to overturn an expansion.
The council previously voted 10-3 earlier this month to add between 2,700 and 5,000 acres to the city’s growth boundary as part of its discussions about the 2045 Comprehensive Plan, a five-year plan that determines what development can go where. Whether to expand the growth boundary is part of the comprehensive plan. Due to health issues, Plomin was not able to attend the June 1 meeting where council voted to expand the boundary.
Councilman Fred Brown was the only council member to vote against the amendment emphasizing affordable housing in the expansion area.
Many council members it’s time for the city to add more acreage to the growth boundary. Too many people are being priced out, some council members said.
“There are people who really want to live here but they can’t,” said Gray, saying that Lexington should not just be for those with the most money. “Decrease (the land added to the boundary), you say. Who is that helping?”
Fred Brown said it will take years for development to occur.
“You have to have a plan for the future,” said Brown.
Vice Mayor Dan Wu said he has voted against expansion because, “we put expansion before the process.” Wu said he wanted to see more of that process fleshed out, including having some of the long-term studies completed.
“My fear is that the process will never get finished,” Wu said. “I want to put process first.”
The council is expected to take a final vote on the 2045 Comprehensive Plan at its Thursday meeting.
Those who voted against efforts to decrease the number of acres added to the expansion area were: James Brown, Shayla Lynch, Fred Brown, Preston Worley, Whitney Elliott Baxter, Jennifer Reynolds and Gray.
Push back against expansion
Those who pushed for an expansion of the urban service boundary have argued housing costs are skyrocketing and the city needs more land for housing.
Bob Quick, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington, applauded the council for finally setting in motion the first expansion of the urban service boundary in 27 years. The last time the boundary was expanded was in 1996 when more than 5,300 acres was added.
“We have studied the issue of growth long enough,” Quick said. “Our community is at a tipping point.”
Quick was one of the few to speak in favor of an expansion of the urban service boundary before Tuesday’s vote. More than two dozen people spoke against expansion and asked the council to reverse course.
“Why are we in such a hurry?” said Bill Justice. “Let’s take our time and do it right.”
Others questioned how and why the city decided on between 2,700 and 5,000 acres. It was arbitrary and not based on fact, some argued.
Brittany Roethemeier, executive director of the Fayette Alliance, which advocates on the part of agricultural interests, said the group is not against growth. It wants growth based on data-driven analysis and thorough planning. There is no guarantee that increasing land in the urban service boundary will result in an affordable housing or decrease housing prices. A University of Kentucky study after the 1996 expansion showed housing prices did not decrease, she said.
“We are giving away the store without getting anything in return,” Roethemeier said.
Don Todd, a lawyer and former council member, said developers have consistently pushed the council to add more acres using the same arguments. Yet, there’s a lot of vacant acres still left in the 5,300 acres, Todd said.
This future expansion will benefit only a few, he said.
Todd also questioned who was pushing for the expansion. Many of the people who have pushed for the expansion have options to purchase land in areas along Winchester Road and Athens Boonesboro Road, which had previously been discussed as possible areas for expansion.
Council changes to 2045 Comprehensive Plan
According to changes the city council made, the Urban County Planning Commission must identify up to 5,000 acres and develop an expansion area master plan by Dec. 1, 2024.
The expansion area master plan will determine what type of development can go where. It will also possibly outline how and who will pay for an expansion.
In addition, the council also added language to the 2045 Comprehensive Plan that would allow the city to continue long-term planning for future growth.
Gorton has said the council could set aside a percentage of new acres for affordable housing as part of the changes it has made to the 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
The 2045 Comprehensive Plan mirrors the current 2018 plan. The council has made other changes including adding provisions that emphasizes affordable housing, righting long-standing racial injustices that were part of Fayette County’s land use policies and more emphasis on climate change.
This story was originally published June 13, 2023 at 6:40 PM.
