Should growth boundary expand by 3,000 acres along Winchester Road? When to have your say
A group tasked with adding up to 5,000 acres to Fayette County’s growth boundary has tentatively narrowed the area to approximately 3,000 acres along Winchester Road in the rapidly growing east side of town.
However, the Urban Growth Master Plan Advisory Committee, formed to identify acres for possible expansion, is not finished with its work.
A public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council chambers at 200 E. Main Street. The public is invited to give feedback on possible areas to be added to the urban service area for future development.
The last time the growth boundary expanded was 1996 when more than 5,400 acres was added.
The group has narrowed the areas for possible expansion to three main areas: around Athens Boonesboro Road and Interstate 75, Winchester Road between Interstate 64 and Royster Road, and an area around Man O War near the Blue Grass Airport.
The group used a series of rankings and criteria to determine what areas should be added for possible future development, including proximity to the current urban service boundary, roadway improvements, costs of sewer installation and proximity to protected farmland.
During a Tuesday meeting, the group narrowly voted to focus on approximately 3,041 acres in the Winchester Road area. The net acreage for that area is 2,798 acres — or the area that is not in a floodplain and therefore can’t be built on.
The group also considered approximately 641 gross acres, or 602 net acres, along Athens Boonesboro Road near Interstate 75. The group initially voted to include the area during Tuesday’s meeting and then later rescinded that recommendation.
However, the group has two more meetings after the Sept. 12 public meeting before it makes a final recommendation to the planning commission in October.
Lexington Planning Director Jim Duncan said the group is under a time crunch.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, in its June vote to expand the urban service boundary, gave the commission until December 2024 to develop a master area expansion plan. To get that done, the group has to identify possible acres by October in time for a consultant to be hired to develop a master area expansion plan.
The council asked the planning commission to identify between 2,700 and 5,000 acres. The group, at an earlier meeting, decided to interpret that as a maximum of 5,000 gross acres and a floor of 2,700 net acres.
Duncan said a master area expansion plan — which include details such as costs for roads, expansion of police and fire as well as how that land will be developed — will take at least 12 to 15 months.
Business interests, builders push for more land
During Tuesday’s meeting, Andi Johnson, of Commerce Lexington, and Todd Johnson, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Central Kentucky, repeatedly pushed the committee to consider adding both Athens Boonesboro and Winchester Road areas, arguing Fayette County is desperate for more housing.
“I do feel there is an urgency,” said Andi Johnson.
Others, however, were more cautious about adding too much land too quickly.
Vice Mayor Dan Wu, a committee member, said the council also has approved a new way to add more land to the urban service boundary. By 2026, the city will use data-driven numbers to determine how and when new land can come into the urban service area. That new process will be based on needs, such as affordable housing. There’s no need to add lots of land now when that new process will be online soon, he said.
Roughly half of the 5,400 acres added to the urban service area in 1996 has not yet been developed, Wu said.
Given that fact, Wu and others argued the group should only propose adding 2,700 net acres.
Todd Johnson, however, argued landowners who have portions of those 2,700 undeveloped acres in the 1996 expansion area have opted not to develop the land.
Ultimately the group decided to show the public the three areas it is considering adding to the urban service area during the Sept. 12 meeting.
To look at the maps, visit imaginelexington.com/ugm.
Votes not recorded
There were several votes during Tuesday’s meeting but a snafu with the electronic voting system meant how individual committee members voted was not recorded or made public.
After Tuesday’s meeting, the city realized there was a problem and would fix it moving forward by making sure it was clear how committee members voted on each motion, Planning Commissioner Keith Horn said.
“They will be doing a voting method where it is clear who is voting how,” Horn said. The group has two more meetings before it finalizes its recommendations to the planning commission.
A legal challenge
The Fayette Alliance, a nonprofit that represents agricultural interests, has filed a lawsuit challenging the expansion of the urban service area. The city, meanwhile, has asked the lawsuit be dismissed, arguing the people who have filed the lawsuit do not have legal standing to challenge the expansion of the urban service area.
The Fayette Alliance and private landowners who filed the lawsuit also have asked for a temporary injunction to stop the Urban Growth Advisory Committee from moving forward. On Friday, Fayette Circuit Judge Lucy VanMeter set an Oct. 5 hearing date for the motion to dismiss and for the temporary injunction.
This story was originally published September 6, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
