A new law will make it harder for Lexington residents to weigh in on proposed developments
A new state law will limit opportunities for the public to weigh in on new constructions and change Lexington’s development process.
House Bill 443, which goes into effect July 1, requires local governments to have “objective” development requirements that are “applied ministerially.” Lexington’s planning commission will pass a zone ordinance text amendment, or something officials and developers call “ZOTA,” making changes to its local laws to be in compliance with the state law.
The impact will be felt by neighbors, residents and even taxpayers: The law eliminates the need for planning commission to hear and approve final development plans.
In turn, that makes it more difficult for the general public to weigh in on upcoming constructions by getting rid of a public meeting where citizen can address the decision makers.
That means when changes are coming to your neighborhood, it will be harder to speak in favor of or against the changes.
At a planning commission meeting March 27, public commenters asked the commission to protect their right to know about new developments by adding stipulations to the ordinance requiring developers to engage the community in the planning process — like sending postcards to everyone in the neighborhood where the development is planned.
“It’s not like we don’t want to be engaged,” said Rolanda Woolfork, who spoke in opposition. “We’re saying let us be a part of it.”
How is the development process changing?
Under the current process, developers submit a preliminary plan, which is essentially a rough draft, to the planning commission to approve. The commission discusses that plan at a public meeting, and hears public comment in support or opposition of the proposal.
Developers make changes based on input from that hearing, and submit a final development plan. The commission hears the final proposal at a public hearing, which is another chance for public comment, before making its decision.
With the new state law, the planning commission does not have to hear or approve the final development plan, which gets rid of an opportunity for the public to make their voices hear. Instead, planning staff will sign off on the final plan based solely on if it meets objective regulations.
Planning commission would only need to sign off on a final development plan if developers have requested a waiver of a city regulation, or if the government staff thinks the plan would negatively impact health, safety or the welfare of residents.
The planning commission declined to vote on the change Thursday, agreeing there is room for improvement to the language to make public involvement easier for citizens. They will revisit a vote April 10.
After the planning commission makes a recommendation on the amendment, the city council has to approve it before HB 443 goes into effect this summer.
What else changes with the new approach?
Along with changing the approval process to development plans, the text amendment eliminates the ability of regular citizens to request a zone change text amendment. It also limits that power to government bodies, like the city council or planning commission.
According to a report from Lexington planning staff, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman recently issued an opinion that said local jurisdictions cannot delegate the power to initiate a text amendment to a non-government entity. The text amendment was updated to comply with that opinion.
The language proposed Thursday also eliminates the requirement of the planning commission to hold public hearings for sites larger than five acres.
There are a slew of small language changes to the ordinance – like changing “designated” to “adopted” or changing “sites” to “proposed sites” – to make regulations more specific as required by HB 443.
Words that imply subjectivity, like “strongly encouraged” or “adequate,” have been deleted or replaced to provide specific dimensions that developers must meet.
For example, the updated law will change the following text: “A community commercial center shall abut, front on and have its principal access to and from a street designated by the Commission as an arterial or collector street as deemed to be appropriate by the Commission.”
To read: “A community commercial center shall abut, front on and have its principal access to and from an arterial or collector street.”
That eliminates the commissions subject opinions from development requirements.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 1:06 PM.