By Knox van Nagell | July 1st, 2010 | See all in Current Issues, Fayette Alliance Blog, What's New
But Design Guidelines and Infill Redevelopment Programs not Included in Budget
Fayette County Farm
Over the last few weeks we’ve asked you to join us in telling Council to support funding for farmland preservation, design guidelines, and infill redevelopment initiatives which make our community better by protecting our environment, our local economy, and what makes Lexington-Fayette County special to you.
Thank you for your great response in supporting The Fayette Alliance’s FY 2011 Budget Request! READ MORE about the request.
Your voice is important in creating positive change in Lexington, and preserving those key community elements that we all value. As
Downtown Lexington
Council hears from more and more grassroots advocates like you, they’ll understand it’s time to change how we think about city-building and farmland preservation here in Lexington-Fayette County.
On Thursday, June 23rd Council adopted the FY 2011 Budget, which begins July 1, 2010. Council approved our request for continued funding of the PDR program, which is matched by $2 million from the federal government. However, Council did not approve funding for the research and implementation of downtown design guidelines and form-based codes, or a Land Bank and Vacant Land Commission.
Blighted Property
The Fayette Alliance will continue to promote these essential policies at government on behalf of the community. Stay involved by signing up for our news updates and action alerts.
JOIN TODAY.
Thank you for your help! Together, we are making Lexington great by promoting our town, our farms, and our future.
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By Knox van Nagell | June 12th, 2010 | See all in Land Use News, What's New
The Fayette Alliance conceptually supports the use of a vacant land commission and ”blight tax” to facilitate the appropriate redevelopment of abandoned and underutilized properties inside Lexington’s city limits. Click here for more details. LFUCG is working on this initiative, and we will keep you posted as details and progress unfolds.
Lexington Mall, photographed November 4, 2009 by David Perry | Herald-Leader staff
“Southland Christian to buy Lexington Mall property: Church plans additional campus at Richmond Road site“
By Scott Sloan, posted July 4, 2010
Excerpt from Kentucky.com
Southland Christian Church has a contract to buy the defunct Lexington Mall property and plans to open a church there “to serve more of the community.”
The church’s pastor, Jon Weece, ripped duct tape off his mouth at Saturday night’s service to announce the pending deal to members of the mega-church’s congregation, saying, “Finally, they’ve given me permission to talk about it.”
The deal is not final, as the church has a 60-day due diligence period with Maryland-based Saul Centers, which has owned the property since 1974, the year before the mall opened. The church then has an additional 120 days to present its development plan to city officials for approval, said Kurt Braun, Southland’s executive director of finance and administration…Read more at Kentucky.com
Read more Lexington Herald-Leader articles on Lexington’s abandoned mall properties below,
Read the rest of this entry »
By Knox van Nagell | June 10th, 2010 | See all in Fayette Alliance Blog, What's New
A look at how the new design compares to the 35-story design | Bizlex.com
“New project plan, little city planning: CentrePointe or not, design rules urgent”
Excerpt from Kentucky.com, Op-Ed, posted 6/11/10
…On the broader question of what we want downtown to be, how it should look and feel, scant progress has been made in the last two years.
Had there been follow-through on the downtown master plan’s recommendation to adopt design guidelines, and a robust review process, the decisions about CentrePointe would be easier. We wouldn’t be arguing over the design of a new drugstore at Main and Vine. Investors would have a clearer picture of what to expect when they consider a downtown project.
The council’s planning committee recently authorized creation of a task force to study design guidelines and other downtown planning issues…Read more at Kentucky.com
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The revised CentrePointe design submitted reduces the height of the development to 25 stories. | Kentucky.com
“Dudley Webb submits scaled-down version of CentrePointe: Nothing will happen at site until after equestrian games”
Excerpt from Kentucky.com
By Beverly Fortune & Cheryl Truman, posted 6/10/10
Developer Dudley Webb submitted a redesigned, vastly scaled-down version of his long-delayed CentrePointe project to Lexington’s Courthouse Area Design Review Board on Wednesday.
Webb’s new design takes the CentrePointe project from 498 feet and 35 stories to the equivalent of 25 stories, or just under 288 feet — about 58 percent of its previous height. The building would be about the same height as nearby Kincaid Towers, which houses Central Bank…Read more at Kentucky.com
By Knox van Nagell | June 1st, 2010 | See all in Successes, What's New
RV Park
On June 24th, The Fayette Alliance joined the LFUCG Planning Staff in opposing a temporary R.V. Park on property located at 2215 Mary Fay Place and 1201 Providence Place Parkway. The proposal included the construction of 100 R.V. parking sites—approximately 30’ feet wide—on the property, complete with necessary graveling, etc. The R.V. park would be used during the World Equestrian Games.
The property is zoned “Economic Development” (E.D.)–which is intended to promote land-uses that create jobs and incubate business. For instance, allowed uses in this zone include offices, research development and testing laboratories, a variety of industrial/manufacturing/and related uses, medial services, and academic schools and institutions.
The Board of Adjustment DENIED the application, for two main reasons:
1. An R.V. park is not a permitted use in the Economic Development Zone. The supply of “Economic Development” land is limited in Fayette County, and an R.V. park does not fulfill the critical economic development needs of the community nor the intended goals of the ED zone.
2. To allow an R.V. park on the property—despite its related ED zoning—would jeopardize the public health, safety, and welfare of the community. The application provided no reasons for why an R.V. Park should be a permitted in the E.D. zone, and it did not detail how essential services—such as electric, sewage, and potable water—would be provided for users of the R.V. park.
While the 2010 W.E.G. is an incredible opportunity for our community, we must accommodate the transportation and housing needs of event within what’s legally allowed in our zoning ordinance. To do otherwise, hangs the well-being of Lexington-Fayette County in the balance.
To learn more and read the Alliance’s official position statement, click here.
