Register online with www.FayetteAlliance.com, and enrich our town, our farms, and our future here in Lexington-Fayette County.
As an online Fayette Alliance subscriber, you will have access to exclusive real-time land use news, email updates, and blogs - shaping the policies of our organization and our community.
Rest assured, as a valued Fayette Alliance subscriber, we will honor your privacy and will not share your personal information with any third party without permission.
Another bonus - once registered, your name will be in the hat for a weekly t-shirt raffle, and quarterly farm tour raffle. If you win, you will receive a free Alliance t-shirt or an exclusive farm tour with executive director Knox van Nagell - complete with gourmet lunch and an inside look at some of Fayette County's most famous farms.
Join Today!
Already a member? Log in here.
By Knox van Nagell | June 28th, 2009 | See all in Fayette Alliance Blog, Successes
Downtown Lexington
The Alliance strongly supports the Downtown Masterplan, and aims to participate in those LFUCG discussions that will recommend ordinances and programs to the Council for adoption. Such legislation will give the Masterplan “teeth” and establish a broad regulatory framework for redeveloping downtown. We’ll keep you posted.
Learn more about the Downtown Masterplan.
By Knox van Nagell | June 25th, 2009 | See all in Successes
Recently, the LFUCG PDR program became eligible to receive a $3 million federal allocation from the Federal Ranchlands and Protection Program. To receive this grant, PDR must receive $3 million in local “matching” funds. If accomplished, PDR would have a total of $6 million in its coffers to purchase conservation easements on Fayette County farms.
The Council has the ultimate “power of the purse” and can adopt the $3 million allocation in its FY 2010 budget. This vote will likely occur in late June 2009.
It is important to note that local PDR funding does not come out of LFUCG’s general fund—but rather is accrued by selling bonds on the market. By allocating $3 million to the PDR program, LFUCG will not have to “find the money” in our strapped general fund. Further, it will not increase LFUCG’s current bond service obligations.
In today’s lean budgetary climate, this scenario ($3 million from the Feds & $3 million from LFUCG) affords our community an important opportunity to invest twice the money for half the price in farmland conservation- a win-win for Fayette County considering there are currently 52 farms in the PDR pipeline waiting to sell easements on 4,800 acres. This is a crucial prospect–as these farms are the factory floor of Fayette County’s $3 billion agricultural industry and international Bluegrass brand.
On June 25th the Council unanimously adopted the FY 2010 budget which included the $3 million dollar allocation to the PDR Program.
By Knox van Nagell | May 14th, 2009 | See all in Successes
The Fayette Alliance supported a 48% increase in the sewer user fee for fiscal year 2009, and a 35% increase for fiscal year 2010. These measures will collectively generate an additional $24.6 million in the dedicated LFUCG sanitary sewer user fee fund. This money will directly pay for $130 million in badly needed infrastructure projects over the next four years. The Council adopted the measure.
View the Fayette Alliance’s Position Statement
By Knox van Nagell | May 14th, 2009 | See all in Successes
Once the Athens of the West, Lexington-Fayette County is now a place where people and livestock have tragically lost their lives in flooded streams; raw sewage and stormwater run-off pollute over 70% of our creeks—endangering fish, animals, and humans alike; and feces finds itself in household basements, neighborhood parks, and the scenic fields of world famous farms.
This crisis impacts us all-from the first-grader, businessman and homeowner to the equine and general agricultural farmer. Indeed, we are in this together—and together we must now embrace the opportunity to fix a problem to which we all contribute, that has been decades in the making.
Therefore, in furtherance of the health, welfare, and prosperity of our community, The Fayette Alliance strongly supports the proposed Water Quality Management Fee and Program.
The Council passed the Water Quality Fee on May 14th, with a vote of 13-2.
By Knox van Nagell | May 14th, 2009 | See all in Successes
The Fayette Alliance supported text amendment to Article 1-11 of the Zoning Ordinance that would have changed the definitions of a dwelling unit and an extended stay hotel to limit the time period for rental of residential dwelling units—allowing home rentals on a monthly basis or for a period between one week and one month (up to four times a year) in Fayette County.
Such rental requirements would have addressed some of the temporary housing needs of major local events—such as the 2010 World Equestrian Games and the annual Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton thoroughbred sales. On the other hand, it also would have prohibited home rentals for a period of time less than one week— discouraging the presence of disruptive, transient non-residential renters in agricultural areas and neighborhoods; an emerging phenomenon as real-estate markets weaken and rental properties increase in number.
Ultimately, the Planning Commission did not adopt this text amendment, as they were weary of the “unintended consequences” of passing a countywide ordinance prohibiting the weekly rental of homes; i.e. what would be the economic impacts of banning people from renting their homes, on a weekly basis, to pay their mortgage? How would lower income people secure housing if they could not rent a residence week to week? How will LFUCG enforce the rental requirements? Etc.
Ultimately, the Planning Commission recommended that the disruptions associated with short-term rentals be addressed through enforceable licensure and other permitting initiatives. Responding to this recommendation, Ed Lane the District 12 Councilman who initiated text amendment, intends to go back to the “drawing board” with the help of The Fayette Alliance and other stakeholders to explore these options.
View the Alliance’s position statement.
The Fayette Alliance is Lexington’s ONLY land-use advocacy organization that regularly educates and lobbies local government for a sustainable growth model that benefits all of us.
We believe that preserving our signature Bluegrass landscape, creating a dynamic and equitable cityscape through infill redevelopment, and improving our natural waterways are key components to achieving our economic and environmental promise here in Lexington-Fayette County...
We are an alliance of citizens from the entire community, including stakeholders from the agricultural, neighborhood, and infill sectors. See "Who We Are" We are a united voice for responsible growth, and only weigh-in on those land-use issues that have countywide implications. Together we can chart our future, and positively impact local zoning decisions—the very building blocks of our community. See "Our Successes"
If you want a better quality of life for all of us, please join The Fayette Alliance today for free.
Learn more about our mission, policies, and legal status.
Want to experience our incredible Bluegrass farmland?
Visit our Bike for the Bluegrass page and www.horsecapitaltours.com to learn how!
The Fayette Alliance
601 West Short Street
Lexington, KY 40508
(859) 281-1202
Director@FayetteAlliance.com
“The opinions expressed in the articles on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily state or reflect the views of The Fayette Alliance. Publication on this website should not be considered an endorsement. The material and hypertext links provided are offered for informational purposes only as they contain information of interest to The Fayette Alliance and the general public.”
© 2010 The Fayette Alliance
Website created by Bluegrass Internet Services, a Lexington Web Design Company.
