Candidate Questionnaire, Stephanie Hoelscher

Stephanie Hoelscher

Housing

Studies show Lexington needs about 22,500 new housing units across all types to fill the housing gap in our city, but 75% of the needed units are at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

What strategies and locations do you believe Lexington should prioritize for housing growth in order to address these needs?

• Answer:

Lexington should focus on missing middle housing in the urban and adjacent suburban cores. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, in 2025 we permitted 507 single-family units, 545 5-plus-family units, and nothing in between! Large apartment complexes can be affordable, but if they are located outside the urban core, they can create transportation insecurity.

We know that two-thirds of the households in Lexington are one- or two-person households. We should focus on creating conditions that encourage duplexes, triplexes, and other missing middle housing to better accommodate these smaller households.

Expansion

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council recently adopted the Preservation and Growth Management Program, which created a data-driven method for considering future expansions of the Urban Service Boundary (USB).

What factors do you believe are most important to consider if an expansion of the Urban Service Boundary was proposed to the Council during your term?

• Answer:

How much missing middle housing has been constructed within the USB since the last expansion? The June 2024 approval of the Urban Growth Management Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (UGM ZOTA) was intended to increase housing stock diversity and density and improve affordability. If we are still falling short of constructing the missing middle, we should re-examine whether the UGM ZOTA went far enough to accomplish those goals.

Additional clues might be found in requests for variances and conditional use permits. And, have we taken other key steps that cities like South Bend, Indiana, have taken to simplify the permitting process and create a cadre of incremental builders?

Agricultural Preservation

Agricultural industries, and the farmland that supports them, have an economic impact of $2.6 billion every year on Lexington-Fayette County’s economy and support more than 16,000 jobs across all twelve council districts.

What policies do you support that promote Lexington’s iconic and productive farmland and protect it from irresponsible future development?

• Answer:

I grew up in a factory and farm community in northern Appalachia. I spent part of my childhood tossing hay bales onto a wagon and green beans into jars on my grandparents’ farm. I know the importance of agriculture because I lived it firsthand.

I support funding Bluegrass AgTech and the Lexington Mobile Market. Bluegrass AgTech, for example, recently funded a startup that is attempting to convert invasive carp into fertilizer. In the face of Middle East conflict, global uncertainty and climate change, we must prepare to grow more of our food closer to home.