Urban Growth Master Plan Public Input

Urban Growth Master Plan

Lexington’s Planning Staff has completed a full draft of the Urban Growth Master Plan, and it is now available for the public to review.

• This plan will guide the development patterns of the proposed 2,833 gross acres included in the new expansion areas.
• Remember: Last year, after mandating an expansion of Lexington’s historic Urban Services Boundary, the Council tasked the Planning Staff with finalizing this Urban Growth Master Plan by December 1, 2024.

Now that the plan is coming together, our city leaders need your input.

Public Input Details

A Planning Commission Public Hearing is scheduled for Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall — 2nd Floor Council Chambers, 200 E. Main Street. 

• Details: At the hearing, the consultant team will present the draft plan of the Urban Growth Master Plan, with public comment taking place after the presentation. 

Next Steps

After public input has been gathered, the Planning Commission will reconvene on Thursday, October 31, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall — 2nd Floor Council Chambers, 200 E. Main Street. 

• During this second meeting: The Planning Commission will review any proposed revisions to the master plan and consider adopting the plan as an element of Lexington’s Comprehensive Plan, Imagine Lexington 2045.

Get Involved

Below are two different ways you can provide input on the current draft of the Urban Growth Master Plan.

• Important: Once adopted, this plan will dictate zoning ordinances, street patterns, walkability, green space requirements, and more — all in the new expansion areas.

Option 1

Join us at the public hearing on Thursday, October 17 at 1:30 p.m. to speak directly to our city’s Planning Commission. You’ll have three minutes to express your views on the draft plan.

Option 2

If you can’t attend in person, consider submitting your public comment on the project website: www.urbangrowthlex.com, or writing an email to the Planning Commission. 

Expansion, Litigation + Moving Forward

During the expansion process, irreplaceable Bluegrass farmland will be destroyed.

• Remember: With your help, we advocated fiercely against this in 2023, asking for a data-driven process to dictate when and how expansion might be required, as opposed to a mandated political expansion based on neither research nor public opinion.

As a result of how the expansion decision was made, Fayette Alliance and a group of concerned citizens filed a lawsuit against the LFUCG Urban County Council in July 2023.

• Important: This lawsuit is currently still pending with the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

Continued Advocacy

Now, We must work together to create beautiful, livable, connected, and accessible neighborhoods where any future expansion will take place so that these proposed areas are not developed – or undeveloped – the same way as land from the 1996 expansion.

• Consider: A majority of the land from the last expansion has been developed into expensive, unwalkable, car-focused suburban neighborhoods with minimal to no affordable housing.
• And: Thousands of acres from the 1996 expansion also remain undeveloped – including land recommended for/already zoned for residential housing and economic development.

The regulatory proposals of the Urban Growth Master Plan for the new expansion areas encourage diverse housing types, mixed uses, context-sensitive densities, connectivity, parks, open spaces, and multi-modal transportation.

• However: These types of encouraged development patterns will only take shape with strong community support and proper implementation.

Unanswered Questions

The Plan outlines best practices for new neighborhoods and innovative housing and commercial solutions that can enhance the quality of life in these new areas. 

• While this plan is a step in the right direction, critical questions are raised by the Urban Growth Master Plan proposal that should be addressed before its adoption. 

Cost projections for infrastructure development and maintenance currently create alarming annual fiscal deficits to LFUCG and Fayette County Public Schools, in addition to the significant upfront costs.

• Dig deeper: LFUCG would see a projected yearly deficit between $32 to $48 million and FCPS would see a projected yearly deficit between $13 to $18 million.
• Consider: Passing the costs of expansion on to existing Lexington taxpayers and future city leaders with no proposed solutions is both irresponsible and unsustainable.  

Here’s What We Think

Planning Staff and the TSW consultant team have worked diligently, and incredibly quickly, to develop a thorough plan of best practices for new proposed expansion areas. 

• Their work to fulfill the expansion mandate should be commended. 

However, the draft plan raises the same questions Fayette Alliance and many community members raised during the 2045 Goals & Objectives discussions in 2023. 

• Important: These questions should be addressed before its adoption. 

Questions for Consideration

• How will the estimated $570 million in infrastructure costs be paid to facilitate development? 
  • Note: The plan notes that a program will be developed in 2025 to address cost-sharing for infrastructure development between LFUCG and private developers, but these figures raise fiscal sustainability concerns as well as questions related to how those costs, whether paid for by the public or private sector, will be passed on to future landowners and taxpayers and what impact they will have on future housing affordability. 
• How will city leaders, who will be required to make budgeting decisions accordingly, address the estimated $30-50 million annual deficit for LFUCG as a result of expansion area development? 
• How will the estimated $13-17 million annual deficit for FCPS to support new development in the expansion areas be addressed? 
• Will existing Lexington-Fayette County residents be responsible for those deficits, and does this projection jeopardize existing, much-needed infrastructure investments inside the current Urban Service Area, especially in our most underinvested districts? 
• How will the fiscal and economic impacts of developing the expansion areas support equity and housing affordability throughout the Lexington community as a whole?
  • Note: These were the main justifications by the Urban County Council for expansion in the 2045 Goals & Objectives.
• How will success in equity and housing affordability be measured moving forward to evaluate if the proposed expansion areas achieved these original goals?

Unknown Costs

These alarming figures and cost projections for expansion should raise serious questions and concerns for the Lexington-Fayette County community.

• A comprehensive understanding of the cost and responsibility of payment for expansion should first be made public before a decision is made to adopt the Urban Growth Management Plan.

• Remember: Last year, we advocated for this kind of analysis and information to be completed before decisions about when, where, and how to expand the USB were made.

Existing Neighborhoods

Considering the significant economic cost to all Lexingtonians for development in the proposed expansion areas, Fayette Alliance believes there should also be a requirement to financially commit to infrastructure investment and improvement in our existing districts and neighborhoods. 

• Examples: Investments in transportation infrastructure like a model Complete Street, the Nicholasville Road improvements outlined by the Imagine Nicholasville Road plan, and dedicated annual funding of the Public Infrastructure Program are examples of what this commitment to infill and redevelopment could look like. 
• Additionally: Thousands of undeveloped acres in expansion areas from 1996 still lack the public and private infrastructure to support needed development. 

Because of the enormous financial burden that expansion creates for our community, ensuring there are tools in place to measure the success of these development efforts is vital to the overall success of Lexington-Fayette County

• Example: An evaluation of the direct impact of the proposed expansion of the USB on overall housing affordability should be mandated and scheduled as a part of this process, so there is full transparency moving forward about the impacts of our growth decisions. 

Appropriate Buffers

Ensuring there continue to be appropriate buffers between new urban development and existing agricultural areas is vital to the urban/rural balance prioritized throughout the 2045 Comprehensive Plan. While considerations for future connectivity are important, protecting land that is zoned agricultural for existing ag operations and the potential for future ag operations on our prime soils must be a top priority.  

Understanding the plan for development and the plan to pay for development in the proposed expansion areas are vital to Lexington-Fayette County’s future.  We hope you will make plans to attend the public hearing to learn more and voice your opinion to the Planning Commission.