How development occurs in Fayette County is traditionally a debated item at Lexington City Hall. The Lexington City Council’s Planning and Public Safety Committee got a review of the Sustainable Growth Study last week. Senior Planning Administrative Officer Craig Benz said the study offers a framework for making development decisions. Planning Director Jim Duncan said that includes advice on when the county’s service boundary should expand. “So that’s what the consultants attempted to do with this was to create something that would provide guidance on when we need to look at the urban service boundary. And so, it’s not perfect, it’s not ideal. But I’m not sure, now that we’ve been through the process, that what we were looking for was possible anyway,” said Duncan.
Council Member David Kloiber expressed concern about the study. He said it seemed to promote density within the boundary, something he said was not a good framework to work from. Vice Mayor Steve Kay noted any type of development means a reduction in green space. “If demand is the only criteria, we will use up every single bit of it. And then we’ll look like every other community, every other small, large size community in the country,” said Kay.
Fayette County’s Comprehensive Plan for development is updated every four years. One of the key items discussed during each review is whether to expand the Urban Service Boundary. The last expansion was almost 25 years ago.
