The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council narrowly voted Wednesday to reject a proposal that would rezone a block of historic homes to build student apartments.
The city’s planning commission previously approved the proposal to bring it to council, saying it was in keeping with Lexington’s comprehensive plan to accommodate the city’s growth.
The proposal would have demolished 12 buildings classified as historic by the National Register of Historic Places along Kalmia Ave. and E Maxwell St. to build an eight-story apartment building targeted towards University of Kentucky students, along with a parking garage.
The applicant, development company Core Spaces, says it would bring needed housing density to the city and bridge the gap between UK’s campus and downtown. A study from EHI Consultants says Lexington is 22,000 housing units short, across all incomes.
“We were supposed to upzone areas because we knew UK was going to continue to grow, but we never did it, and now we're at a point where there's a critical need to upzone areas in our city to provide more housing for the people,” said Brandon Gross, an attorney for Core Spaces. “We are at a point in our community where we are failing to meet the basic needs of shelter for our citizens in this community.”
But that came with pushback from residents who said the proposal wasn’t worth demolishing some of Lexington’s longest-standing homes and had questions about affordability.
Among those opposed were groups like the historical preservation group Blue Grass Trust and the state’s historic preservation office.
Jessica Winters is an attorney who spoke on behalf of Blue Grass Trust during the meeting.
“The comprehensive plan states that these policies should be reversed and middle housing should be supported and promoted, because doing so promotes equity and diversity in our communities,” Winters argued. “(The neighborhood) is currently comprised of a diverse group of residents of all walks and stages of life, from students, to teachers, to employees of local businesses and the university to retired people.”
The decision came after a lengthy public comment period that spanned multiple hours.
Tim Chesney was among those in support of the project, citing the need for housing density.
“Every year we underbuild, the pain grows. Families lose access to starter homes, young workers leave Lexington because they can’t afford to stay, students rent hundreds of houses that families desperately need,” Chesney said.
Elizabeth Browning was among those against the project, raising questions of affordability for current UK students.
“Many of my friends have been outpriced of their current housing already or are preparing for it in the near future. However, this housing project does not address the need for affordable housing and makes it worse,” Browning said. “This project will remove a whole neighborhood of middle housing, which is already critically scarce, that is cherished by many different kinds of households, and replace it with an apartment building leeching off of less informed UK students, who will be paying far over the standard cost of student housing.”
The council voted 8-7 to reject the proposal, reversing the 8-2 decision to move it forward by the city’s planning commission.
