LEXINGTON, Ky. — The final plan for the urban service boundary will likely be adopted in a little less than two weeks. The city council made the directive to expand the boundary in June of 2023.
"The primary goal is to ensure that there is housing," said Jim Duncan, director of the division of planning.
He said the 2,800 acre area will have five zones.
“That area can then be developed for housing and commercial purposes, they can receive urban services, and will be available for urban development,” said Duncan.
Community member Margaret Graves told the planning commission during public comment at Thursday's meeting that it was important to ensure the housing will be affordable. She also questioned the $570 million price tag for the infrastructure.
"How will this be paid for?" asked Graves. "I think that's something the planning commission and the council needs to take a hard look at, and explain to the community because this is going to be a very expensive endeavor."
There's a projected growth of 48,000 people in Lexington between now and 2045, according to Thursday's presentation. One topic brought up during the meeting is concurrency. Duncan explained concurrency as having a certain percentage of commercial properties in the same area as housing.
"This is a bad idea that's impractical and needs to be removed," said community member Todd Johnson.
Others felt a little more positively.
"Because of the walkability, livability, and nature of these types of urbanism communities, I think this one would be a great addition to Lexington," said community member Frank Becker.
At the Oct. 31 meeting, the planning commission will respond to public comments and likely vote to adopt the plan. The meeting is at 1:30pm in council chambers.
