Council disapproves mobile home park expansion
State Representative George Brown speaks against the Suburban Pointe mobile home park expansion. Source: LexTV.
Last Tuesday, Council voted 10-1 to deny a zone change request that would allow the Suburban Pointe mobile home park to expand onto vacant land adjacent, but not connected, to the St. Martins Village neighborhood.
Approximately 20 neighbors from St. Martins Village spoke to Council advocating against the zone change, largely citing concerns that the mobile home park would jeopardize the neighborhood’s character as a historically Black neighborhood.
The proposed development would have expanded the Suburban Pointe Mobile Home Park onto 421 Price Road, adjacent to St. Martins Village, one of Lexington’s historically Black neighborhoods.
The Planning Commission voted 7-1 to approve the zone change in September. Members of St. Martins Village spoke out against the development, arguing that the City should work to protect historically Black neighborhoods from development that they feel is harmful to the neighborhood.
Development plan for Suburban Pointe expansion.
The development plan originally included connecting Suburban Pointe to the St. Martins Village neighborhood via three dead-end streets in St. Martins Village. The Comprehensive Plan strongly recommends connecting dead-end streets with new developments whenever possible.
However, the Planning Commission removed those connections, so the proposed Suburban Pointe Mobile Home Park will be separated from the existing neighborhood by landscaping such as trees and bushes.
Some Councilmembers expressed an interest in seeing a different style of housing development on this site, rather than an expansion of a mobile home park. Councilmember Dave Sevigny specifically mentioned that a developer could make use of the Workforce Housing Density Bonus to build townhomes on the site that would be priced for Lexington residents earning 120% or below of the Area Median Income (AMI) without requiring a zone change.
Flagship Communities, the company that owns Suburban Pointe, exclusively develops mobile home parks, so it’s unlikely that they would develop a new style of housing themselves.
Vice Mayor Dan Wu, At-Large Councilmember Chuck Ellinger, and District Councilmembers Lynch (D2), LeGris (D3), Sheehan (D5), Baxter (D9), Sevigny (D10), Reynolds (D11), and Plomin (D12) voted against the zone change. District 8 Councilmember Fred Brown voted for the zone change.
