Goal 4 Workgroup Meeting September 27

The Goal 4 Workgroup is tasked with addressing the issue of sustainable growth and the Urban Service Boundary in Lexington.

The Goal 4 Workgroup discussed their current draft of their Growth Management Plan, which builds a process for expanding the Urban Service Boundary (USB). The draft provides several options for what body gets to make the final decision: Council, the Planning Commission, or a joint decision between the two.

The Growth Management Plan would require the city to use data from the Sustainable Growth Report to determine current and future needs for things like housing, industrial and commercial uses, city services, etc. If the city chose to expand the USB, developments in the expansion area would have to meet the defined need. So if the city decided that a housing shortage could only be solved by expanding the USB, then only housing (and supporting infrastructure like sewers, roads, etc.) could be built in the expansion area of the USB.

The plan would also require developers to write a Masterplan or Small Area Plan for new developments in the expansion area. These development plans would need to be approved at various stages by the Division of Planning, the Planning Commission, and the Council. This is to ensure growth is deliberate and intentionally meeting the stated need.

This draft is still very early and subject to change. And remember, the Workgroup will not decide whether or not to expand the USB; they are only building a process for if and when the next expansion occurs.

The Goal 4 Workgroup will meet two more times on October 4th and 11th at 10 am in the 5th Floor Conference Room of the Government Center.