The 2045 Comprehensive Plan Goals and Objectives are out!
The draft Goals and Objectives for Lexington’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan have been released! The Comprehensive Plan is an essential document for LFUCG that helps determine land use policy and how Lexington grows through the year 2045. If you want to learn more about the Comprehensive Plan, you can find our explainer here.
The Goals and Objectives are where the Comprehensive Plan gets specific - they have direct policy implications for Lexington’s environment, housing, transportation, jobs, and more. The first big thing to understand about these new goals and objectives is how they differ from those written five years ago.
Here are some of the key changes in the new Goals and Objectives:
There is lots of new language about racial equity. By our count, 4 goals and 14 objectives were added or edited to include a focus on racial equity and underserved communities. There are two entire new goals dedicated to these concepts.
There is a more nuanced focus on the environment. Theme B: the environment is already focused on protecting Lexington’s environment, but there are many more mentions of sustainability and environmentalism in other sections of the Plan. Concepts like energy efficiency, green infrastructure, and expanded transportation options appear in several new places.
There are more policies on stormwater and sanitary sewer infrastructure - In the 2018 Comprehensive Plan, the first Goal of Theme B: Environment was about implementing Lexington’s EPA Consent Decree. This year, there are additional new objectives like improving water quality through cost-sharing programs, developing watershed protections, and retrofitting stormwater infrastructure.
There will be a new plan to manage the Urban Service Boundary. This year, the new Comprehensive Plan calls for the creation of Urban Service Area Growth Management Plan that will create a new process for expanding or maintaining the Urban Service Boundary. If these new Goals & Objectives are adopted, it will likely be up to the Division of Planning and the Planning Commission to create and adopt this Management Plan.
So, what do you think of these changes? Do they reflect the input you gave in On the Table? Do they speak to your vision for the future of Lexington? If you have thoughts, there is a Public Hearing for the new Goals and Objectives on February 16 at 1:30pm. This is your chance to weigh in on the new goals and objectives before they are fully approved!
