Proposed changes to zoning language
In January 17th’s General Government and Planning (GGP) Committee meeting, Chris Woodall and Hall Ballie of Lexington’s Planning Division presented proposed changes to the names and intent statements of zones within the Zoning Ordinance.
Zones are contained within the city's Zoning Ordinance and used to dictate what can and cannot happen on properties and areas of Lexington. For example, properties within Agricultural-Rural zones (A-R) permit agricultural uses while properties in the Neighborhood Business zones (B-1) permit business uses that are scaled for neighborhoods.
The proposed Zone Intent Statement language changes do not change the use of the zones. Rather, they update language inside the city's Zoning Ordinance to match the terminology and vision of Lexington’s 2018 Comprehensive Plan. The Intent Statements have not been changed since 1983.
You can read the city's current Zoning Ordinance here, and review the packet here for all changes being recommended in this meeting.
The Committee was skeptical of the proposed changes, citing concerns from the public that they could inadvertently change the uses permitted within each zone. Planning affirmed that the Intent Statements, in their current state and/or after these changes, do not affect the actual uses within zones; the changes would only modernize language so that the Zoning Code’s language would be more consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Planning agreed to return next month to give a more thorough presentation to help Council understand what the proposed changes would achieve.
