[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6558565,"mediaKeyId","3241126-ed88b59fa1538625d6316f50f599889e","parentId",3241126,"title","Lexington staff unveil draft preservation and growth-management program; public input planned May 22","audioSeconds",2308,"startMs",1917000,"endMs",4225000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3241126-ed88b59fa1538625d6316f50f599889e&start=1917&end=4225","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3241126-ed88b59fa1538625d6316f50f599889e/thumbnail_1917000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6558565/Lexington-City/Fayette-County/Kentucky/Lexington-staff-unveil-draft-preservation-and-growth-management-program-public-input-planned-May-22","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6558565-9ffa9cbd929a52212153d81b1b53ce9a/orig.mp4?Expires=1773573966&Signature=A6dIRPwC2LTGxaOKF3mJuJ0gacMojNBS9ZVrcbA1NkYHmixJOpyD8ViXvVpQn7OkaCnL2eekkscY75AAVqt7Ba44CKIHhjpOlPWhWdEUqeOkzihxVh4eqeRBPIccW6jqF9CGaOb5gRjiggjSwJ6UYpP12oO-WgKCWOCFaHErRoBJaYaMIWlHScq3HKmNF15GO4zWqWa9wWj5zFSYu5VnKls~j8mT1AXd7DdEX0t9nxzEzTz6~dtWT4G-rNfLrBoMCofYYyGgoHgntk-HdzxjL1DRtKEVbLPAPCkFCyEbIu~jTi-0TACJj3EqYQIMnx-1CHE5JWMBBiuL2OUMdGcwmQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Lexington","date","2025-05-08T00:00:00Z","article","Hal Bailey, manager of long-range planning, and deputy director Chris Taylor presented a draft framework of Lexington’s preservation and growth management program at the Committee of the Whole on May 8, describing a process to evaluate whether the city needs additional acreage for residential, commercial or industrial uses and how to handle expansion of the urban service area.

The program, Bailey said, would run on a staggered cycle separate from the five-year comprehensive-plan update: a growth-trends report (performed off-cycle) would use current data to project needs over a 20-year horizon and would be publicly vetted. \"This data would form the basis of a growth trends report, which would be done off cycle 2 years following the statutory requirement of the comprehensive plan,\" Bailey said. If the report showed no additional acreage was needed, the process would pause until the next cycle.

If the analysis identified a need for land, the planning commission would craft recommendations for the Urban County Council that could include policy changes, regulatory changes or adjustments to the urban service area. Bailey described options for a special “economic development” exception: the council could, by supermajority, initiate a targeted process for a transformative project outside the current urban service area but would still require master planning and public review before rezoning or service changes.

Under the draft, a subcommittee would review vacant land inventory and could recommend removing long‑undeveloped peripheral parcels from the urban service area while adding acreage to meet need elsewhere. Bailey said the process would include a 60‑day application window for property owners to submit proposals and master-plan review similar to the 2023 urban growth process.

Council members sought specifics. Councilmember Savigny asked which data sources the city would use; Bailey said planners plan to combine Census and Bureau of Labor statistics with permitting and local data and to partner with universities to reduce perceived bias. On the question of what constitutes \"vacant\" or \"underutilized\" acreage, Bailey said the inventory would exclude land in active principal uses (for example, downtown surface parking lots in active use would not be treated as vacant) and would focus on parcels not functioning for their primary zoned purpose.

Several members pressed whether the special-need exception could be used to recruit large economic-development projects. Bailey said the process is intended to create a formal path for such opportunities but would raise the bar compared with ad-hoc rezones by requiring master planning and higher council thresholds. \"We are proposing this as having some sort of formalized process... this allows us to work that in while also upping the bar ensuring that we are talking about a super majority and having master planning associated,\" he said.

The draft timeline Bailey described would take roughly two years from initial growth-trend findings to completion of master planning and any urban service area modification; the city expects additional public outreach, with a drop-in engagement session scheduled for May 22 at the Lexington Senior Center and a planned GGP committee discussion on July 1. A fuller draft of recommended changes aimed at council review is expected by the September 9 special GGP public forum.

Bailey and staff said more technical metrics and locational requirements (the precise screening criteria for which parcels could be considered) remain to be defined and will be developed with public input. Several council members urged staff to produce clear, shareable data sets early so successive councils and the public can evaluate the method and results rather than having the work shelved until the next council cycle.

The vice mayor closed the session by encouraging councilmembers and residents to attend the May 22 public event and to continue dialogue with planning staff as the draft is refined.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Lexington - Committee of the Whole - May 08, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","City planning staff presented a draft preservation and growth-management program to Lexington’s Committee of the Whole on May 8 that would use a five‑year off‑cycle growth-trends report with a 20‑year horizon to guide urban service area and policy decisions.","taxTitle","Lexington City, Fayette County, Kentucky","taxId",5707,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6558570,"Kentucky League of Cities summarizes 2025 session: preemption defense, firefighter schedule flexibility, pension health boost",966,136000,1102000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3241126-ed88b59fa1538625d6316f50f599889e&start=136&end=1102","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3241126-ed88b59fa1538625d6316f50f599889e/thumbnail_136000.jpg","/articles/6558570/Lexington-City/Fayette-County/Kentucky/Kentucky-League-of-Cities-summarizes-2025-session-preemption-defense-firefighter-schedule-flexibility-pension-health-boost","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6558570-cabef6c493eabf33585a9343803479b7/orig.mp4?Expires=1773573966&Signature=kOB0OzKV6dp3LMzqSNRMd~Ibr1VSlXE2CcGwAw77GYnca2W3WldM5buObd8M7NTiKcXJVRKcLGd2ZsOunp51b4APua59TX34Xx5vG0muUaUnesLmY7XStu0M2ugdj3kfcVI465v8h~0vyEh0ywCuh6nIfEuNLBCZXQ7Jg8Ir9y-fE3JaD28DRGMTw4evE5vgFbcV3MoCVpC0Q8xCAcuoYcy6z3kj1hHn0wKpe2ARpQ-wBhAM6PQe6V70hjkGLy7OeYDUK60SWQfM8Iqo-Erw07Uu3lQVI~P6Ls6mckWnjb8y1NBWbF6CJ~EG2Qlfs3SBKSd82q614lCpUCcnHLjeUg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Gracie Kelly, director of government affairs for the Kentucky League of Cities, told the Lexington Urban County Council’s Committee of the Whole on May 8 that the 2025 legislative session required heavy “defensive work” by local governments amid repeated preemption proposals and rapid bill activity.

Kelly said the 30-day session produced more than 1,000 filed bills and 148 enacted measures; 10 were KLC initiatives that the League’s board had prioritized. “It may not seem like a lot, but that's actually really substantial,” she said, describing KLC’s role in drafting, finding sponsors and shepherding those initiatives.

The update highlighted several enacted measures or developments the League tracked that could affect Lexington and other cities. Kelly described House Bill 30 as codifying a court of appeals decision to protect ordinary raises and bona fide promotions from triggering pension-spiking penalties. She said House Bill 131 lets some jurisdictions adopt alternative firefighter schedules (examples Kelly gave include 48-on/96-off and 1-3-2-3 national models), a change intended to give cities flexibility for recruitment and retention while not superseding collective bargaining.

Kelly also summarized planning-and-zoning training changes in House Bill 321 that extend the initial orientation deadline for appointed planning commissioners from 120 days to one year and lengthen continuing education windows from two years to four years; she said one hour of the orientation and continuing education must focus on housing. Other measures she flagged included House Bill 369 (authorizing local accrual schedules for a 15-day annual leave granted to officers upon hire), House Bill 437 (removing arrest authority for ABC administrators and investigators unless they are peace officer–certified) and an open‑records change in House Bill 520 that adjusted how law-enforcement investigations may be withheld from disclosure.

On retirement benefits, Kelly described Senate Bill 10 as raising the CERS retiree health insurance subsidy for members under 65: nonhazardous retirees who meet a career threshold (27 years, as Kelly stated) would receive $40 per month per year of service and hazardous retirees $50 per month per year of service, increases Kelly said were actuarially manageable for employer contributions.

Kelly said Senate Bill 237 clarified statewide standards for waiving certain physical-agility tests for officers recently employed in another state and authorized a 40-hour online training pathway for part-time telecommunicators. She also noted Senate Bill 25 included KLC priorities such as allowing industrial revenue bonds to be used for multifamily housing developments of 48 units or more and permitting local fire appeals boards where local processes are available.

On matters that did not pass, Kelly warned the committee that a centralized collection proposal for occupational taxes (House Bill 253) did not receive a hearing but remained a likely interim topic; she described KLC opposing mandated state collection of local occupational taxes. She said short-term-rental legislation and other preemption proposals also remain active concerns for local governments.

Council members asked several follow-up questions: Councilmember Lynch pressed for rationale behind extending training timelines under HB 321; Kelly said the change was intended to help smaller cities that struggle to recruit volunteers who can meet the shorter deadlines. Councilmember Curtis and others asked whether any measures singled out Lexington; Kelly said most KLC initiatives are board-driven and she deferred to Lexington’s paid lobbyists on bills specifically tailored to Lexington, but she confirmed the KLC board had considered and in some cases voted on bills that affected consolidated local governments.

Kelly concluded by offering to follow up with councilmembers and with questions about bills that required more detail. \"I'm happy to answer those,\" she said, and the vice mayor thanked her and her team for the briefing.

The presentation lasted within the allotted time and preceded a separate staff presentation on Lexington’s preservation and growth management program.","Gracie Kelly of the Kentucky League of Cities briefed Lexington’s Committee of the Whole on bills from the 2025 Kentucky General Assembly, highlighting defensive work against preemption, enactment of 10 KLC initiatives and measures affecting firefighters, municipal audits and retiree health subsidies.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Lexington staff unveil draft preservation and growth-management program; public input planned May 22

Kentucky League of Cities summarizes 2025 session: preemption defense, firefighter schedule flexibility, pension health boost