[{"_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",6471299,"mediaKeyId","5778193-0499d42d19bd4ff45cf9e8104ab6df96","parentId",5778193,"title","Panelists tell Lexington planning commissioners: subsidy, infrastructure and land availability are bottlenecks to affordable housing","audioSeconds",5497,"startMs",659310,"endMs",6156905,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5778193-0499d42d19bd4ff45cf9e8104ab6df96&start=659&end=6156","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5778193-0499d42d19bd4ff45cf9e8104ab6df96/thumbnail_659310.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6471299/Lexington-City/Fayette-County/Kentucky/Panelists-tell-Lexington-planning-commissioners-subsidy-infrastructure-and-land-availability-are-bottlenecks-to-affordable-housing","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6471299-ec30bc2a2cefca90b9928dc903861981/orig.mp4?Expires=1770911890&Signature=KrtdRV2Z2yltr2-869XLXflMrvv~kIwXmIF~9iZFlHEBhDIDzK94k3SFizoE8ivsVeTh2fp8k~JBw-p~pXIITlfS~-kp0dY7g7f-FrG64iEIpHF7yr5xQCHDJAG2yA0csWHPXXqwuZMnC~uIikXslmcKHzLkeKJ-22FAWuBrO-~tblqBDQvcp5SstyZQsPEGt-KZGFYQlduOosl0iaft32PYrb~YGDlp7Ba9mbDJOmx~6pY1Hx-UMzPwUrNCHBvUzrW-b1DjR8rEC5mKTjP2oxqdxzUEdb6Md8~lPpBt3qm6IBgfFohXktN8J0E-HF2ycQ88TNH2TkVa-kdxnxqIMw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Lexington","date","2025-09-18T00:00:00Z","article","Lexington planning commissioners on Sept. 18 hosted a roundtable on affordable housing with local developers, nonprofit builders and housing authority leaders who described a large gap between current production and community need, and urged a mix of local subsidy, state policy changes and infrastructure financing to scale production.

Panelists and staff cited state and federal programs and local pilots that could be combined to increase supply. \"For a family of 4, the area median income is $102,400,\" said Gerald Neer of Lexington Habitat for Humanity when discussing income bands used in local housing programs. Panelists agreed the term \"affordable housing\" is generally used for housing serving households at 30%–80% of area median income (AMI); \"workforce housing\" commonly refers to roughly 80%–120% of AMI.

Speakers cited the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) analysis discussed during the session: KHC estimated a total need of roughly 30,823 new housing units by 2029, including about 17,000 units considered \"affordable\" under the study’s definitions. City planning staff reported permitting has averaged about 1,500 dwelling units a year since 2017, a pace panelists said is far below projected needs.

Panelists described production constraints and possible policy responses. Johan Graham, owner of AU Associates, listed four practical levers: expand the local affordable-housing trust fund (he said the city recently committed $4 million–$5 million), push the state to create a housing tax-credit program like neighboring states have, identify ways to reduce upfront infrastructure and permit costs for affordable projects, and address land availability and neighborhood resistance that can slow family housing projects.

Several panelists pointed to an unusual local financing model used for a large redevelopment site tied to Transylvania University: local banks purchased a 12.5-acre parcel with roughly $3 million in private funds and held it interest-free while a coalition of developers assembled financing and rezoning. Panelists said the state has allocated $10 million for site infrastructure on that project, reducing per-unit costs for developers. \"They put $3,000,000 into it, bought the land, and are holding it interest free for this group of developers,\" said a panelist describing the bank fund structure; another panelist added the $10,000,000 state infrastructure allocation is meant to help make parcels pad‑ready and reduce total project costs.

Speakers repeatedly said subsidy is the binding constraint. \"If we look at the 22,000 units that are an objective or what we're short of, it'd be about $6.6 billion to build it,\" Austin Sims, executive director of the Lexington Housing Authority, said in describing a rough order-of-magnitude construction cost tied to the scale of need. Habitat for Humanity described developing single-family homes that required roughly $100,000 of subsidy per sale to be affordable to buyers at or below 80% AMI; the speaker said average single-family construction bids in Lexington were about $300,000 at the time of the meeting.

Panelists also described the limits of current federal tools: low-income housing tax credits and other federal programs are effective for multifamily rental production but require expertise and investor partnerships that many market-rate builders do not use. Panelists estimated that, with current subsidy levels, local nonprofits and developers collectively might produce in a strong year roughly 300–350 affordable units (single-family and multifamily combined), far short of the KHC estimates.

Commissioners and staff discussed next steps: better aligning local planning and state scoring for tax-credit awards (Qualified Allocation Plan priorities), lobbying the state for an infrastructure financing tool modeled on programs in Indiana and Tennessee, setting aside public land or partnering to make city-owned parcels available with infrastructure support, and convening follow-up meetings on financing and development plan process improvements. No formal action or legislation was voted on during the session; commissioners asked staff to organize follow-up briefings and to share reference materials discussed at the roundtable.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Lexington - Planning Commission Work Session","oneSentenceSummary","At a Sept. 18 planning-commission roundtable, Lexington housing providers, developers and nonprofit builders told commissioners the city faces a large shortfall of affordable housing and recommended a mix of local subsidies, state infrastructure financing and better land-use coordination to increase production.","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},6471303,"Lexington water staff outlines MS4 monitoring changes, new maintenance manual and countywide sampling plan",456,37200,493545,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5778193-0499d42d19bd4ff45cf9e8104ab6df96&start=37&end=493","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5778193-0499d42d19bd4ff45cf9e8104ab6df96/thumbnail_37200.jpg","/articles/6471303/Lexington-City/Fayette-County/Kentucky/Lexington-water-staff-outlines-MS4-monitoring-changes-new-maintenance-manual-and-countywide-sampling-plan","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6471303-9505afe6f2f9c2b7744a32c1ff35eb85/orig.mp4?Expires=1770911890&Signature=BMDp-6pav2ywufQx0sDsfiavbsDbcHY3aXaN7hu-VYyIRfH3tYNxuLdOTvLDGtIUUlvKcDuHcRiw~duACnIVSNRhKfTLapcuM1lTT~ARfc-tCaCglol4J5imyMGubObyr9nghp9gf2wD78zTcfgkP-Po4Z2fRBAkV502ZcBWdl~akj0j0ObMISLHQC7l4UiBYJ5m~tMscAJOkgr817dOdpn4U6BwoOpZYj18KHeHZ0U8aejV6qd~0bC7tXm-zFcHaVb9L0uQpfKX6ooG3QZkzW4tRV8V4Y1I5ge2mrEjweMNkSIMwOvi6rz9KVzb-GiRsWGtda4rOz0H5I-uIbuo6Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Lexington water-quality staff on Sept. 18 gave planning commissioners an overview of updates to the city’s MS4 (municipal separate storm sewer system) program, including new criteria to prioritize illicit-discharge screening, a maintenance manual for stormwater control facilities and a countywide water-quality monitoring program the division plans to implement after state approval.

Bailey Young, a Water Quality staff member, told commissioners MS4 is the state permit that authorizes Lexington to discharge stormwater runoff into waters of the Commonwealth and that Lexington is one of two Phase 1 communities in Kentucky with a permit tailored to the city. \"MS4 stands for municipal separate storm sewer system,\" Young said, emphasizing the permit’s role because runoff from urban activities can carry oil, pet waste, fertilizer and other pollutants directly to creeks and rivers.

Young said the division continues to perform the permit-required dry-weather screening of larger outfalls and is working with consultant Tetra Tech to adopt a new, risk-based approach for illicit-discharge detection and elimination. Under the current program, Young said, any outfall 36 inches or larger is sampled after a 72-hour dry period if it is flowing; if benchmarks are exceeded, staff attempt to locate and eliminate the non-stormwater source. The proposed change would let staff prioritize subwatersheds and inspect smaller pipes in higher-risk areas — potentially inspecting down to 18 inches in diameter in high-priority neighborhoods, 24 inches in medium-priority areas and 36 inches in low-priority areas — and would be submitted to the state before year-end for possible rollout in 2026.

Young described other program work: Lexington and Fayette County maintain \"just under 2,800 stormwater control facilities\" and perform roughly 5,200 inspections each year. \"We have just under 2,800 stormwater control facilities in Lexington and Fayette County. We inspect those based on varying frequency ... and we do just under 5,200 inspections annually,\" Young said. The division is finishing a maintenance manual with Tetra Tech that Young said will clarify responsibilities for property owners and include inspection checklists; staff aim to publish the manual in January 2026.

On monitoring, Young said staff moved from a single-watershed approach in 2023 to a countywide monitoring program for 2024–2025, with 64 sampling sites chosen to improve trend detection. The countywide program will include quarterly grab samples, wet-weather sampling and biological work such as fish and macroinvertebrate assessments; Young said the program will include volunteer participation and a quality-assurance plan to be submitted to the state before implementation, likely in early 2026.

During the discussion commissioners raised questions about homeowner use of lawn chemicals and fertilizers. \"We do see a ton of nutrients. So fertilizer is a major issue, and we're seeing, like, really high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus,\" Greg Lubeck, deputy director of Water Quality, said in response to a commissioner question about whether fertilizer and yard chemicals show up in monitoring. Young and Lubeck also described field observations staff report to engineering when constructed facilities do not match designs — examples included improperly planted green infrastructure, lack of vegetation in stabilized soil, detention-basin grading that prevents proper drainage and invert elevation differences between design and field conditions.

Young said the division has convened well-attended stakeholder groups to discuss manufactured treatment device protocol, constructed-wetland design, green infrastructure, plan certification and sureties, and temporary stormwater controls. She said the division will continue work groups to refine manuals and procedures and to respond to questions about stormwater in expansion areas.

Commissioners did not take formal action; staff said they will submit the updated screening approach and the monitoring quality-assurance plan to the state and return with materials as approvals are received.","City water-quality staff reviewed changes to the municipal separate storm sewer (MS4) program, including a new priority-based illicit-discharge screening approach, a maintenance manual for stormwater facilities and a countywide water-quality monitoring plan with volunteer participation.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Panelists tell Lexington planning commissioners: subsidy, infrastructure and land availability are bottlenecks to affordable housing

Lexington water staff outlines MS4 monitoring changes, new maintenance manual and countywide sampling plan