Nicholasville commission approves multiple zoning map amendments, debates school-traffic concerns on one parcel

The City of Nicholasville Commission approved several ordinances June 9 to amend the official zoning map for multiple properties, clearing the way for new multifamily and mixed-use developments and related access improvements.

The actions approved included Ordinance 182-2025, rezoning about 16.1 net acres at 3213 Lexington Road from A-1 (county) to R-3 (multifamily residential); Ordinance 183-2025, rezoning roughly 33 acres to R-3 and 39.86 acres to B-1 (central business) at 3255 Lehi Road for a 69-acre mixed-use project; and Ordinance 184-2025, rezoning about 29.64 acres at 789 Union Mill Road from A-1 to R-1E (single-family residential). The commission also read Ordinance 181-2025 amending prior ordinance 159-2024 to establish an entertainment destination center and to direct the city to apply to the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for an entertainment destination center license.

Those measures were advanced after the Nicholasville Planning Commission recommended approval for the rezones. The planning commission’s recommendation for Ordinance 182 was reported in the packet as a unanimous 7–0 vote. Commission roll-call votes at the meeting recorded approval for Ordinances 181, 182 and 183. Ordinance 184 passed on roll call with one recorded “no” vote by Miss Brown and “yes” votes by Mister Carter, Mister Sutherland and Mister Knight.

Tim (staff member), who presented the rezoning items, told the commission that the 3213 Lexington Road request covers 16.1 acres of an approximately 80-acre parcel owned by heirs of the Howard family and that the proposal connects directly to existing commercial areas including the Commerce Center, the Kohl’s and Sam’s retail corridor. Tim said the Lexington Road site “has direct connection to Commerce Center or Kohl’s and Sam’s and the restaurants and the retail stores that are there,” and that the development is intended to serve traffic in both directions.

Tim and other presenters described planned access improvements tied to the developments. For the 16.1-acre project, applicants agreed to upgrade the existing three-way signal at Industry Parkway and U.S. 27 into a four-way signal, and to extend Bridal Drive to create parallel access that would move local traffic off U.S. 27. Tim said the state has encouraged “parallel access off of mainline for businesses and traffic to move.” The Lehi Road project also includes a proposed signal aligned with a previously approved development and was described as matching the 2013 U.S. 27 access-management plan.

Representatives from Continental Properties were listed as present for the 3213 Lexington Road item; Tim noted Bruce Smith and Lexi Lacy Gash of Continental were available for questions. For the Lehi Road rezoning, Tim identified Pat Madden as the developer working on the proposal referred to as including the Porter Memorial Church property.

Ordinance 184, the Union Mill Road infill rezoning, drew the most discussion. A commissioner questioned placing a compact single-family development near a campus where three school levels are co-located, raising concerns about congestion and safety during overlapping arrival and dismissal periods. One commissioner summarized the point: school traffic and commuter patterns can create conflicts and limited local control over school siting makes mitigation difficult. Another commissioner noted that the proposal includes 60-foot lots and would increase supply of single-family housing within city limits.

City documents provided during the meeting include parcel identifiers (PVA Parcel 067-00-0028, 067-00-022.02, 070-00-0016) and planning commission meeting transcripts. Commissioners discussed balancing retail anchors and residential density to grow the local tax base while improving access to groceries and services for northern Nicholasville neighborhoods.

Where recorded, motions carried at the meeting by roll call. The commission’s approvals authorize the city to proceed with plan review and permit processes; detailed site plans, traffic studies, and any required state approvals were not resolved by the ordinances themselves and remain prerequisites for construction or signal work.

The commission did not receive public comment on the items during the meeting. Next steps for the approved rezones are administrative processing and subsequent permitting and engineering work by applicants and staff.