Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homeless Shelters Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Richmond tables zone determination for overnight shelters, seeks state code details
Summary
The Richmond Planning and Zoning Commission tabled consideration of a proposed zoning framework for overnight shelters, asking staff to provide state building-code standards and additional details before the board resumes the item at its next meeting.
The Richmond Planning and Zoning Commission voted to table consideration of a proposed zone determination ordinance for overnight shelters and asked staff to provide state regulatory details and additional clarification at the next meeting.
Planning staff presented a draft that reflected prior work-session recommendations on where shelters might be allowed, listing conditional uses in industrial zones (I-1 and I-2) and minimum separation distances. Staff said the draft included a 1,000-foot buffer mentioned in earlier work sessions and a 500-foot buffer from residential uses or public parks. The proposal would make shelters a conditional use requiring Board of Adjustments approval and a site development plan.
Commissioners asked whether a single-family residence in agricultural zoning could be converted to a shelter and how many people a shelter could house. Planning staff replied that a residential building could be adapted to the use if it met the facility criteria and that the shelter would remain an existing nonconforming use if a future rezoning occurred. The commission also discussed occupancy metrics; one speaker said the state standard he knew was 220 square feet per individual for shelter calculations.
Commissioner Perkins and others expressed concern that the commission should have definitive state building-code and assembly-use calculations before finalizing local regulations. Planning staff and the city attorney said they would compile applicable standards, including references to the Kentucky building code and state cabinet regulations, and provide them to the commission and the Board of Adjustments. A community volunteer noted Eastern Kentucky University had donated 60 bunk beds, but said no specific site was pending.
After discussion, Commissioner Miller moved and the commission seconded a motion to table the item to the next meeting so staff could supply the requested legal and building-code information. The motion passed by roll call. Commissioners emphasized they wanted the local rules to be clear from the outset so that any shelter operators would have predictable requirements.
The commission did not adopt zoning changes at this meeting and left the matter for further information and a future vote.
