Lexington committee reviews draft Preservation and Growth Management Program; public forum set

The General Government and Planning Committee on Sept. 9 reviewed a draft of Lexington's Preservation and Growth Management Program (LPGMP), a proposed ordinance-format program that would establish a data-driven process to guide preservation, infill and potential additions to the urban service area.

Hal Bailey, manager for long range planning, told the committee the draft stems from goals in the 2023 comprehensive plan and aims "to codify long standing practices in a transparent way" using official data sources. Bailey said the program would use a five-year growth trends report and a 20-year formula that combines Kentucky State Data Center population projections, American Community Survey household-size data, and Lexington building-permit data to calculate residential acreage needs.

The draft emphasizes policy and regulatory changes inside the current urban service area before adding land. Bailey said the Urban County Council would be required to act on regulatory or policy changes to encourage infill and redevelopment before any acreage could be added to the urban service area. "If the Urban County Council sought the option to include additional acreage to the urban service area, they would establish a minimum acreage to act upon. However, there would be a maximum acreage limited to 30 years of residential need," Bailey said.

Why it matters: Committee members and the vice mayor said the program would change how Lexington balances preservation and growth by prioritizing infill and regulatory changes. Vice Mayor Ruth Wu said the updated draft "puts policy and regulatory stuff first," and that change reflects public feedback that favored infill redevelopment as the city's primary focus.

Key details and questions raised

- Formula and data: The formula excludes dormitory and other group-quarter population from dwelling-unit calculations; group quarters (on-campus dorms) are not counted as dwelling units, Bailey said. The formula does not include construction or rent costs. "Any type of cost or trying to deal with cost would fall under policy and regulatory changes," Bailey said.

- Housing backlog and mixed-use units: The draft does not yet incorporate the Kentucky Housing Corporation's identified housing backlog or the uncertain future contributions of mixed-use or commercial zones, because including them would require additional assumptions, Bailey said. He noted staff are seeking input on whether and how to include those factors.

- Commercial/industrial land: The draft separates employment- or job-growth land from the residential formula into a "special economic development need" process. That pathway would require documentation and a council resolution and is designed to ensure land added for job growth is accompanied by willing property owners and support from economic-development agencies. Bailey said the separation responds to challenges in reserving land for economic development when market forces favor conversion to housing.

- Vacant land review and removals: The Department of Law advised limiting removal of land from the urban service area to properties added after the establishment of this program, to avoid retroactive changes and legal risk, Law counsel Ms. Jones said. Several council members asked whether the growth trends report could include a public accounting of previously added but undeveloped acreage and the reasons those parcels remain undeveloped.

Public process and schedule

Bailey and Vice Mayor Wu said the committee intends to hold a public forum next Tuesday at 6 p.m. to gather more input via EngageLex and in-person comment. Staff plan a committee update and final-draft discussion on Dec. 2. Vice Mayor Wu and Bailey discussed possibly moving the timing of the trends report to one year after adoption of the comprehensive plan (instead of two) so that, if a residential need is identified, the master-planning work could be completed before the next comprehensive-plan cycle.

Committee response and concerns

Members praised the data-driven approach but urged more clarity on definitions of "preservation," with several noting that preservation should include cultural and historic communities as well as rural land. Council Member James Brown asked whether preservation could be defined to address displacement and cultural heritage; Bailey said regulatory and policy work by the council would be the place to further define that.

Several members urged the staff to consider ways to account for housing costs, commuter impacts and large new-employer scenarios when projecting residential need. Council Member Curtis asked for more detail on incorporating the Kentucky Housing Corporation backlog and mixed-use housing; Bailey said those items are complex and currently omitted to reduce speculative assumptions but remain open for public input.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of July 1, 2025 committee summary — motion and second; passed by voice vote. (No roll-call tally recorded in the transcript.)

- Motion to suspend rules to allow third-sign-in for speakers — motion and second; passed by voice vote. (No roll-call tally recorded in the transcript.)

- Motion to remove one referred item (mag study review) from the committee agenda — motion and second; passed by voice vote. (No roll-call tally recorded in the transcript.)

What’s next

The committee will host a public forum next Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Chambers and online through EngageLex. Staff will return with a revised draft of the LPGMP for committee review on Dec. 2. Vice Mayor Wu encouraged constituents to attend and provide feedback.