Planning committee delays Phelps property plan after state right‑of‑way and parking waiver questions

At a Lexington Planning Division committee meeting, members voted to postpone consideration of final development plan PLNMJ DP 2542 — the Phelps property at 4075 Old Richmond Road — after staff said work remains to resolve right‑of‑way and parking waiver issues.

The committee’s postponement followed staff reports that the application requests three waivers related to parking and vehicle use areas in front yards but does not yet address a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) determination that a portion of the site’s proposed landscape buffer falls inside the state right‑of‑way. Planning staff recommended postponement to allow the applicant time to revise plans for compliance with Articles 16 and 18 of the zoning ordinance and to resolve outstanding technical sign‑offs.

The project team is proposing a mixed use layout with a convenience store, a sit‑down restaurant, townhomes, apartments and a private internal street. Murphy, an applicant representative, told the committee the final development plan is “basically identical” to the preliminary plan the commission approved two years earlier and that the design was developed with green‑space staff input. He said the applicant had changed the restaurant from a drive‑through to a sit‑down use and moved buildings to improve pedestrian connections to the residential units on site.

Staff said the three waivers filed ask to allow a vehicular use area in the front yard (Article 16.6), to increase the amount of parking in the front yard in the CC zone, and to modify Article 23(a) related to placement of parking between buildings and adjacent streets. Planning staff also reported a KYTC email asserting the state’s right‑of‑way extends 25 feet from the road center line, which would place part of the proposed landscape buffer and some parking inside the right‑of‑way. The applicant had shown the property line to the road center line and was researching whether the old roadway on the site was a purchased right‑of‑way or an easement. Murphy said the applicant’s deed “went to the center line of Old Richmond Road,” and that he expected to have more information in the days ahead.

Technical committee reviewers listed the typical engineering, traffic, landscape, addressing, urban forester, open space, fire, waste management and water division sign‑offs, and they requested corrected plan notes and additional details. Staff cautioned that if KYTC insists on control of the right‑of‑way, the applicant might need additional waivers or a timing condition that would prevent construction of buildings adjacent to Old Richmond Road until the right‑of‑way issue is resolved.

Committee members pressed the applicant on visibility of parking from the roadway and on grading: Murphy said contour lines show a height differential of about 13 feet at certain points and that state roadwork has required significant grading, including a 20‑foot reduction at an intersection where the private street will meet Richmond Road. He also said the state‑led road project has removed the existing Aphids Way pavement and established new street elevations needed for final building elevations.

The motion before the committee — to postpone the final development plan for PLNMJ DP 2542 pending revised plans that address Article 16 and 18 compliance and the KYTC right‑of‑way — was seconded and carried unanimously.

The applicant indicated it would pursue additional research on property deed language and would meet with staff in the coming days to determine whether the filing must be revised or carried to a later hearing.

What’s next: The plan remains postponed while the applicant and staff work to reconcile the KYTC right‑of‑way determination, determine whether additional waivers will be required, and update plans and technical studies as requested by reviewers.