Council approves Parkers Mill rezoning and ordinance to remove B3 minimum building coverage after public comment

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council on July 1 approved two ordinances at second reading: rezoning 1899 Parkers Mill Road from single-family residential (R‑1A) to planned neighborhood residential (R‑3) and an amendment to Article 8.20 of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Zoning Ordinance that removes a minimum building lot-coverage requirement for the corridor business (B3) zone.

The approval followed a public comment from Amy Clark, who identified herself as a resident in the third district and urged the council to reject the B3 change. Clark said the amendment would “strike the 30% minimum building area requirement” and urged the council to “Vote no on B3 SOTA 20 five-two.” She told the council the existing requirement supports sidewalks, transit, and more usable building area for homes and full‑time jobs and recommended replacing the lot-coverage metric with a floor‑area‑ratio (FAR) so developers can build up rather than spread out.

Clark said the change came to the council with “a highly divided recommendation from the planning commission and was not recommended by the planning staff.” She urged the council to retain the current 30% standard or to convert it to a 0.3 FAR to allow multi‑story buildings and preserve corridor land for a mix of uses.

Why it matters: The B3 zone regulates development along major corridors. Councilmember Clark’s concerns reflect broader debates about corridor character, walkability, and the balance of retail, service and housing uses. Removing a minimum building-area requirement can allow more surface parking, drive‑throughs and lower building footprints unless other standards (setbacks, landscaping, parking, transit impacts) are applied.

What the council voted on and how members responded: At second reading the council considered two separate ordinances. The first ordinance rezoned about 11.587 net (11.924 gross) acres at 1899 Parkers Mill Road from R‑1A to planned R‑3 for Rose Holdings Lexington LLC (Council District 10). The motion to approve was moved by Councilmember Ellinger and seconded by Councilmember Baxter. During the roll-call, Councilmember Ellinger was recorded as recusing on the Parkers Mill rezoning; Councilmember Brown voted yes; Councilmember Curtis voted yes on the Parkers Mill rezoning; Councilmembers Legree, Lynch, Morton, Sheehan, Vice Mayor Wu, Boone and others recorded affirmative votes. The ordinance was approved.

The second ordinance would amend Article 8.20 of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Zoning Ordinance to remove a minimum building lot coverage requirement for the B3 corridor business zone. The motion to approve was the same motion that covered both ordinances; Councilmember Curtis recorded his vote as “yes on 1, no on 2.” Councilmember Ellinger recorded a recusal on item 1 and a yes on item 2. Councilmember Reynolds recorded “yes on 1, abstain on 2.” Councilmember Beasley voted yes on the Parkers Mill rezoning and no on the B3 amendment. Several members voted yes on the B3 amendment and the council announced both ordinances had passed.

Discussion vs. decision: The public testimony from Clark occurred during the public comment period and focused singularly on the B3 amendment. The transcript records council members’ roll-call votes but does not include an extended council debate on the merits of the B3 change during the meeting. The council’s action at second reading was a final vote on each ordinance; no subsequent direction to staff or follow‑up analysis was recorded in the transcript.

Clarifying details recorded at the meeting: Amy Clark stated the B3 change would remove a 30% minimum building-area requirement; she said the planning commission recommendation on the SOTA was divided and that planning staff did not recommend the change. She suggested converting the lot-coverage standard to a FAR (0.3) to encourage multi‑story development. The Parkers Mill rezoning parcel was described in the ordinance as approximately 11.587 net acres (11.924 gross) at 1899 Parkers Mill Road and owned by Rose Holdings Lexington LLC.

What’s next: Both ordinances were announced as passed at second reading. The transcript does not record any additional administrative directions, effective dates or appeals related to these actions in the meeting minutes.

Ending note: The B3 amendment and the Parkers Mill rezoning were among several items the council handled that evening; public commenters and two council members registered opposition or abstention on the corridor business change during final action.