Board continues decision on kitchen exhaust and EIFS at 509 East Main; approves masonry screen and tree planting

LEXINGTON — The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Board of Architectural Review on a motion approved partial changes at 509 East Main Street and continued two elements of the application for 60 days to allow the applicant and staff to produce more detailed architectural screening and EIFS remediation plans.

At the May meeting, the board voted to approve replacing a previously proposed louvered screen with a masonry wall around the mechanical makeup-air and handling equipment and to accept a landscaping change replacing bamboo with columnar sweetgum trees along the building’s southeast parking lot. The board continued consideration of the kitchen exhaust extension (ductwork/vent) and the use of an installed EIFS (synthetic stucco) over the existing masonry, giving the applicant a 60-day extension to submit detailed screening drawings and product specifications.

The items matter to nearby residents because the ductwork installed to serve a commercial kitchen sits on a rear wall adjacent to an occupiable roof terrace and private parking; neighbors testified they can both see and hear the exhaust equipment from their homes. Historic-preservation staff had recommended disapproval of the extended exhaust piece and the EIFS-over-block because, staff wrote, the ductwork “is large and…