Planning commission approves rezoning for six townhouses at 940 Higbee Mill Road amid neighborhood opposition

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Planning Commission on Jan. 30 approved a rezoning request to allow six townhouse units at 940 Higbee Mill Road, a previously vacant lot at the end of Higbee Mill Road, after staff recommended approval following revisions to the applicant's plan.

Planning staff said the request, filed by Realty Unlimited Bluegrass LLC, sought to change the property’s zoning from single-family residential (R-1C) to townhouse residential (R-1T) to permit construction of attached townhome units. Daniel Crum, planning staff, told the commission the applicant reduced the proposal from seven units to six and reconfigured the site to meet subdivision and cul-de-sac standards; staff’s recommendation changed from disapproval to approval after the revisions.

The revised plan, staff said, replaced seven individual curb cuts with three paired driveways, reduced pavement in front yards, and created a cul-de-sac that meets the land subdivision regulation radius. Tracy Wade, planning staff, said the six townhomes are about 1,300 square feet each and now have shared driveways that generally accommodate a single vehicle, a change that reduced the total on-site parking from 14 spaces in an earlier iteration to six under the current proposal. Wade told the commission that certain driveway dimensions must be pushed back slightly to meet a new Article 16…