Planning staff report on permits, vacant‑land inventory and confirm council adoption of Preservation & Growth Management Program

Hal Bailey, with the Division of Planning, walked the commission through an annual review of planning services work, application counts, and a vacant‑land inventory on Feb. 19. Bailey said staff reviewed "675 or 774" applications/permits in the past year (slides showed varying figures), noting the tally includes map amendment requests, zoning compliance permits, board of adjustment cases and development plans.

Bailey provided a breakdown: 15 map amendment requests were processed (9 approved, 1 disapproved, 4 still in process and 1 indefinitely postponed); staff handled 36 final record plats, 66 minor subdivision plans, 4 major subdivision plans and 77 major development plan applications. He highlighted that short‑term rental review had previously driven BOA case increases and that zoning compliance permits surged in some years but appear to be dropping back.

On data transparency, Bailey described recent additions to the Imagine Lexington Analytic Research Center, which pulls public and private datasets (U.S. Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CoStar) to help track rents, industrial and office metrics, and vacant land by zone. He emphasized the inventory focuses on acreage inside the urban service area and excludes University of Kentucky property because the university follows a separate timeline and land‑use regime.

Several commissioners asked whether staff track 'underutilized' land in addition to vacant land; Bailey said the department has never formally reported underutilization metrics and cautioned about the historical risks of returning to policies that target 'underutilization.' He confirmed the annual vacant‑land review is now performed each year (more frequently than earlier multi‑year cadences) and that staff will continue to explore more frequent reporting if it is feasible.

Bailey also reported that the Lexington Preservation and Growth Management Program was approved by council on Feb. 12, signed by the mayor and uploaded for public viewing. He said staff will seek a comprehensive plan amendment to adopt the program into the plan and scheduled the planning commission hearing on that amendment for March 26 with potential council consideration in May.

The commission asked follow‑up questions about mapping artifacts (why some vacant parcels appear oddly shaped) and whether surface parking lots should be classified as vacant; staff explained their methodology and noted surface parking is treated as a principal use in downtown zones, not counted as vacant under the current inventory criteria.

No actions were taken; commissioners requested continued updates to the analytics center and further clarity on vacant‑land and permit trends.