Lexington council removes street‑front requirement for townhouses, citing infill flexibility

Lexington City Council voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 2026‑05 to amend Article 11 of the Lexington zoning ordinance by deleting the requirement that townhouses front on or be accessed by a public street.

The change, presented by Arnie, Lexington’s planning director, removes one of four townhouse standards and is intended to make better use of limited infill parcels where strict street‑fronting and VDOT right‑of‑way standards (staff cited a typical 50‑foot right‑of‑way minimum and pavement-width expectations) reduce buildable lots. "We have for your consideration this evening an ordinance amendment ... to delete a requirement," Arnie said, adding that the Planning Commission held a public, advertised meeting and voted unanimously to support the deletion. Staff also noted written comments in the packet from Michael Perry opposing the proposal.

Councilors pressed staff on life‑safety issues and how narrower private access would be handled. Arnie and City Manager Tom said the site‑plan review stage — not the zoning ordinance — is where building and fire codes and pavement widths are enforced, and that site plans are sent to the fire marshal, building official, police and public works for review. "It's not so much a zoning question as much as it is a site plan review question," the city manager said. Arnie noted that, in some cases, private access with parking on one side requires a minimum pavement width (staff discussed roughly a 28‑foot pavement minimum where parking is allowed on one side) and that sprinklers and other building‑code measures can affect allowed setbacks and access: "If they're sprinklered, then it can be ... 150 feet from the primary road to the door," Councilor John Driscoll said, citing examples from other jurisdictions.

Arnie told the council that narrow pavement near sorority houses had raised enforcement and safety concerns in prior reviews, but that fire‑safety review through site‑plan and building‑code procedures would address those operational issues.

The public hearing produced no in‑person speakers; Arnie noted a written comment in the council packet from Michael Perry opposed to the change. Councilor (speaker 12) moved to approve Ordinance 2026‑05 and Councilor John Driscoll seconded. A roll‑call vote was taken and the motion carried unanimously.

The ordinance change removes the public‑street frontage/access requirement from the townhouse standards and leaves life‑safety details to subsequent site‑plan and building‑code review. The Planning Director and staff said they will continue coordinating site‑plan review with the fire marshal and other review agencies whenever private streets or narrower access are proposed.