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Commission removes restrictive townhouse access rule to allow private‑drive configurations
Summary
At its March 12 meeting the commission voted to remove a zoning clause that required townhouses to front on or be accessed only by a public street, a change intended to allow townhouse developments with private drives or internal access patterns.
The Lexington Planning Commission voted on March 12 to advance ZOA 2026‑01 after agreeing to remove clause C in the townhouse standard, a change that will allow townhouses to be designed on private drives or alternative access configurations rather than requiring frontage on a public street.
Staff described the change as a response to layout constraints on deeper parcels and to enable more flexible townhouse design in parts of the city that do not have a traditional gridded street network. "Any townhouse shall front on or be accessed by a public street" was the current language that staff recommended removing (or alternatively replacing with language that explicitly allowed private drives). During discussion commissioners noted existing local examples—where townhouse fronts face shared green spaces rather than public streets—and a student commenter, Evan Clark, urged that striking the requirement "completely maximizes flexibility" for developers and could foster innovative compact housing approaches.
After discussion the commission voted to remove the clause (C) from ZOA 2026‑01 and directed staff to prepare the revised text for advertisement and public hearing. Commissioners and staff noted the change does not eliminate existing parking or accessibility requirements and that any specific project will still need to demonstrate compliance with other zoning and site‑plan standards.
The amendment will be placed on the next public‑hearing agenda with revised ordinance language for final consideration.
