Lancaster council tables request to shrink Green Road right-of-way after public concerns

Mayor Clyde C. Hairston closed a public hearing June 23 and the Lancaster City Council voted to table M25‑19, a request to amend the master thoroughfare plan for a portion of Green Road between Lancaster Hutchins Road and Cornell Road.

City Manager presented the item as a staff‑recommended amendment to reclassify the roadway from a 100‑foot, four‑lane minor arterial to a 60‑foot, three‑lane major urban collector. Staff said the applicant cited a trips‑per‑area study showing data centers generate about 0.926 vehicle trips per 1,000 square feet, fewer than typical warehouse uses, as the rationale for the change.

The proposal drew questions from council members about permanence and corridor effects. A council member asked whether reducing the right‑of‑way would be reversible; the city manager replied that once the city accepts less right‑of‑way, regaining it would require the city to repurchase land.

Solomon Bachman, a resident who addressed the council during both the general public comment period and the public hearing, said the packet lacked the traffic studies or corridor analysis he would need to evaluate impacts, and urged the council to consider the entire Green Road corridor rather than a partial segment. “I didn’t see any studies or anything like that in that plan,” Bachman said, adding that the change covered only part of the roadway and risked inconsistent treatment across segments.

Tim Keith of Cauley Partners, the applicant, told the council he was seeking consistency with a larger initiative on Green Road and did not intend to “lead the charge” for change in isolation. He offered to return with site plans and said he did not want his parcel left out if adjacent segments were subsequently reclassified.

Planning and Zoning had recommended approval at its May 6 meeting, but council members said companion zoning and comprehensive plan amendments were pending for other applicants and preferred to address the area comprehensively. Councilmember (speaker 12) moved to table M25‑19 until the related items are brought back; the motion carried.

Because staff identified that a reduced right‑of‑way could not be recovered without purchase, the council’s action effectively pauses any change until council can consider the corridor and zoning context together. The item will return for consideration when companion thoroughfare/zoning items are scheduled.