Published: October 25, 2007 08:54 am      

Zoning requests rebuffed

Two developers failed to get what they wanted Tuesday night from the Richmond Planning and Zoning Commission.

As citizens jammed the benches and stood in the corridors, the commission voted to recommend keeping the R-1a zone for a vacant 10.5-acre tract on Barnes Mill Road near its intersection with Lancaster Avenue.

The commission also voted to recommend a zone of RE (Residential Estates) for 184 acres off Willis Branch Road if the Richmond City Commission annexes it into the city.

Property owner Jessie Lackey Fennell had requested R-3 (Multi-family Residential) zoning of her property on Barnes Mill Road so developers Bill and Brian Ramsey could construct a privately owned complex which would be marketed primarily to students of Eastern Kentucky University.

Attorney Michael Eaves said the developers wanted to build seven residential structures that would contain 144 apartments units totaling 276 bedrooms. A club house, outdoor swimming pool and pond would be part of the development.

In support of the zone change request, Eaves offered these findings of fact:

• The developers would not subdivide the property.

• Residents would likely walk rather than drive to campus, reducing the traffic impact of a conventional R-3 development.

• The state wants EKU to increase its enrollment from 16,000 to 20,000 by 2010, dramatically increasing demand for student housing. While students will be enrolled on extended campus sites, the Richmond campus will still see upsurge in enrollment over the next two to 10 years.

• The city’s comprehensive plan predicts a doubling of Richmond’s population in 40 years, up to 19 percent by 2030, requiring additional housing.

• In the past 12 years, Richmond’s incorporated area has nearly doubled. Rather than continue to sprawl, efficient development of unused internal land should be encouraged as recommended by the comprehensive plan.

The property is separated from the Emma Watts estate by an EKU residence hall parking lot. All property along Lancaster Avenue between the Watts Estate and West Main Street is zoned R-3.

John Lackey, brother of the applicant, who owns the property between Finnell’s and Lancaster Avenue, said he would be willing to sell land for a turn lane leading into the development.

Many residents of the area, including members of Community Action for Barnes Mill Neighborhood Inc., opposed the zone change and hired attorney Bruce Simpson Jr. of Lexington to represent them.

Kentucky law requires substantial evidence to support a zone change, Simpson said, and the application was deficient in several respects.

He presented alternative findings of fact:

• Property west of the proposed development is zoned R-1a, as is all property across Barnes Mill Road.

• Any changes in the area were forecast by the comprehensive plan, which recommended the property retain its R-1a zoning.

• EKU residence halls currently have 1,085 unrented beds.

• Sixty percent of Richmond’s housing units are rental property, double the national average and more than double Kentucky’s average of 28 percent.

• In 2006, 3.9 percent of homes in Richmond were vacant. Apartment vacancy was 13.4 percent. Apartment vacancies less than a half mile from the proposed development were as high as 50 percent.

• Letter from former Police Chief Robert Stephens in support of privately owned student housing development on Cycle Drive, that the planning commission approved in November.

• Barnes Mill Road is in fact an urban connector road which should be 36 feet wide, but is only 24. Since Jan. 1, 11 auto accidents have occurred on that end of Barnes Mill Road. Photos of three were displayed, including one in which a car clipped a telephone pole and then landed on its roof. Another photo showed a sign between Lancaster Avenue and Eastway Drive that read, “Prepare for Sudden Stop.”

• With no sidewalk on north side of Barnes Mill Road students walking to campus first would have to cross Barnes Mill, increasing the risk of accidents.

Commissioners Mary Lillian Abney, Eugene Estelle, Michael Fore, Richard Thomas and Chairman David Rush voted to recommend against the request. Commissioner Clark Pergrem abstained to avoid a conflict of interest.

Three Lakes Development, headed by C. Wesley Morgan, is seeking the annexation of property off Willis Branch Road with a zoning of R-4 (Mixed-Use Residential).

All types of residences, from single-family homes to apartment buildings, may be built in an R-4 zone. The developer wants the property annexed so it can have city sewer service, said Eaves, who also represented Three Lakes.

While an R-4 zoning would allow as many as 1,104 residential units to be built on the property, the developer proposed to build only 243 units, Eaves said, and would agree to property restrictions to that effect. The only multi-family units would be some condominiums or duplexes along the shore of Wilgreen Lake Condominiums.

The developer also would pay to widen Willis Branch Road, maintained by the county, to 24 feet. Eaves said the county previously had indicated it would require only a 20-foot pavement to access the development.

Doug Bagby of the Deacon Hills Homeowners Association and Debbie Vescio of The Woods Home Owners Association both spoke against the proposal.

Vescio asked that approval of any additional development in the area be postponed until the impact of The Shops at Richmond Centre is known.

Willis Branch Road already carries 7,000 vehicles a day, she said. On Barnes Mill, the traffic count is 10,000.

Bagby asked that the development be denied unless Willis Branch Road is widened to the city’s standard of 36 feet.

Eaves said Barnes Mill Road from Goggins Lane to Interstate 75 is to be widened by the developer of Richmond Centre.

Wiggins moved that the commission recommend the property be zoned RE, single-family homes on one-acre lots, if it is annexed. “I’d prefer it not be annexed,” she said. “We have a glut of unsold homes and building lots already.”

She was seconded by Fore, who was joined in voting by Abney, Estelle and Rush in approving the motion.

Thomas voted “no,” and Pergrem abstained.

A development plan for an auto detail shop owned by Mike Rice on Estill Avenue, a final plat for Hidden Hills Phase II-B, and an amended development plan for Hope’s Wings shelter on Cycle Drive were approved.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.