Changes coming to development plan regulations due to state legislation

In January 14th’s General Government and Planning (GGP) Committee, Traci Wade of the Division of Planning presented an overview of how 2024’s House Bill 443 will affect Lexington’s process for approving development plans.

House Bill 443 was passed by the State legislature in 2024. The bill says that cities must have “objective standards” for development regulations, and that those standards must be applied “ministerially” — meaning that there should be no room for personal interpretation or discretion in how development plans are approved or disapproved.

A lot of Lexington’s zoning and development regulations are not objective under House Bill 44. Words such as “encouraged,” “recommended,” “should,” “adequate,” and more are found throughout Lexington’s planning regulations as they relate to building design, pedestrian facilities, and much more. Below is an example provided in the presentation slides.

Language throughout Lexington’s planning regulations will need to be updated with more objective and measurable criteria in order to come into compliance with House Bill 443.

In terms of the process of how a development plan is approved by the Planning Commission, the only significant change is that a Final Development Plan will not come before the Planning Commission for a vote of approval.

• Currently, a developer will submit a Preliminary Development Plan as a first step in a new development. This Preliminary Development Plan is essentially the first draft. It shows the proposed use of a property, and it must be approved by several Committees — and then, eventually, it will be approved by the Planning Commission.
• After the Preliminary Development Plan is approved, the developer will make revisions and submit a Final Development Plan. Currently, the Final Development Plan goes through the same process of approval as a Premilinary Development Plan.
• However, after House Bill 443 takes effect, a Final Development Plan will not need a final vote of approval from the Planning Commission. A Final Development Plan will only need approval from the various Committees that vote on it.

District 3 Councilmember Hannah LeGris asked if neighbors would still be able to engage in the Final Development Plan (FDP) when a zone change moves forward.

• Currently, members of the public can provide input for FDPs in Planning Commission meetings.
• Wade responded that if FDPs met the city’s objective standards, then public input opportunities would not be available at full Planning Commission meetings, but would be available at certain committee meetings like the Technical Committee and the Planning Commission Subdivision Committee. However, significant changes to an FDP, such as a large density increase, could potentially lead to a public hearing that residents could engage in.

The Division of Planning will mail resources to neighborhoods and post on Planning’s website educating residents on how HB443 will affect planning processes once they have fully amended their policies to come into compliance with the bill.

House Bill 443 takes affect on July 1st, 2025. Upcoming changes made to Lexington’s zoning and development regulations will be published in February.