During March 10th's General Government and Planning Committee meeting, Urban County Councilmembers discussed ways to improve the efficiency of Lexington's development process, including by adding a new position that, if approved, would coordinate with developers directly.
The meeting included a presentation reviewing the results of a 2023 study that examined efficiency improvements to the city's development process. Among its recommendations: Add a new development liaison position independent of the city's Planning Department that can educate and assist developers with the approval process.
In a separate presentation, Councilmembers also reviewed the progress a working group has made in examining and implementing the planning and development study's key recommendations.
The working group, which includes representatives from Commerce Lexington and the Building Industry Association of Central Kentucky, seeks to "support the timely production of affordable and workforce housing by reducing avoidable delays," as part of its scope, according to presentation materials.
Working group examines potential benefits of development liaison
Alicia Larmour, a Council research analyst, gave a presentation outlining the working group's latest efforts to implement key recommendations from the 2023 Planning and Development Approval Process Study.
The working group's membership includes:
11th District Councilmember Jennifer Reynolds
Andi Johnson, Chief Policy Officer and Director of Regional Engagement at Commerce Lexington
Todd Johnson, Executive Vice President at the Building Industry Association of Central Kentucky
Carla Blanton, owner of Carla Blanton Consulting
Branden Gross, a commercial real estate lawyer and partner at Dentons
Nick Nicholson, a real estate development attorney and member at Stoll, Keenon, Ogden.
Al Gross, managing partner at EA Partners PLC, a civil-engineering, land development and surveying firm
Several LFUCG staff members, including Keith Horn, Commissioner of Lexington's Department of Planning and Preservation
The working group examined several development hurdles explored in the study, including projects getting stuck in the final sign-off stage for much longer than expected, approved projects being reopened to review, small changes causing big delays and uncertainty about when a project is truly ready to go.
The consequence for developers is increased costs and uncertainty, which is passed through to consumers in higher home prices and rents, according to the presentation. It also makes building affordable housing more difficult, as those projects often depend on tight financing and funding deadlines.
The working group also looked at what several peer cities to Lexington are doing to coordinate development, including cities like Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Madison, Wisconsin, which have one or multiple project coordinators.
Going forward, the working group supports the creation of a development liaison position within the city's Chief Administrative Office and separate from the planning department.
Its role would be to serve as the "cross-departmental coordinator for land development, permitting, infrastructure review, and final sign-off processes within the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government,” according to meeting materials.
Along with serving as a coordinator, the development liaison will also help make reforms to the city’s development process, including by helping to improve “lock in” for approved requirements.
According to meeting materials, certification “lock in” means that, once a development plan is approved, city staff generally cannot add new requirements or increase standards during the final sign-off.
The goal is to make project certification a compliance check — not a chance to reopen negotiated conditions at the final step in the process.
How did councilmembers react?
At-Large Councilmember Dan Wu and 9th District Councilmember Whitney Elliott Baxter said they supported expediting the city's development process and culling unnecessary bottlenecks. Wu in particular said it could help smaller developers gain a local foothold and boost local housing supply. Lexington is 23,000 housing units short of what it needs, Wu said.
Other councilmembers, such as At-Large Councilmember James Brown, supported the position but questioned how its responsibilities would mesh with the city's Department of Planning and Preservation. The development liaison would be independent of that department.
2nd District Councilmember Shayla Lynch, the General Government and Planning Committee's Vice Chair, questioned whether the workload of the position is too intensive for one person to manage. Other peer cities have entire teams for this work, she pointed out. Councilmember Reynolds said the proposed position's job duties are subject to change and could be honed down.
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Watch the meeting: Watch a recording of the meeting on LexTV.
That will limit how much spending the city can do, and will make creating recurring expenses like new positions more challenging. Creating a development liaison position was one of Council’s priorities in its annual budget retreat.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton is expected to present her budget proposal in April, and Council must finalize a budget by June 30, when the fiscal year officially ends.
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How can you get involved? Contact your councilmember and share your perspective here.
Aaron covers the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council as a City Hall Reporter for CivicLex. His background is in Service Journalism, and he’s passionate about helping Lexington residents stay informed about happenings in local government.
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