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Lexington-Fayette County, KY Overview
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Code of Ordinances
CHARTER AND CODE OF ORDINANCES LEXINGTON-FAYETTE URBAN COUNTY GOVERNMENT
SUPPLEMENT HISTORY TABLE
LEXINGTON-FAYETTE - URBAN COUNTY GOVERNMENT CHARTER
Chapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 2 - ADMINISTRATION1
Chapter 2A - AIRPORTS AND AIRCRAFT1
Chapter 2B - CODE ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING BOARDS
Chapter 3 - ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES1
Chapter 4 - ANIMALS AND FOWL1
Chapter 5 - BUILDINGS AND BUILDING REGULATIONS1
Chapter 5A - CIVIL DEFENSE: CIVIL EMERGENCIES
Chapter 6 - EMPLOYEES AND PENSIONS1
Chapter 7 - FINANCE AND TAXATION1
Chapter 8 - MINING AND/OR QUARRYING1
Chapter 9 - FIRE PREVENTION1
Chapter 9A - FIREWORKS
Chapter 10 - FOOD AND DRUGS1
Chapter 11 - HEALTH AND SANITATION1
Chapter 12 - HOUSING1
Chapter 13 - LICENSES AND REGULATIONS1
Chapter 13A - MINIMUM WAGE
Chapter 14 - OFFENSES AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS1
Chapter 15 - PEDDLERS AND SOLICITORS1
Chapter 16 - SEWAGE, GARBAGE, REFUSE AND WEEDS1
Chapter 16A - HAZARDOUS MATERIALS1
Chapter 17 - STREETS AND SIDEWALKS1
Chapter 17A - SUBDIVISIONS1
Chapter 17B - STREET TREES1
Chapter 17C - PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY
Chapter 17D - DOCKLESS VEHICLES
Chapter 18 - TRAFFIC1
Chapter 18B - SNOW EMERGENCIES1
Chapter 18C - EMERGENCY AMBULANCE, TRANSPORTATION AMBULANCE LICENSING, REGULATIONS1
Chapter 19 - WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Chapter 20 - ZONING1
Chapter 21 - COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR CLASSIFIED CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM1
Chapter 22 - UNCLASSIFIED CIVIL SERVICE1
Chapter 23 - DIVISIONS OF FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES AND POLICE1
Chapter 24 - DETENTION CENTER1
Chapter 25 - ETHICS ACT
Chapter 26 - RURAL LAND MANAGEMENT
APPENDIX A RULES AND PROCEDURES OF THE LEXINGTON-FAYETTE URBAN COUNTY COUNCIL1
CODE COMPARATIVE TABLE - ORDINANCES
STATE LAW REFERENCE TABLE
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Zoning Code
Sec. 23A-2. General provisions applicable in all zones.
The following provisions shall be applicable in all zones within the Expansion Areas:
(a)   Special Rural Road Access Requirements. In order to protect the unique character of rural roads within the Expansion Areas, no new street or new driveway access shall be permitted to the following roads: DeLong Road in Expansion Area 1 and 2C; northwest side of Walnut Grove Lane in Expansion Area 2A and Deer Haven Lane in Expansion Area 2B; and the southeast side of Chilesburg Road in Expansion Area 2C.
(b)   Fences. No more than fifty (50) feet of fence which is not a transparent fence or a stone fence shall be located in a single horizontal plane.
(c)   Environmentally Sensitive Land. Except as provided under Subsections (d), (g), and (u) of this section, below, any environmentally sensitive areas or geologic hazard areas shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of Section 6-11 of the Land Subdivision Regulations as applicable.
(d)   Steep Slope Areas. No building or structure shall be located on any land with a slope which is greater than thirty percent (30%). For areas with slopes between fifteen percent (15%) and thirty percent (30%), the provisions of Section 6-11 of the Land Subdivision Regulations shall be applicable.
(e)   Rural Service Area Setback. No building or structure other than transparent fences and stone fences shall be located within one hundred (100) of the Rural Service Area Boundary.
(f)   Rural Service Area Agricultural Use Buffer Yard. All development shall provide a buffer yard along any boundary of a parcel proposed for development adjacent to land which adjoins the Urban/Rural Service Area Boundary, which is used for agricultural uses and which is not located across an arterial street, which shall be:
1.   Fifty (50) feet in width with two (2) parallel fences of not less than six (6) feet in height located along the outermost and innermost boundaries of the buffer yard with barbed wire not less than six (6) feet above-ground level or landscaping material along each fence which will prevent persons from climbing onto or over the fence; or
2.   One hundred (100) feet in width with a fence of not less than six (6) feet in height located at the innermost boundary of the buffer yard with barbed wire not less than six (6) feet above-ground level or landscaping material which will prevent persons from climbing onto or over the fence; or
3.   Three hundred (300) feet in width with a fence of not less than four (4) feet in height located along the innermost boundary of the buffer yard with landscaping material which will prevent persons from climbing onto or over the fence; or
4.   A buffer yard width as agreed to in the form of a legally recorded covenant by the owner of the land used for agricultural purposes which provides comparable protection to the agricultural use.
(g)   Greenways. All greenways shall be either dedicated to public use or encumbered by a conservation or stormwater management easement, and shall be provided with sufficient points of access as necessary to achieve the intent of the Expansion Area Master Plan. No building, structure, or other development shall be permitted in a greenway except for pedestrian and/or bicycle pathways, or structures necessary for stormwater management. The greenway shall be at least one hundred (100) feet on each side of the centerline of the stream, or fifty (50) feet in width measured from the edge of the stream banks.
(h)   Pedestrian Accessways. All properties shall have access to a pedestrian accessway, and development plans shall provide for connections between residential uses, nonresidential uses, greenways, and other pedestrian accessways. The development of any parcel of land which abuts a land in a CC zone shall provide a pedestrian accessway directly to the Community Center.
(i)   Front Yard Driveways. Any driveway within a front yard of a residential dwelling:
1.   On any detached dwelling unit, where no enclosed garage is provided, the driveway must extend beyond the front wall of the residence into the side or rear yard for a distance of at least twenty (20) feet. For attached housing, the developer and the Commission are encouraged to find alternative parking schemes within street rights-of-way as an alternative to front yard parking.
2.   Where the dwelling is set back from the right-of-way less than twenty-five (25) feet, the driveway may not access a garage which fronts the street, but may extend to a side or rear facing garage, or a front facing garage located more than twenty-five (25) feet from the right-of-way.
3.   Where the residence is set back twenty-five (25) feet or greater, the driveway may access a front facing garage located no closer than twenty-five (25) feet from the right-of-way.
4.   In any case, the width of a front yard driveway shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the width of any lot at the building line as established on the final development plan or final subdivision plan, as appropriate.
(j)   Building and Fence Relationship to Yard Abutting Major Street. No residential dwelling shall be developed so that the rear of the structure abuts an arterial or collector street unless the dwelling is located not less than two hundred (200) feet from the arterial or collector street. Walls or fences other than transparent fences and stone fences shall only be permitted along the rear of any property abutting an arterial or collector street right-of-way where such are shown on the approved development plan. The Commission shall only approve such walls or fences where they are designed and planned as a part of the overall project, do not create any areas where proper maintenance would be impaired, and would not have the effect of impairing the view of open space areas.
(k)   Accessory Structures Prohibited in Front Yards. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, no accessory structure may be located within any yard area directly between a principal structure and any street except an alley.
(l)   General Lot, Yard, and Height Requirements. Shall be as follows:
1.   There shall be no minimum lot sizes in any Expansion Area Zone (CD, EAR 1-3, TA, ED, or CC). However, the developer shall establish restrictions for minimum and, where appropriate, maximum lot sizes on the final development plan or the final subdivision plan, as appropriate.
2.   With the exception of the setback/yard required to achieve the requirements of the Rural Scenic Roads provisions, Scenic Resource Areas, and Special Design Areas, or other expressly stated yards as established elsewhere in this Article, there shall be no minimum setback or other yard requirements other than those required through the Building Code and the Fire Code. However, the developer shall establish restrictions on yards on the final development plan.
(m)   Density Clustering and Transfers. Shall be permitted as follows:
1.   Density may be clustered on lands which are part of a single development plan under the same ownership and within the same zone and the same Expansion Area so that the average density of the site does not exceed the maximum for the zoning category.
2.   Density Transfer Rights may be transferred from any land which is designated as a Special Design Area, a Scenic Resource Area, a greenway or any land which contains environmentally sensitive land when the density allocated to that land by the underlying zoning district cannot be developed on site. Such density rights may be transferred to any parcel of land within the same Expansion Area which is designated as EAR-2, EAR-3, CC or TA and used in accordance with the density limitations of those districts.
a)   Transfers of Fractions of DTR Prohibited. The transfer of less than one DTR or any other fraction of a unit shall not be permitted.
b)   Use of Sender Site after Transfer. Once DTR have been severed from a Sender Site, the future use of the Sender Site shall be limited to the extent of the transfer, and a deed restriction in favor of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government shall be recorded restricting the use of the Site in accordance with procedures established by the Division of Planning.
c)   Aggregation of DTR Permitted on Single Receiver Site. DTR may be aggregated from different Sender Sites for development on a single Receiver Site.
d)   Receiver Site Must Meet Underlying Zone District Requirements. Development using DTR shall meet each and every requirement of the Zone District.
e)   Density Rights Appurtenant to Land Until Development Plan Approval Obtained. The owner of DTR may transfer such rights at any time to any person; provided, however, that the use, rights and the value thereof shall be deemed for taxation and all other purposes to be appurtenant to the land from which the rights are transferred until a development plan is approved and certified, which authorizes the use of the transferred density.
f)   Procedures. The use of DTR shall be carried out as follows:
1)   Application for Certificate of DTR and Approval of a Transfer. Prior to filing an application for development plan approval using DTR, the owner of a DTR shall obtain a Certificate of DTR from the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. In order to obtain a Certificate of DTR, the owner shall prepare an Affidavit of DTR and intent to transfer the DTR to a specific Receiver Site. Along with the Affidavit of DTR, the owner of a DTR shall attach a copy of the executed but unrecorded deed conveying the DTR and a copy of the executed but unrecorded deed restriction for the Sender Site. The affidavit shall be filed with the Division of Planning at least thirty (30) days prior to any application for development plan approval. The Division of Planning shall review the application and issue the Certificate of DTR if they determine that adequate documentation of ownership has been submitted and that the deed documents are recordable.
2)   Application for Development Plan Approval. An application for development plan approval utilizing DTR shall include the Certificate of DTR and shall demonstrate that the proposed development plan complies with the regulations applicable to the Receiver Site. The deeds of conveyance and restriction shall be recorded prior to certification of approval of the development plan.
3)   Where a developer dedicates land to a public entity, at no cost, for a purpose not expressly provided for through an exaction, and the public entity accepts such dedication, the developer may transfer the density allocated by the underlying zoning category of that parcel to any parcel of land within the same Expansion Area which is designated as EAR-2, EAR-3, CC or TA.
(n)   Accessory Dwelling Units. Density, which might otherwise be implied by provisions which permit an Accessory Dwelling Unit, shall not be transferred to any other area or parcel of land.
(o)   Fencing Along Agricultural Land. Fencing shall be provided along the boundary of any development that adjoins land being used for agricultural purposes and which is recommended for Core Agricultural and Rural Land in the Comprehensive Plan. Such fencing shall be required to be a single standard gauge diamond mesh wire fence, of durable construction, not less than seventy-two (72) inches high set on nine-foot posts with a required six-inch top board, unless the owner of the agricultural parcel agrees to an exemption, or to comparable protection, in the form of a legally recorded covenant.
(p)   Satellite Dish Antennas. Shall be permitted in all zones subject to the provisions of Section 15-7.
(q)   Front Yard Landscaping in Residential Zones. At least fifty percent (50%) of the front yard of any residential dwelling in any EAR category shall be landscaped with vegetative material of any type.
(r)   Buffering of Uses. Buffering of uses shall be as follows:
1.   Except as provided herein, where adjacent housing developments differ by more than three (3) dwelling units per acre, the Planning Commission may require a buffer yard of six (6) feet in width, with one (1) tree for every forty (40) feet of linear boundary from the Group A, B, or C of the Plant List, as referenced by Article 18 of this Zoning Ordinance; plus a minimum four-foot-high hedge, fence, wall or earth mound or combination thereof. In order to encourage a diversity of housing types within a single development, such buffering shall not be required where single-family detached houses are interspersed with or are adjacent to detached single-family houses, duplexes, tri-plexes or four-plexes in a single development.
2.   Any development in an ED or CC zone which directly adjoins any EAR zone shall be required to provide a buffer yard of six (6) feet in width, with one (1) tree for every thirty (30) feet of linear boundary from the Group A, B, or C of the Plant List, as referenced by Article 18 of this Zoning Ordinance; plus a 6-foot high fence, wall or earth mound. The responsibility for such buffer shall be the ED or CC property, although the buffer yard may be shared as provided in Section 18-3(a)(3)(c).
3.   Any residential or nonresidential development in the Expansion Areas which abuts an interstate highway shall meet the requirements of Section 18-3(a)(1)(4) as for a residential zone.
(s)   Scenic Resource Areas. Areas designated as Scenic Resource Areas shall be limited to a maximum on-site density of no more than three (3) dwelling units per five (5) acres. All development shall be clustered so that at least eighty percent (80%) of the portion of the development within the Scenic Resource Area is preserved as common open space or agricultural uses and is sited so as to minimize the visual impact of the development on the adjoining rural road to the greatest extent feasible. Within the Scenic Resource Areas, there shall be no parking areas and no buildings or structures other than driveways, transparent fences and stone fences permitted within two hundred (200) feet of the right-of-way of Delong Road, Winchester Road, Walnut Grove Lane, Deer Haven Lane, Faulkner Avenue and Russell Cave Road. Utilities, drainage and sanitary sewer facilities may be located within this two hundred (200)-foot area only upon the approval of the Planning Commission, who shall approve such facilities only upon a finding that alternative locations are not feasible from an engineering standpoint; would result in undue hardship; or would be detrimental from an environmental standpoint. Further, the Commission shall impose conditions on the design and installation of any facility to ensure that the visual quality of the area is maintained.
(t)   Special Design Areas. All development in a Special Design Area shall be clustered so that at least sixty percent (60%) of the portion of the development within the Special Design Area is preserved as common open space or agricultural uses, and is sited so as to minimize the visual impact of the development on the adjoining rural road to the greatest extent feasible. Within the Special Design Areas, there shall be no parking areas and no buildings or structures other than driveways, transparent fences and stone fences permitted within two hundred (200) feet of the right-of-way of Delong Road, Athens-Boonesboro Road and Chilesburg Road.
(u)   Boundaries of SDAs. The boundaries of SDAs shall be as shown on the adopted Comprehensive Plan, unless it is determined during the development review process by the Planning Commission that the final boundary requires refinement based upon more detailed analysis of the final development features, such as roads; land use; topography; and view sheds. To further refine the boundary, the Planning Commission must find that the final development configuration will better implement the intent of the SDA than when the boundary was first established in the 1996 Comprehensive Plan. In all cases, the Planning Commission shall not reduce the overall land area in the SDA, nor modify the minimum setbacks from roadways established in Subsection (t) of this section, and must adopt findings that the final boundary meets the intent of the Expansion Area Master Plan, and this Article of this Zoning Ordinance.
(v)   Protection of Woodlands. The development of parcels of land which contain mature woodlands, tree stands, and/or significant individual trees which are identified in the Expansion Area Master Plan Natural Resources Map Series and/or Land Capability Study shall be designed and carried out so as to protect and preserve all mature trees to the maximum extent practicable. Individual trees may be removed only as necessary to carry out economically feasible development and/or to achieve the objectives of the Expansion Area Master Plan, provided that the removal of individual trees will not result in the loss of the woodlands or tree stands of which they are a part; and that the design of the development has maximized the preservation of tree stands and significant individual trees. Consideration should be given by the Planning Commission to alternative street cross-sections, street geometrics, and development designs where the developer has established that significant trees will be properly preserved as a result of such alternative designs and/or standards.
(w)   Affordable Housing Units. Units that are designated as Affordable Housing Units shall be restricted by the developer exclusively to affordable housing for a minimum period of fifteen (15) years. Further, such units shall be identified separately in the Certificate of Land Use Restriction filed for the development where the units are located, and such units shall be subject to a deed restriction in favor of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government which shall restrict the use of the property and shall establish monitoring procedures to ensure that the units remain affordable during the period. During the affordability period, an affordable housing unit may be sold to a non-low-income household by acquisition of a DTR, which must be assigned to the site, and repayment of any and all development exactions that may have been waived. Such site may be a receiver of a DTR only if the maximum density permitted with DTR would not be exceeded.
(Code 1983, § 23A-2; Ord. No. 196-96 , § 1, 10-3-1996; Ord. No. 173-2000 , § 1, 6-29-2000; Ord. No. 353-2000 , § 1, 11-16-2000; Ord. No. 175-2002 , § 1, 7-16-2002; Ord. No. 207-2002 , § 1, 8-22-2002; Ord. No. 133-2016 , § 2, 7-7-2016; Ord. No. 166-2017 , § 11(23A-2), 11-16-2017)