The Richmond Register

Local News

December 21, 2007

Richmond planners to review zoning ordinance

RICHMOND — In early 2008, Richmond Planner Director Mike Roberts and City Manager David Evans will review the city’s development ordinance with an eye to recommending changes and corrections in light of the past year’s experience.

When the Planning and Zoning Commission met this week for the final time in 2007, Roberts asked members to suggest areas for review in the ordinance that defines zones and governs plats and development plans.

Commissioner Neen Wiggins said she was troubled by the abrupt changes in elevations at the borders of property being developed after recent zoning changes.

A vertical drop of approximately 10 feet in some spots marks the boundary between the Deacon Hills residential subdivision and property on the south side of Barnes Mill Road near the Willis Branch intersection that was rezoned this year for commercial use.

“I feel sorry for those people whose backyards are now left up high,” she said.

Similar contrasts in adjacent contours can be found around the Richmond Centre property being developed on the north side of Barnes Mill Road.

The city’s ordinance does not require gradual transition of surface contours at the boundaries of developments, Roberts said. “In some cases, we require the construction of retaining walls,” but not gradual transitions.

“Coming up with general language that would be appropriate for every situation will be difficult, but we will do our best,” he said.

Wiggins also expressed concern about the appearance of a tall retaining wall at the corner of Barnes Mill Road and North Kilarney Lane. “The people in houses across Barnes Mill now have to look out at a concrete wall,” Wiggins said.

Developers often are required to plant landscaping screens around retaining walls, and at other boundaries, but the wall at Barnes Mill and North Kilarney is too close to the street to allow planting of trees. The city has suggested planting vines to cover the retaining wall, Roberts said, but the developer has been unable to find a landscaper willing to attempt that.

Roberts said the definition of the city’s R-4 zone will be reviewed.

At the public hearing after which a tract off Barnes Mill Road was rezoned R-4 this year, a resident of Deacon Hills said the definition appeared to be written for public housing developments.

Under a heading, “R-4 Mixed Residential District,” the ordinance reads:

“This district is designed to provide for the establishment of small clusters of public housing as single-family dwelling units, or some combination of single-family dwellings mixed with two-family or multi-family dwellings. The gross density shall not exceed six (6) units per acre, and the minimum size of the district shall not exceed two (2) acres.”

At the hearing, Roberts and members of the commission referred to the public housing reference as a “typographical error.”

Dr. Ron Marionneaux, retired professor of geography who was consultant to the city when its development ordinance and comprehension plan were written, wrote a letter to Roberts characterizing the public housing reference as deliberate.

The R-4 zone was created at the request of the city’s Community Development Office so a specific “small and irregularly shaped” parcel of property could be used for public housing, he wrote.

According to Marionneaux, the only error in the definition is the word “minimum.” The correct word would be “maximum,” which was intended to limit the R-4 district to two acres.

Developers in two cases this year have sought R-4 zoning to accommodate developments with single-family homes, duplexes and condominiums. One was approved and the other was not.

The only plat approved this year in the R-4 zone includes only single-family homes.

Marionneaux said an appropriate classification to accommodate mixed uses would be the PUD (Planned Unit Development) zone.

John Wernegreen asked Roberts to review the city’s definition of “family” for permissible uses in zones limited to single- and two-family residences.

City Attorney Garrett Fowles said he and Evans had found enforcement of codes based on a legal definition of “family” to be problematic.

Various circuits of the federal judiciary use differing definitions, Fowles said.

The Richmond ordinance defines a family as:

“One or more persons occupying a single-dwelling unit, provided that no such family shall contain over five persons, unless all members are related by blood, adoption, or marriage, but further provided that domestic servants employed on the premises may be housed on the premises without being counted as part of a family or families. (Statutory Reference: Residential care facility for handicapped persons allowed in residential districts and subdivisions. See KRS 100.982-100.984).”

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

Text Only
Local News
  • 2-3 Trash2 WEB.jpg Trash piling up at mobile home park

    Uncollected household waste at a mobile home park on Big Hill Avenue in Richmond will draw a notice of violation from the Madison County Health Department and is prompting the city to clean up the site on its own.

    February 3, 2012 1 Photo

  • Realities of prescription pill abuse spark another summit

    Prescription drug abuse has become so prevalent in parts of Kentucky, people are buying Mason jars of clean urine at flea markets and under the table at tobacco stores so they can pass drug tests.

    February 3, 2012

  • 2-03 Fuel Up to Play Grant WEB.jpg Tackling childhood obesity

    NFL football player and former University of Kentucky running back Artose Pinner autographed lunch bags, footballs, notebook paper and anything Glenn Marshall elementary students could find (including arms and hands) during his visit Thursday to kick off the Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP 60) grant program.

    February 3, 2012 4 Photos

  • Police charge two with making meth

    A traffic stop late Tuesday evening ended in two arrests for manufacturing methamphetamine.
    A Richmond Police officer working traffic enforcement on the Robert R. Martin Bypass stopped a vehicle at about 11:50 p.m. for a traffic offense. The officer discovered  several methamphetamine precursors and paraphernalia in the vehicle that police say were tied to one of the passengers in the vehicle, Curment Nicholas Carpenter, 40, of Lexington Road.

    February 3, 2012

  • Man pleads guilty to driving to Richmond for sex with girl

    (Editor’s note: This story contains graphic information some readers may find offensive.)
    An Indiana man will serve at least 10 years in prison for traveling to Richmond to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lexington.

    February 3, 2012

  • 2-02 "Kitchen Witches"8.jpg Berea Arena Theater presents: Kitchen Witches

    Performances are 8 p.m. Friday through Saturday, and Feb. 10-11, and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 12 at 1835 Big Hill Road (KY 21) in Berea. Call 986-9039 for tickets, $8 for adults and $5 for students/children.

    February 2, 2012 8 Photos

  • 2-2 Pig man.jpg A toe to spare

    Pigs usually have four toes on a foot, but not always, Leland “Bud” Bennett of Whitlock Road, said he learned this week.
    While preparing the head and feet of a pig to make souse meat, Bennett said he made a surprising discovery after removing two of the toes.
    When he went to cut off the next two, there were three. A smaller, third toe was higher up the leg.
    “I’m 84, and I’d never seen a pig’s foot with five toes,” he said.

     

    February 2, 2012 1 Photo

  • 2-02 Model Dragon Parade.jpg Model Laboratory’s annual Lunar New Year Celebration

    Model Laboratory third-graders Olivia Florell, left, and Katie Upchurch, inside a paper dragon, wait Wednesday morning with their classmates in the school hallway for the start of the annual Lunar New Year Celebration parade. The students created the dragon after learning about Asian
    calligraphy in art class and walked with the dragon, while playing instruments and clapping, to the end of the hall in front of classmates in pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade who have also been studying aspects of Asian culture. The parade is intended to bring good luck and friendship to the school for the new year, the Chinese New Year of the Dragon, said art teacher Denise Discepoli.

    February 2, 2012 1 Photo

  • 2-2 Wes Browne.jpg Teacher turned award-winning author to read at Richmond Area Arts Council tonight

    Because Rebecca D. Elswick won publication of her debut novel, “Mama’s Shoes,” in a national contest, it might be easy to view her as a kind of literary American Idol.
    But, unlike many of the precocious American Idol winners, Elswick toiled and studied her craft for years before achieving success. Now, the accolades are accumulating, and each honor further confirms her status as one of the hottest emerging authors in the South.
    She will read and sign books tonight along with Lexington author George Ella Lyon at the Richmond Area Arts Council, 399 W. Water St., beginning at 6:30 p.m.

    February 2, 2012 1 Photo

  • 2-2 ProjectSteveHupp.jpg Project Read helps students turn the page

    Steve Hupp likes solving problems, and at 27 years old, he has seen more than his fair share. Hupp has been in and out of hospitals since childhood, making it difficult for him to focus on school. To make it worse, he also is dyslexic.
    Hupp dropped out of school in the 11th grade.
    “Some places wouldn’t even give me an application,” he said about his search for a job. “I had doors close on me. I even had girlfriends break up with me.”

    February 2, 2012 1 Photo

Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
AP Video
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East 2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3% Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths 'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy? Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
Poll

Have you ever attended a meeting of a local government agency or taxing district?

Yes
No
     View Results