Planning And Zoning Commission

Tuesday Highlights in words and pictures from the Boyle County Fair. Wednesday Coverage of Garrard County's controversial planning and zoning commission meeting.

Speedway on Main Street will be razed Monday, and construction of a new Speedway store at the site will begin soon thereafter, city officials said. All documents concerning the razing have been approved by Danville/Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission. The business will shut down Sunday, said Denise Wade, P&Z administrative assistant. Store employees referred questions to a regional office, but no information could be obtained.

HARRODSBURG - A local bed and breakfast can continue to do business as usual. Jill and Andrew Romero, owners of Aspen Hall Manor Bed and Breakfast, recently won a judgment after two years of legal difficulties with the Greater Harrodsburg/Mercer County Planning and Zoning Commission, Greater Harrodsburg/Mercer County Board of Adjustments, Mercer County Fiscal Court and Harrodsburg City Commission. The Kentucky Court of Appeals granted a summary judgment to the Romeros on the basis that Aspen Hall's operation was "a legal nonconforming-use that could not be prohibited by the Greater Harrodsburg/Mercer County Planning and Zoning Commission," the documentation said.

Dear Editor: On behalf of many residents of Danville and Boyle County, I am writing to thank the members of the Danville City Commission and the Junction City Commission for voting to return the proposed Goals and Objectives document to the Planning and Zoning Commission for revision. I also commend the Perryville City Commission for raising pertinent questions and concerns about the document at their last meeting. Since the Goals and Objectives are the guiding principles and set the direction for the specifics to be included in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, it is very important that this document support the special qualities that have made this area so appealing throughout its history.

HARRODSBURG - Shawn Moore has been hired as the zoning administrative officer for Greater Harrods-burg/Mercer County Planning and Zoning Commission. He'll start the job Tuesday. He was offered the position after the commissioners interviewed him and three other candidates Monday night. Moore has served as the compliance officer for the Danville/Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission for the last year and a half. His work history includes 10 years in the Navy and 10 years self-employed.

PERRYVILLE - Perryville City Council will meet at 7 p.m. today at City Hall to discuss a rezoning issue within the city limits that some people fear will negatively affect Perryville Battlefield. City officials said in a release that tonight's meeting is not a public hearing, though, and that no new evidence will be taken or considered regarding the zone change request for Pete Coyle's property. The release also said the council has four options after tonight's meeting. Accept the recommendations of the Planning and Zoning Commission to rezone the property.

Dear Editor, It is a prudent and competent selection on the mayor and City Commission's part to appoint Mary Ann Hollon to the Planning and Zoning Commission. She is a proven business lady who embodies professionalism and plain hard work. I have been privileged to work with her for over two decades. I can assure the public she will serve that her addition to the commission will bring objective experience to a job not fully appreciated. The inherent duty of the P&Z is to deal fairly and firmly with complex issues, and Mary Ann is well-suited for this task.

HARRODSBURG - Greater Harrodsburg/Mercer County Planning and Zoning Commission will interview finalists for a compliance officer at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 11. The board met in closed session Monday night to review 10 applications and pare them down to about three. Next week, the board also will discuss changing the fee schedule to help pay the compliance officer. The board also approved a zone change for property at the end of Commerce and Legion drives. Michael Conover, who owns the land, told the board in June that the property, which will be zoned for business, is to be sold to a "major retailer.

HARRODSBURG - Isaac Tatum Construction of Lebanon has been awarded the bid to build a senior citizens' adult day care center addition to the Mercer County Senior Citizens Center on U.S. 127 north of the city. Awarding the bid was delayed by Mercer County Fiscal Court at its March 8 meeting while a contradictory reference for the Lebanon firm was checked out. "We're not uncomfortable at all with Isaac Tatum Construction," Mercer Judge-Executive John Trisler said March 8. "We would support the company (getting the bid)

Dear Editor, What is wrong with code enforcement in Danville, Ky.? The city has a nuisance ordinance covering the excessive growth of grass, weeds, other growth and the accumulation of rubbish. The ordinance is very plain and simple. There are no big words, and it is only one page long covering this subject. It's easy to read. I believe a property in town is in violation of this ordinance. The city of Danville refuses to enforce compliance on this property for some unknown reason.

Last week, Circuit Court Judge David Tapp upheld a 2009 decision by the Lincoln County Fiscal Court to deny a zoning change requested by the Allen Company that would allow the asphalt firm to build a plant in Waynesburg on US 27. The Allen Company had requested that a five-acre lot they had purchased, previously used as a gas station, be rezoned as “light industrial”. The property is currently zoned as agricultural. In his decision, Tapp said that the Fiscal Court had appropriately handled the zoning request, saying that the Allen Company's claim that the decision to deny the zone change was “void, arbitrary and capricious” was largely unfounded.

Monday night was the final chapter for the Danville City Commissioners and mayor sitting on the dais in the city hall building for which they may most be remembered. Outgoing commissioners Jamey Gay, Terry Crowley and Janet Hamner and Mayor Hugh Coomer presided over their last meeting. Coomer, who did not seek re-election, questioned spending throughout the meeting. During a budget analysis from city financial advisor Craig Butler, Coomer wondered aloud if some government functions are suffering because the city is more than $2 million under budget for expenditures a third of the way through the fiscal year.

The Wilmore City Council meeting heated up Monday night after the council voted down a proposal for proposed language for a new planned unit development ordinance. The proposed ordinance was submitted in January by an attorney for Wilmore resident Hal Snowden, who has property along U.S. 68. Snowden had a lawsuit against the city of Wilmore in 2008 alleging the city improperly annexed the Forest Brook property in 2007. Part of the terms for him dropping the lawsuit was for the city council to send the proposed ordinance and a letter to the Jessamine County-City of Wilmore Ordinance Review Committee and the Jessamine County-City of Wilmore Planning and Zoning Commission for their review.

The Nicholasville City Commission voted to move forward with an intent to annex more than 50 acres of land on Monday, July 13. The commission heard the first reading of two ordinances proposing annexation of land on Carolyn Lane and Lexington Pike and voted 4-0 to proceed to the second reading. The ordinances will receive a second reading in two weeks at the next city commission meeting and, upon passing, would proceed to the Planning and Zoning Commission for further discussion. Planning Director Greg Bohnett said the land would most likely be used for commercial or business purposes, as the 1.04 acres on Lexington Pike is the site of a Cub Cadet store.

HARRODSBURG - The Greater Harrodsburg/Mercer County Planning and Zoning Commission tabled discussion Monday of a major plat on Louisville Road. The plat is for Simple Man's Discount Supply and, according to the commission's agenda, the owner, James Hardin, would like to relocate two previously approved warehousing and storage buildings from one spot on his property to another spot. The zoning map indicates the property zoned as a small community agricultural zone. Hardin is asking the commission for approval to relocate the buildings.

BURGIN - Burgin City Council approved a wage freeze for city employees, as well as tabled two city ordinances at its meeting Tuesday. The wage freeze is effective until at least July 2010, when council members will re-examine it. Mayor Terry Pitman said he hated to do it, but he felt like it was something that had to be done right now. The wage freeze means no city employee will get a raise in the next 12 months. The council also voted to table the abandoned building ordinance so council member Chris Cooper could have a chance to review the ordinance.

Tuesday, Lincoln County magistrates and the judge executive were served papers on behalf of the Allen Company as respondents in a civil suit regarding a fiscal court decision disapproving a zoning change requested by the Allen Company. The Allen Company is seeking a zone change on a 12-acre plot of land on US 27 in Waynesburg that would allow them to build an asphalt plant. In their complaint, the Allen Company says that the court's decision was "void, arbitrary and capricious. " The complaint follows a March 13 decision by the fiscal court to reject a recommendation by the Lincoln County/Cedar Creek Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z)

STANFORD - Though it was cold outside, things heated up quickly during last week's Lincoln Fiscal Court meeting as a routine vote on a zoning change turned into a move to dissolve the county's Planning and Zoning Commission. Representatives of Allen Co., a construction and quarrying business out of Winchester, were on the agenda to request a zone change for the construction of a blacktop facility on the east side of U.S. 27, south of Halls Gap. The 12-acre plot is currently zoned for agricultural use only, and to build the asphalt plant, the property needs to be rezoned to L1, or light industrial.

Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of England, famously said, "The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes. " The Jessamine County/City of Wilmore Planning and Zoning Commission faced an acid test of leadership when petitioned by builders to delay construction on sidewalks in the Keene-Troy Road development of the Oaks at Cave Springs. They passed with unanimous flying colors. The general impression among jaded citizens is that developers have the upper hand in these negotiations, with little to no input from local residents.

HARRODSBURG - Harrodsburg City Commission approved a slight decrease in property taxes Monday. The rate will go from 7.3 cents to 7.2 cents for fiscal year 2008. This tax is applied to every $100 of assessed value for real and personal property within Harrodsburg city limits. The board also adopted a 23 cents motor vehicle tax. The rate, which is set by the state, is the same as this fiscal year. In other business, Planning and Zoning executive director Shawn Moore asked the city to pay part of the bill for an upcoming training session in New Orleans.