The Lexington Planning Commission is beginning work on creating a new zoning district that could potentially allow for some flexibility in developing residential parcels within the city.
The new zoning district, called a Planned Development-Residential (PD-R) district, is in the beginning stages of being drafted by the Planning Commission.
At its June 11 meeting, the Planning Commission discussed and drafted an intent and purpose statement for the ordinance, which they will review and finalize at this week’s meeting before moving onto the details of the ordinance.
In the drafted intent statement, the concept of a PD-R zoning district is described as one that allows residential developments that are “more creative and, where possible, more environmentally sensitive than is possible in conventional residential zoning districts.” It does this by “allowing the development of parcels that are considered difficult to develop for a variety of reasons” including limited street frontage and lot size.
The statement concludes by saying that the zoning district “creates an opportunity to expand housing options for persons of all income levels, to increase density and to protect neighborhood character with appropriate and harmonious physical development.”
Several discussions have occurred over the past several meetings about whether this new zoning district would be allowed based on the city’s zoning districts or the designation of the land within city limits on the Future Land Use Map in the city’s comprehensive plan. The section of the ordinance regarding which districts this will be allowed in will be discussed next, along with determining what uses will be allowed within the PD-R district.
Allowing flexibility for residential developments in the city is not a new idea for the city.
In 1990, the city approved an ordinance for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) overlay district which served a similar purpose. Several projects were approved within the city utilizing the flexibility provided by the overlay, including the Weatherburn development, the Lexington Avenue Commons and a duplex development on West Nelson Street.
Most of the deviations from the regular residential zoning requirements for the 11 projects that were approved between 1990 and 2014 allowed for variations in setback requirements, allowed developments to not front onto a public street, and allowed for smaller lot sizes or subdivision of parcels.
In 2023, the PUD ordinance was adapted into the Planned Development-Mixed Use zoning district, which applies to the city’s commercial entrance corridors along South Main and East Nelson streets. That zoning district was created to allow for flexibility in development of parcels in those areas that could potentially allow a building to have commercial space at street level and residential developments above it to provide more housing opportunities in the city.
Proposed developments seeking to utilize this zoning would be required to present a detailed proposal for review and public hearing before being approved.
Since the zoning ordinance was approved, no proposed developments have utilized it. Echelon Inc. did plan on doing so when it was proposing development of the former VDOT property on Waddell Street, but withdrew from its contract with the city before development reached the stage where a proposal would be reviewed. If approved, the same review process would be utilized for the PD-R zoning district.
The Planning Commission began reviewing the history of the ordinance at its April 9 meeting, taking several meetings to review the 1990 ordinance and discuss the best practice for proceeding. The members also looked at similar ordinances from other localities such as Albemarle County and the cities of Blacksburg and Staunton. Some of the language used in the draft purpose statement was taken from those ordinances.
Discussion of the language of the zoning ordinance will continue at the Planning Commission’s regular meeting on Thursday.
