Author: Jamie Lucke

A citywide conversation April 10-16 will provide public input into Lexington’s next 20-year growth plan and other priorities for our city and neighborhood.

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association will host an On The Table gathering at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, at the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, 162 North Ashland Ave. The meeting room is at the back of the building, where we held our last MNA annual meeting.

If there’s enough interest, we can schedule additional On The Table sessions, including via Zoom or, weather permitting, in the median.

Please contact Jamie Lucke at jamiedlucke@gmail.com if you plan to attend or with any questions or concerns. We need a count of attendees to arrange the room.

Here’s more information: https://www.lexingtonky.gov/news/02-01-2022/table-set-april-10-16.

Mirror Twin Brewing’s plan to move part of its operation across National Avenue got a green light from the Planning Commission on Sept. 23.

The commission also approved a set of conditions sought by the Mentelle Neighborhood Association aimed at protecting the quality of life for nearby residents.

The conditional zoning approved by the Planning Commission requires that all lighting within 40 feet of residential zoning be no more than 12 feet and directed downward. It also bans outdoor amplified speakers at 720-740 National Avenue, the area that adjoins backyards on Aurora Avenue.

Also prohibited was a long list of other uses that ordinarily would be allowed in a light-industrial zone but that would be incompatible with our neighborhood.

The conditional zoning and rezoning from Wholesale and Warehouse (B-4) to Light Industrial (I-1) applies to the current Mirror Twin complex and the adjoining parking and also to 720-740 National Avenue on the south side of National Avenue.

Click here to see a video of the Planning Commission’s discussion and vote.

As expected, Walker Properties has filed an application for a rezoning to allow Mirror Twin Brewing to expand into a building across National Avenue from the popular brewpub.

Less expected, Walker Properties is seeking to rezone only the properties that would be directly affected by Mirror Twin’s expansion.

The rezoning application is for 720-742 and 737 National Avenue. If the Planning Commission approves, these properties would be rezoned from B-4 (wholesale and warehouse) to I-1 (light industry.)

The rest of Walker Properties adaptive reuse and redevelopment plan – on Walton, North Ashland and the end of Given – would remain B-4, if the zoning application is approved. Also, fewer homes on Aurora would abut an industrial zone than if the whole area were rezoned.

This proposal comes as a bit of a surprise because the planning staff had recommended rezoning all the Walker properties from business to light industry. However, the Planning Commission sometimes overrules its staff, especially when neighbors support a developer’s plan.

The Walkers also plan to seek conditional zoning, which would exclude some otherwise permissible I-1 uses that are deemed a bad fit for our neighborhood. The conditional zoning document has not yet been filed, and Chad Walker has expressed an eagerness to include the neighborhood’s wishes in the conditional zoning.

The rezoning application and related documents are available on the LFUCG Accela web site. You have to create an account, but it’s not hard.

https://aca-prod.accela.com/LEXKY/Default.aspx

The rezoning is on the agenda for the MNA board tonight at 7 p.m. at 250 Walton Ave., Suite 150. All neighbors are welcome.

The Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the rezoning at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 23 in council chambers, second floor, 200 East Main Street.  (Click here to download a PDF of the site plan shown above.)

The board of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association will have a special meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4, at 250 Walton Ave., Suite 150. Any MNA member is welcome to attend board meetings.

The agenda:

1. MNA response to a proposed rezoning on National Avenue to accommodate an expansion of Mirror Twin Brewing. 
2. Porch Songs neighborhood concert and gathering on Aug. 21.
3. Open discussion

City planner Hal Baillie will meet with neighbors at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 27, to discuss the possible rezoning of the Warehouse Block to allow Mirror Twin Brewing’s expansion.

The meeting will be at 250 Walton Avenue, Suite 150. (Back side of the building.)

Mirror Twin hopes to expand its brewing operation into a third building on the south side of National Avenue, across the street from its current location.

Current zoning allows brewpubs but not microbreweries, which is what the third building would be. Therefore, city planners are advising Walker Properties to seek a rezoning of its entire development plan from Wholesale and Warehouse Business (B-4) to Light Industrial (I-1).

This action also would create an opportunity to more closely tailor National Avenue’s future development through a process called conditional zoning: The city could zone out otherwise permitted uses that would be incompatible with our neighborhood and the city’s plans for the area.

A rezoning to I-1 would allow all the uses now permitted in B-4, plus others. Both zones allow uses that would conflict with the adjacent residential neighborhood and the redevelopment of National Avenue in accordance with its adaptive reuse overlay.

It’s important that neighbors participate in this process and make their voices heard.

Here are the relevant sections of Lexington’s zoning ordinance:  https://library.municode.com/ky/lexington-fayette_county/codes/zoning_ordinance?nodeId=ZONING_ORDINANCE_ART8SCZO_S8-21WHWABUZO

As some of you know, Mirror Twin Brewing Co. is seeking more room for its brewing operation and wants to expand into a third building on the north side of National Avenue, across the street from its popular brewpub.

This expansion would require a zone change from Wholesale and Warehouse Business (B-4) with an adaptive reuse overlay to Light Industrial (I-1) with an adaptive reuse overlay.

The adaptive reuse overlay, a key to Lexington’s infill and redevelopment efforts, allows brewpubs but not microbreweries. Neither Mirror Twin nor the adjoining residents on Aurora Avenue want food and drink served at the third building, and without that it does not qualify as a brewpub, thus the need for rezoning. The building into which Mirror Twin wants to expand is part of a larger parcel and shares parking and access with other businesses and buildings. City planners have advised Walker Properties to seek rezoning from B-4 to I-1 for all its properties in the Warehouse Block development plan, a large area that has a big impact on our neighborhood.

The I-1 zoning allows everything that’s permitted in B-4 and then some.

Chad Walker of Walker Properties and the owners of Mirror Twin have reached out for the neighborhood’s input.

As part of its application for the rezoning, Walker Properties plans to formally zone out some otherwise permissible uses (for example: heliport, penal institution, metal scrap yard, etc.) that clearly conflict with the company’s plans for the area. If approved by the city council, the exclusions in this conditional zoning would have the force of law and could be reversed in the future only if the property owner goes through the rezoning process, including receiving the city council’s approval.

The MNA board also wants neighbors’ input. Please look at this link to the city’s zoning ordinance. https://library.municode.com/ky/lexington-fayette_county/codes/zoning_ordinance?nodeId=ZONING_ORDINANCE_ART8SCZO_S8-21WHWABUZO

Specifically, consider the permitted and conditional uses in B-4 and I-1. The lists are long and many of the uses would be wrong for our neighborhood and the Warehouse Block.

Which uses in B-4 and I-1 do you think should be zoned out?

Something to keep in mind: The city has a strong aversion to “spot zoning” — or zoning for single projects or very restricted uses. So, for example, we can’t ask for every use except a brewery to be excluded.  We must be judicious and flexible in what we ask for. Still, this is a unique opportunity to tailor both the current and future zoning of this area for the entire neighborhood’s long-term benefit.

Please send your thoughts and feedback to jamiedlucke@gmail.com no later than 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 14, and I will share your thoughts with the MNA board.

Stay tuned to this page for future developments.

Let’s gather at 9 a.m. Saturday in the south median of Mentelle Park (the one nearest Richmond Road) for the neighborhood tree walk.

Trees Lexington president Stacy Borden, the University of Kentucky’s grounds manager and arborist, will lead us and answer questions.

If you would like Stacy to advise on a particular tree or site, please email me (jamiedlucke@gmail.com) and we’ll put you on the route.

Mark your calendars!  The long-awaited neighborhood tree walk is set for 9 a.m. Saturday, June 26.

Arborist Stacy Borden, the University of Kentucky’s grounds manager and president of the nonprofit Trees Lexington, will lead the walk.

Stacy can advise us on how to protect our old trees, expand the canopy and support pollinators; he’s an expert on everything from what and how to prune to the public-health benefits of urban trees.

If you want Stacy to see and advise on a certain site or tree/s, email me (jamiedlucke@gmail.com) and we can build the walk around your questions.

Even if you don’t have any tree-planting ambitions, join the walk. Stacy is knowledgeable and personable, and our neighborhood trees in full leaf are a force to behold.

Watch this space for where we will meet to begin the walk.

April 1 is the deadline to apply for the city’s cost-share tree planting program.  The voluntary program assists homeowners with street tree removal and replacement. Street trees grow in the public right-of-way between street and sidewalk; property owners are responsible for their care.
Homeowners can receive matching funds for tree removal, stump grinding and new tree installation. The work must be completed by May 31. Click here for an application and program guidelines.