LEXINGTON — A proposal to carve 57 single-family lots out of vacant land near an existing mobile home park along Price Road was postponed Thursday after neighbors raised traffic, safety and environmental concerns during a lengthy and at times tense meeting of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Pla nning Commission’s Subdivision Committee. The committee unanimously voted to postpone action on the Suburban Point Subdivision Expansion, a preliminary plan that would extend streets into the St. Martin’s Village neighborhood and create dozens of new homes on roughly 34 acres at 421 Price Road. Committee members said the postponement would allow staff time to review revised plans that were submitted electronically but not in hard copy by the deadline, and to sort through unresolved issues including street design, tree preservation and stormwater management. Traffic and connectivity dominate public comment Residents from St. Martin’s Village packed the room and warned that opening new street connections would worsen speeding and cut-through traffic already plaguing their neighborhood. Several speakers described cars flying over speed tables, ignoring stop signs and passing vehicles illegally on narrow residential streets. Others said increased traffic has brought litter and made it unsafe for children and elderly residents. “This is already dangerous,” one resident said, urging planners to block street connections into the neighborhood. Planning staff repeatedly stressed that subdivision regulations require new developments to connect to existing streets unless the developer qualifies for — and is granted — a waiver. Any permanent closure of those connections, staff said, would require action by the Urban County Council, not the Planning Commission. Tree clearing and environmental concerns raised The developer’s engineer acknowledged that the current plan assumes clearing most, if not all, existing trees on the site, citing difficulties preserving mature trees while installing roads and utilities. That drew sharp criticism from commissioners and residents alike. Commission members noted that Lexington has increasingly pushed developers to preserve existing canopy, warning that planting new trees does not fully replace the environmental benefits of mature ones. Staff also flagged concerns about an intermittent stream, a spring near one of the proposed lots, vegetative buffers and whether the detention basin would function as usable open space. Applicant: plan locks in single-family development An attorney for the property owner said the plan is intended to “entitle” the land for single-family use after a prior attempt to expand the adjacent mobile home park was rejected. Approving the subdivision, he argued, would effectively prevent future higher-density development on the site and allow the land to be sold or built out consistent with surrounding neighborhoods. The applicant said revised plans remove a previously requested street-design waiver and propose traffic-calming features such as curb extensions, but acknowledged a newly identified block-length issue that still needs to be resolved. Committee opts for pause, not rejection After nearly 90 minutes of discussion, the committee voted to postpone the item rather than recommend approval or denial. Members said the plan is “close” but not ready, particularly given the volume of new information and unresolved technical questions. The proposal is expected to return to the Planning Commission later this month once revisions are formally reviewed. Other action Thursday The committee also recommended approval of a waiver tied to the East High Multi-Use Project, clearing the way for a development on East High Street to move forward without a direct pedestrian connection to East Vine Street due to the reconstruction of a city-funded retaining wall. Several other development items on the agenda were postponed at the applicant’s request. What’s next Subdivision items postponed Thursday are tentatively scheduled for a Jan. 15 public hearing before the full Planning Commission. Meetings are held at the Lexington Government Center and are open to the public. subdivision-1-8Download The post Neighbors push back as planners postpone Suburban Point subdivision plan appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less