Reposted from the Winchester Sun

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Public comments made during the September 3 meeting of the Winchester-Clark County Planning Commission recently became the topic of discussion and debate in Clark County.

Specifically, the comments that drew discussion and debate were those made by current Magistrate Chris Davis.

Magistrate Davis attended the meeting and inquired about what could be done within the community to address housing concerns. 

"This really is a crisis,” he stated.

Davis added that rent costs had increased.

“What I would suggest to you…that I brought up in Court a couple of times is that we start taking a [pretty] comprehensive look at our joint planning and zoning ordinances, which is something…Fayette County is doing now,” he said. “I don’t know what all that would entail, but I want to bring it up to you.” 

According to Davis, the matter has previously been discussed with Rob Jeffries, the City of Winchester’s Director of Planning and Community Development.

Davis talked about expensive costs related to infill development.

“I would just ask you all to consider in the months to come…looking at the zoning ordinances and maybe with input…from the public, attorneys, developers, and engineers that practice before this body on a routine basis about ways in which.. we can…modernize our zoning [and] planning ordinances to make that more amenable,” he said. 

Davis added that such examples could mean rezoning long-time vacant properties from single to multi-family homes, with potential benefits.

“I have no idea where all of this could take us…I just would ask you to consider looking at that,” he said. “You can’t all solve the housing crisis, and you shouldn’t be expected to, but I think you can play a part by looking at the ordinance and coming back to the Fiscal Court and the City Commission and saying, ‘Hey, here are our recommendations on what we think you ought to consider modernizing, changing, maybe doing away with completely.’ I don’t know where that would take us, but…I would ask…to really discuss this. This does need to start somewhere, and I’d like some of this to start with the people that know best…we need to start making some headway on affordable housing.”

Following his public comment, Magistrate Davis was informed by a member of the Winchester-Clark County Planning Commission that, at a previous meeting, the idea of forming a committee of three or fewer members to review ordinances was raised.

Will Mayer, Executive Director of Clark Coalition, spoke afterward.

Mayer disagreed with Magistrate Davis’ statement that infill development is expensive and stated that urban sprawl would be.

He further spoke.

“Mr. Davis represented wanting to see a comprehensive way to address this problem, and I would point out that we have just concluded a year-and-a-half long comprehensive plan process which involved the community giving input over a number of months, an advisory committee made up of eighteen members working very diligently and came up with a very good plan to promote smart growth,” he said. “Unfortunately, when the goals and objectives of that plan were forwarded to the Fiscal Court, the Fiscal Court voted by a 4-3 [narrow] vote…not to accept the recommendation of the advisory committee and the Planning Commission at that time.”

Mayer also stated that he strongly opposed any potential removal of a zoning ordinance and cautioned against it.

“We’ve had zoning in this community for over fifty years. It contributes to upholding property values. It contributes to quality of life,” Mayer said. “It upholds the fiscal responsibility of our local government and their duty to our taxpayers.”

Magistrate Davis provided a response.   “I’ve never suggested or asked this body…[to remove]zoning. I want an analysis and a report, if possible, of ways to modernize our planning and zoning ordinances,” he said. “I’m not advocating doing away with planning and zoning [and] not having zoning. However, I think there are some proponents of zoning that…today are inappropriate or not effective.”

Davis added that he hopes for cost-effective measures for builders and developers. As might be expected, the topic is still of strong debate.

On October 3, the Clark Coalition released a position paper regarding its concerns to the September 3 meeting. Among other points, the paper argues that any attempt to change the zoning ordinance or others impacting planning and zoning would be a dangerous proposal for the community.

The position paper also disagrees with Davis on the cause of increase in housing prices and states that Magistrate Davis does not take fully into account recent development approvals by the Planning Commission.

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