Applause rang out in the Boone County Fiscal Court chambers as meeting attendees cheered the Boone County Planning Commission’s Zone Change Committee’s vote to recommend the denial of a polarizing zone change request.
Charter Commercial, a real estate development firm based out of Crestview Hills, requested a zoning map amendment from the planning commission to change the designation of the 44 acres in Burlington from Suburban Residential One to Suburban Residential One/Planned Development.
The land’s current designation requires that land must used for low-density residential dwellings that uphold the character of a typical suburban neighborhood.
If approved, the zone change would allow Charter Commercial to build Hickory Point and Poplar Point Apartments, a development featuring 139 attached single-family residences and 157 multi-family residential units.
The prospective zone change sparked outrage among Burlington residents, particularly those living at The Cliffs, Valley Creek Farms, and Shaker Run subdivisions—all of which surround the 44 acres. During a public hearing held on Aug. 22, countless residents voiced concerns and frustrations regarding the development’s potential negative impacts on local traffic, safety and neighborhood character.
A study of housing in Northern Kentucky has revealed troubling trends for housing in the region, with the largest need being for “workforce housing” for households earning between $15 and $25 per hour, with monthly housing costs between $500 and $1,500. The region needs about 3,000 more housing units to provide for people within that income range, according to the study. The demand for one- to two-bedroom rentals and owned properties consistently exceeds their supply, while supply for three and four-bedroom properties consistently exceeds demand. The study suggests that the region needs to build 6,650 housing units to support economic development in the next five years, which equates to 1,330 units per year. Read more here.
Understanding NKY’s housing shortage
The planning commission reached its decision during a meeting of the zone change committee on Wednesday. During the meeting, the committee raised several issues regarding the zone change request and potential development.
“I don’t think that this proposed zone change meets any of the three criteria,” chairwoman Corrin Gulick said during the meeting.
The Boone County Planning Commission requires a prospective zone change to meet specific criteria, namely:
- Whether or not the potential zone change is in agreement with the adopted comprehensive plan;
- Whether or not the proposed zoning classification is more suitable than the existing zoning classification;
- Whether or not any significant economic, physical or social changes have occurred since the plan was adopted that warrant a zoning adjustment.
Committee member Rick Lunneman said he believed the development did not align with Boone County’s Comprehensive Plan.
“The comprehensive plan suggests that the area should develop with ‘rural density residential,’ which is one unit per acre, or ‘suburban density residential,’ which is four units per acre,” Lunneman said. “Obviously, this project is nowhere near that.”
Additionally, committee member Steve Harper thought the development could negatively impact traffic in the area.
“Unlike some of the other multi-family developments that we’ve gone through recently, this one doesn’t funnel the traffic directly out onto the thoroughfares like Camp Ersnt; it funnels the traffic through existing neighborhoods, which I think is a serious issue,” Harper said.
The zone change committee’s recommendation for denial is slated to appear before the full planning commission at the legislative body’s next meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
