January 22, 2024

Dear Neighbors,

The first Fayette County Neighborhood Council meeting of 2024 will be on Monday evening, February 12, tentatively at 6:30 p.m.  We are working on finding a meeting space and alternatively can have a meeting electronically on ZOOM.  Likewise, the topic of the February 12 meeting is not yet decided.  There are many movements under way downtown. 

The next item you will receive from FCNC will be an email of material related to the Urban Growth Management Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment now with the Urban County Council.  The Fayette Alliance calls it “SMART GROWTH” and fully supports it, as do development attorneys.  FCNC has serious issues with this material, which could be under consideration as early as February 16.

I’m going to add some other information for you, the next being how to look up the number of short-term rental properties that have been approved to date in your neighborhood, the applicant, and the address.

1.  Start an internet browser:  Google “accela Lexington KY “.  (You can also enter “Lexington Online Portal” and various other expressions.  This gets you to Lexington’s online portal.)

2.  Click on “LexingtonKY – Online Portal”.  On the next screen, Do not sign up or try to register at the top of the page.

3.  Go to the very bottom of the page.

4.  Click on Search Applications under the word Planning.

5.  Go toward the bottom of the page under the heading, General Search.

6.  Find Record Type under General Search.

7.  Open the Dropdown Box under Record Type and click on either BOA Application or Zoning Compliance Permit.

8   Once open, enter the Street Name only and click on Search at the bottom of the page.  The result should tell you if a short-term rental is operating without a zoning compliance permit or a conditional use permit.  Look for both, not just one or the other.  The Urban County Government started enforcing the new ordinance after January 11 of this year, and anyone operating without one of the two permits is operating illegally.  The Division of Revenue has enforcement authority over permitting, and there are possible penalties involved.

Zoning Compliance Permits should include all of the short-term rentals that were in operation prior to Council passage of the short-term rental ordinance in July of 2023.  The ordinance specifies that STRs in existence prior to Council approval may stay in existence by simply requesting a zoning compliance permit.  It’s a bit more complicated than that but not much.

A short-term rental has to apply for a Conditional Use Permit with the Board of Adjustment (BOA) and attend a hearing.  Lately the BOA has been approving applications from real estate investors without much concern over whether they would harm a neighborhood or not.

Thanks for your work for your neighborhood.  Please remember the upcoming meeting on February 12.

Walt Gaffield, President
Fayette County Neighborhood Council, Inc.