Say a new development is proposed for your area.
Under the current procedures, the development goes through a preliminary review — where agencies such as streets and roads, the fire department, and others make sure it meets their criteria. And based on that feedback, the plan may be tinkered with before it turns into a final development plan that goes before the planning commission.
Normally, a public hearing would occur for that final plan. Not so under the new rules required by last year's House Bill 443, a new state law passed by the Kentucky General Assembly.
"Effectively, this will streamline the process, but it also will make it a lot more challenging for residents to sort of engage on the final development plan that's that's proposed and goes to planning commission," CivicLex's Richard Young explains. "They'll really need to look earlier in the process when preliminary development plans are submitted to weigh in."
The zoning revisions also make language the city uses to guide developers more straightforward. Phrases such as "adequate" or "encouraged to" will be altered to give developers set numbers to go by.
(NOTE: This copy was updated to clarify that the zoning package changes are the result of a change in state law, not a local decision.)