Fiscal Court Gives First Reading To Zoning Ordinance Amendment
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Robert Moore
Herald Staff
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The Mercer County Fiscal Court has given first reading to text amendments to the Mercer County Zoning Ordinance that include proposed changes to minimum lot sizes in the agricultural zoning districts, setbacks, the addition of accessory dwelling units, changes to conditional uses and some grammatical revisions.
The Harrodsburg-Mercer County Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on the proposed text amendments on June 11. And, as at that public hearing, much of the comments concerned a proposal to change agriculture lot sizes. The changes would increase the minimum lot sizes for A1 districts from 2.5 to five acres, reduce the minimum size for A2 districts from 2.5 acres to 2 acres, reduce road frontage requirements from 250 feet to 200 feet and reduce minimum front yard setbacks from 80 feet to 40 feet.
At the fiscal court’s special-called meeting on Monday, July 24, Shawn Moore, executive director of planning and zoning, said the intent behind the proposal was to protect farmland.
“We ought not to be destroying our farmland to be building houses,” Moore told the magistrates. He said development should be concentrated on where sewer and water lines are currently located.
“You don’t have infrastructure to support large-scale development outside the city,” Moore said. He said they didn’t want to create isolated islands of development.
Moore said there would be a marked increase in housing with the development of the Wilkinson Farm Industrial Park. It was noted that the city was working to extend sewer service outside the bypass, which could lead to development north and south along US 127. Land next to current development could be rezoned.
“You want to develop in the most economic form,” Moore said. He said the most economic way to develop was in locations that were already developed.
Judge-Executive Sarah Steele stressed the need to preserve Mercer County’s farm land.
“You’ve got to preserve your farmland in some way, or it’s going to be gone,” Steele said. She said the amendments would allow the county to preserve some of its best farmland.
Steele noted that drafting the amendments had been a long process, with several magistrates serving on the committee along with Steele and Moore. During the process, they contacted the Kentucky Farm Bureau as well as state and local officials.
“I’ve prayed on this since Thursday night,” said Magistrate Stephen “Pete” Elliott, who said he’d farmed his whole life, but most of it was not on A1 farmland. While noting his son was a developer, Elliott called himself an “old hillside farmer” and asked if it was right to limit what a farmer could earn for the sale of his land.
“Is it right for the government to say he could get $500,000 to sell his farm to keep on farming?” Elliott asked, noting a farmer might possibly double his money by selling to a real estate developer. “I just hate to see the government control what the old farmer can and cannot do with his property.”
Agricultural production contributed approximately 6.7 percent of the Commonwealth’s gross domestic product. That’s according to a report compiled by the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky using 2019 production numbers.
Elliott said investors are “not buying farmland to farm.”
Moore said he agreed with Elliott.
“I believe the farmer has the right to do what he wants and cut it up as he sees fit, as long as he obeys the same rules as everybody else,” Moore said.
“Eventually, you’re going to run out of farmland,” Moore said. He called investment firms “road rapers.”
“They’re not doing anything to benefit us,” Moore said.
No public comment was heard at Monday’s meeting. Steele advised the magistrates to talk to people over the next couple of weeks. She asked people to address their concerns to the judge or magistrates.
“This is very important,” Steele said.
