Lexington, KY - I've enjoyed attending several community and neighborhood association events recently. On Sept. 12, I went to the 100th Celebration of the Kenwick Neighborhood. The event offered plenty of kid-friendly events, from playing on the neighborhood playground to drawing pictures on the newsprint table covering. The Kenwick Neighborhood Association is working on a new design for the community park and it looks terrific. I hope to share more details in future articles.
On Sept. 13, I was invited to the Fairway Neighborhood Association Ice Cream Social at the former Julia R. Ewan Elementary School. As many of you know, the school was sold by Fayette County Schools and the new owner, a member of the Fairway Neighborhood, very graciously allowed the group to hold their ice cream social on the playground in the back of the school.
Dinner at the Louisiana Avenue picnic was a treat - the quintessential Sunday potluck. What a beautiful neighborhood with tall oak trees providing a gorgeous canopy over the street. I learned about a tree new to me - the willow oak. I think I'll look into replacing my ash tree with this gorgeous tree, if my ash doesn't survive the borer infestation.
Concerning the borer infestation, I will be taping a segment for GTV3 with Tim Queary, Urban County Government Forester, who will demonstrate the proper method of treating an Emerald Ash Borer infestation. Effective treatment of the Ash Borer depends on the size of your tree. Many of our 5th District mature trees need to be treated differently than younger trees. I hope you will make a point to watch the program.
On another note, as you all know, the Planning Committee is considering the Student Housing Task Force recommendations. I have served on this committee since taking office in January and have some very strong opinions about the recommendations being presented. These are some of my concerns regarding the Penn State Plan, which I would ask that you consider:
1. The Penn State Plan includes a proposal to limit the number of students who may live on the same street to every third house. The students who are displaced from those streets and neighborhoods where they currently reside will simply seek rental properties in other neighborhoods, thereby spreading the concerns rather than addressing the concerns related to student housing. I suspect that the 5th District would receive the brunt of this displacement.
2. The Penn State Plan includes a rental licensing requirement and an inspection of the interior of each home prior to re-leasing. Inspections would be an implementation nightmare for the city, leaving some students unable to move in before classes begin.
3. The Student Housing Task Force was created to address problems within a small radius of the university. The discussion was almost exclusively regarding the area around the campus, yet the recommendations are to be applied city wide, with no committee representation from other parts of the city.
The Planning Committee first heard this issue on Sept. 22 and will hold a Special Planning Committee meeting at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, in Council Chambers to allow further public input.
If you would like to read my full statement on the Student Housing Task Force proposal please e-mail me.