In 1958, Lexington established the Urban Services Boundary (USB), which controls what land in Fayette County is available for development and to receive access to city services. Lexington was the first city in the country to establish a USB.
Since then, the USB has been a contentious subject in Lexington’s civic life. The city’s Comprehensive Plan, updated every five years, historically decides whether the boundary should be expanded. On June 15, the Urban County Council voted to expand Lexington’s USB by a vote of 13-2.
Council members who voted in favor of expansion cited concerns about affordable housing and housing costs as their reason for doing so; those who did not vote in favor said they wanted to ensure that the process is thorough and would address rising housing costs.
Below, we address a few common questions about the USB and recent vote for expansion:
What is the Urban Services Boundary?
The Lexington Fayette Urban County Government governs many pieces of life in our city, from taxes and parks to snowplows. One of LFUCG’s powers is control of the Urban Services Boundary. The USB is a line around the city of Lexington. Within that boundary, almost all new development of buildings must be contained, which leaves land outside it as rural, natural or agricultural. When you drive along a major corridor like Versailles Road or Richmond Road and you start to see a lot more green, you have likely crossed to the other side of the USB.
The USB controls whether land can be developed and to receive city services like water and sewer. It is controlled by city ordinance and has been historically changed through the city’s comprehensive planning process.
What are some of the characteristics of the USB?
• Fayette County encompasses about 285 square miles. Approximately 30% (about 85 square miles) of this land is inside the USB: the remaining 70% (about 200 square miles) is outside the USB.
• Most of the land outside the USB is in Council District 12, currently represented by council member Kathy Plomin.
• The USB was last expanded in 1996 when about eight square miles of land was added to three new expansion areas, including the Hamburg area.
• Approximately 97% of Fayette County’s population lives inside the USB.
Why is the USB such a big topic?
Many individuals and groups have strong feelings about the USB. Some feel it should be kept at the same size; others think it should be expanded a little or a lot. Some want to get rid of it entirely. Among the biggest issues discussed in conversations about the USB are rural and agricultural land preservation, population growth, density and sprawl, housing prices and the economy.
What will the expansion process look like?
• First, the Division of Planning and the Planning Commission will identify between 2,700-5,000 acres to be added to the Urban Service Area. They will give priority to areas adjacent to the current USB and along Lexington’s major highway corridors.
• After an area is chosen, the Division of Planning and Planning Commission will create an Expansion Area Master Plan (EAMP) to set up guidelines and targets for how this expansion should be managed.
• The EAMP would then be delivered to the Urban County Council for approval and adoption. The Goals & Objectives require the Council to have the EAMP by December 1, 2024.
• As soon as the EAMP is adopted it immediately goes into effect, guiding how the expansion is developed.
•Once expansion is under way, the creation of a long-term growth management plan will continue. This plan must be finished by August 31, 2026.
Where will the USB be expanded?
This will not be known until the EAMP is finished, but the original language for this year’s expansion recommended that land around Athens-Boonesboro Road and Winchester Road be considered. These specific locations were eventually removed from the recommendation, but it is likely those areas will be considered.
The city’s ongoing Sewerability Study will also impact where the USB is expanded, as the expansion area must easily receive sewer infrastructure.
When will we see new developments / changes occur to land that’s not currently in the USB?
It’s hard to say exactly when we might see actual changes or development to land that’s currently in Fayette County’s Urban Services Boundary, but due to the zone change process, and how long it will take to finalize the Expansion Area Master Plan and to actually develop land, it’s unlikely we will see new housing or other developments outside the current USB within the next five years.
CivicLex is a nonprofit dedicated to helping the public understand the workings of local government in Lexington. The organization does not take an official stance on local issues, but aims to provide resources so that local residents can learn about and get involved with their local government. More information about the Urban Services Boundary and other government-related issues can be found at www.civiclex.com.
