Reposted from the Winchester Sun.
On December 13th, the Clark County Fiscal Court broke a long-standing precedent and initiated unilateral changes to the goals and objectives of the Winchester-Clark County Comprehensive Plan – an important document that guides growth and development in our community.
In doing so, the magistrates rejected the recommendation of the Planning Commission and Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, the extensive body of research, the principles of good planning and zoning, and most importantly the voice of Clark County’s citizens.
The Comprehensive Plan is the product of more than a yearlong process. It involved significant work by an advisory committee of 18 local citizens, planning staff, and a hired consultant. The plan is the product of careful thought, deliberation and extensive community input.
However, this carefully crafted plan and decades of established precedent have been cast aside – without justification or supporting evidence – to accommodate the personal interests of a handful of magistrates.
The changes – which were initiated by 5th District Magistrate Chris Davis and passed on a split 4-3 vote – represent a severe departure from our community’s long-standing growth plan which emphasizes growth adjacent to existing development, as opposed to sprawling, leap-frog development.
Davis’s changes pave the way for irresponsible zone changes outside of the urban planning boundary while ignoring the fact that Clark County has over 14,000 acres of undeveloped land inside our current urban planning boundary.
His proposal also fails to consider the significant costs suburban sprawl imposes on Clark County’s taxpayers. A 2022 study by the University of Kentucky shows that for every $1 in tax revenue generated by residential development, Clark County taxpayers spend $1.28 providing services, such as water, sewer, Fire/EMS, and law enforcement among others. Consider this gap between income and expenditure on a scale of millions of local tax dollars, and it quickly becomes apparent that decisions on growth are a calculation our county can’t afford to get wrong.
Sprawl is not only unwarranted and unwise, it is not wanted by Clark County’s citizens. Public input throughout the Comprehensive Plan process demonstrates a clear desire for smart growth: including infill and redevelopment on under-utilized land, completion of and development around the Eastern Bypass, and minimizing suburban sprawl.
Clark County adopted Planning and Zoning over 50 years ago, and for good reason. Planning and Zoning provides many benefits to our community. It promotes the efficient use of tax dollars in building and maintaining infrastructure, it keeps property prices stable, it offers predictability to developers and residents, and it enhances quality of life by ensuring that land-uses are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods.
The implications of the Fiscal Court’s decision are serious. For the first time in our history, we face the prospect that the City and County will adopt divergent planning goals. This threatens the continued existence of our joint City-County Planning Commission – an asset that has served our community well for more than half a century.
The Fiscal Court’s changes to the Comprehensive Plan also represent another troubling development – it will discourage public participation in future civic processes. What does the Court’s action say to all of the citizens who submitted comments in order to craft this Comprehensive Plan?
What does it say to the members of the Advisory Committee who dedicated countless hours to review input, examine the research and evidence, and update the plan? Why would anyone agree to serve on an advisory committee in the future when the Fiscal Court has shown such disregard for the committee’s recommendation?
The Comprehensive Plan is not written for the benefit of a single person, neighborhood or interest but rather for the entire community. The Fiscal Court should reevaluate its position, and adopt the goals and objectives in accordance with the desires of Clark County’s citizens. The prosperity of our community depends on it.
