Posts
Council Swearing-In
I had the honor of addressing those gathered, COVID-19 style, for the swearing-in ceremony for the four new and eight returning Council Members. Here are my remarks.Greetings and a warm welcome to everyone. Thanks for joining us, whether in person or watching remotely to accommodate COVID-19. Just …- Get link
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Council Role in Police Discipline
Recently I offered a proposal to add a section to Urban County Council Rules regarding the procedure for bringing forward recommendations to Council for discipline of police officers. Unfortunately, there has been some misunderstanding about both the procedure itself and my proposal regarding it, …- Get link
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Council Approves FAR ZOTA
After postponing the issue for a month, at its September 24 meeting Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council approved a Zone Text Amendment (ZOTA) that increases the floor area ratio (FAR) in residential zones R3, R4, R5. Here is a link to a map of the county showing those zones. I posted a brief des…- Get link
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What's a FAR ZOTA?
Floor Area Ratio Zone Text Amendment (FAR ZOTA)City Council is set to have a second reading of a proposed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment (ZOTA) on September 24th. The proposed ZOTA would increase the allowable size and height of a building in relation to the square footage o…- Get link
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COVID and the Working Poor
Here is my recent Op Ed in the Herald-Leader:Start wherever you would like in your thinking about the disparate impacts of COVID-19 and you will always end up in the same place: we have too many people in our society who live too close to the margins, too many people who are liable to have their li…- Get link
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The "good trouble" of John Lewis
As an exchange student at Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1964 I did not know John Lewis but I was sometimes around him and others who became icons of the civil rights movement. John Lewis was by far the least polished among them, and the most angry, and the most willing to make some “good trouble”…- Get link
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The Protesters and Police, Part Two
Last week I wrote that we need not believe that we must choose to support either the protesters or the police, that such a choice is not necessary, and such a choice is not helpful. Now I add a few words that I should have included then, a few words of appreciation for the protesters and the police…- Get link
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The Protesters and the Police
I spoke these words at an LFUCG Council meeting this past Tuesday (06/16/2020). In the face of rising tensions and rising polarization, I post them now.I see a danger that people might feel they have to choose between the protesters and the police, as if you have to support one or the other, as if …- Get link
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The Case for Full Funding for Affordable Housing
The Mayor’s Proposed Budget for the coming Fiscal Year 2021 includes a cut of $1.8M from the $2M annual allocation to the city’s Affordable Housing Fund. Here, in a set of bullet points, is the case for restoring full funding.Background:There is a large and widening gap between earning power and co…- Get link
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ADUs: Current Status, Next Steps & Background
Current Status and Next StepsThe Planning Commission will continue to review a zoning ordinance text amendment (ZOTA) on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) next Monday (10/21/19) at 1:30 pm. You can find details about that Special Meeting here. The Commission can choose at that meeting to recommend a…- Get link
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