Lexington City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
Entrance Corridor Overlay District EC
§ 420-6.1 Intent.
The purpose of this district is to protect and enhance the City's attractiveness; protect the City's scenic, historic, architectural and cultural resources; support and stimulate development which is appropriate and complimentary to the numerous properties of historic, architectural and cultural significance throughout the City; protect and enhance the architectural and scenic character of significant access routes to the City's historic downtown; promote orderly and attractive development along these significant access routes; and ensure that development within this district is compatible with these resources through architectural control of development.
§ 420-6.2 Area created; boundaries.
[Amended 2-2-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
The entrance corridor overlay districts shall be the boundary of the General Commercial District (C-2) and the Planned Development – Mixed Use District (PD-MU).
§ 420-6.3 Permitted uses.
A building and/or land shall be used for the following purposes:
A.
Uses which are permitted in the underlying district shall be permitted in the EC District.
§ 420-6.4 Conditional uses.
§ 420-6.5 Area and bulk regulations.
Uses, buildings and structures shall be subject to regulations for lot area, lot width, street frontage, setback, height, yards, parking and signs applicable in the underlying district in which they are located.
§ 420-6.6 Certificate of appropriateness required.
A certificate of appropriateness is required for the following:
A.
No building permit shall be issued involving construction or exterior modifications to a building until a certificate of appropriateness has been issued in accordance with § 420-6.7 for improvements subject to such building permit.
§ 420-6.7 Administration.
A.
The Planning Commission shall be responsible for the issuance of certificates of appropriateness required by this article. Application for a certificate of appropriateness shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator. Materials submitted shall include a preliminary site plan, landscaping plan, elevations of all building facades visible from public streets, samples of proposed building materials, lighting plan and details and scale drawings of proposed signage to include materials, colors and proposed lighting. Architectural and landscaping plans should include elevations and renderings that depict colors, materials and designs. The Planning Commission shall review the application and, if approved, shall issue a certificate of appropriateness, with or without conditions, together with any modifications deemed necessary to ensure compliance with this section. Failure of the Planning Commission to act within 60 days from the date of application shall constitute approval of the application.
B.
In making its determinations, the Planning Commission may consider any architectural feature which influences appearance, such as, but not limited to, motif and style, color, texture and materials, configuration, orientation, mass, shape, height and location of buildings, location and configuration of parking areas, landscaping and buffering.
§ 420-6.8 Design standards.
[Amended 8-15-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-06]
All applications for certificates of appropriateness must satisfy the design standards contained in this section.
A.
Landscaping.
(1)
Landscaping shall be used to soften the visual impact of development and enhance the appearance of the area.
(2)
Landscaping shall be sufficient to soften the visual effects of parking lots, reduce the effective visual mass of large buildings and provide screening between development, the street and surrounding lots.
(3)
Landscape buffers shall be provided adjacent to public streets of sufficient size to permit street trees and plantings to be installed to reduce the visibility into parking lots.
(4)
Landscaping shall be compatible with landscaping on adjacent properties.
B.
Signage.
(1)
Each parcel shall have an overall sign plan which reflects a consistent style and specifies the size and color scheme for proposed signage.
(2)
Materials used in signs and their support structures should reflect the building served by the sign.
(3)
Sign colors should be harmonious with the building which they serve.
C.
Architecture.
(1)
Materials, colors and general style of buildings within a development should be coordinated.
(2)
Heating and air-conditioning units, ventilation units, and mechanical equipment shall be screened from view from public streets.
(3)
Loading docks, trash containers and mechanical equipment shall be screened from view from public streets.
(4)
The effective visual mass of large buildings should be reduced by variations in roofline, building angles, dimensional relief, color, architectural detailing and landscaping.
(5)
Architectural styles, building and roofing materials, and colors shall be reflective of the traditional architecture of Lexington. This may be accomplished through building scale, materials and forms, all of which may be embodied in architecture which is contemporary as well as traditional.
(6)
Trademark buildings and related features shall be modified to meet these design standards.
D.
Site planning.
(1)
Parking lot layouts shall respond to the topographic characteristics of the site.
(2)
The number of access points to parking lots from a street will be minimized and shall relate to other existing curb cuts whenever possible.
(3)
Parking lots will be interconnected on adjacent parcels whenever possible.
(4)
Small, landscaped and interconnected parking lots, rather than large, central parking lots, shall be encouraged.
(5)
Parking lots shall not dominate the image of a site.
(6)
Pedestrian access from the sidewalk into individual project sites, as well as within sites and between sites, shall be provided.
§ 420-6.9 Appeals.
Appeals may be taken from any action or decision of the Zoning Administrator and Planning Commission by granting or refusing to grant a certificate of appropriateness pursuant to the provisions of this article. Appeals shall be taken to the Lexington City Council within 30 days of the action taken by the Planning Commission. Appeals shall be made by letter addressed to the City Manager noting the particular action being appealed. Any owner or other party aggrieved by the decision of the Lexington City Council shall have the right to appeal to the Circuit Court of the City of Lexington within 30 days of the action taken by the Lexington City Council.