Lexington's Preservation and Growth Management Program

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City of Lexington exploring a Preservation & Growth Management Program to guide future land use decisions regarding the Urban Service Area

The Urban County Council adopted the Goals and Objectives of Imagine Lexington 2045, the city’s Comprehensive Plan on June 15, 2023. Within those Goal & Objectives the Council included Theme E Goal 4 that calls for developing a formalized framework to guide future decisions regarding the Urban Service Area (USA). The priority is to:

  • Create a data-driven framework to inform decisions on the Urban Service Area
  • Develop a process by which those decisions would be made
  • Ensure the decision-making process includes robust community input
  • Ensure preservation of significant agricultural areas
  • Ensure any future growth occurs in appropriate locations

On January 14, 2025, Councilmember Liz Sheehan placed the “Preservation & Growth Management Program” in the Urban County Council’s General Government & Planning Committee (GGP). Vice Mayor Dan Wu is the sponsor of this item. You can watch the presentation of the item here. The general milestones and timeline for the effort can be found below and on the right side of the page.

Public Engagement Opportunities

The Urban County Council will host two initial education sessions to share information with the public on program goals, history of the Urban Service Area, a timeline for developing Lexington’s Preservation & Growth Management Program, and opportunities for public input. Council and LFUCG staff will provide a brief presentation and there will be time for questions. There will also be an opportunity to speak directly with Council Members and LFUCG staff.

These first in-person events will present similar information to the materials here on Engage Lexington. Both meetings will have an identical structure and content so you can learn the same information by attending either meeting.


Public Meeting Times and Locations:

Sunday, March 16, 2025, 2 – 3 p.m.

Marksbury Family Branch Library

2197 Versailles Road, Lexington, KY 40504


Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 5 – 6 p.m.

Lexington Public Library, Eastside Branch

3000 Blake James Drive, Lexington, KY 40509


Public Input Survey Open March 16 - April 15

Additional Public Input events and opportunities will be scheduled soon. Subscribe to this page below to receive updates about these opportunities.


Preservation & Growth Management Program to build on previous work by the Sustainable Growth Task Force & Goal 4 Workgroup

Historically, decisions regarding the Urban Service Area have taken place during the update of the Comprehensive Plan. This often dominates and overshadows the planning process, taking focus away from discussions on other long-range community goals and initiatives for a better Lexington. In 2018, the Urban County Council added a study of the Urban Service Area (USA) expansion process to the Goals & Objectives of the Comprehensive Plan. The two most recent efforts to modernize and create a formalized process, separate from the Comprehensive Plan update, include work by the Sustainable Growth Task Force and Goal 4 Workgroup. The Comprehensive Plan directs the Council and the Planning Commission to build upon the work of these groups.

The Sustainable Growth Task Force was established in 2020. This group identified the need for more and better data on the availability of land and its utilization within Lexington’s urban service area. The initial report provided a baseline of information on existing development and vacant land through 2020. The trend report was updated last year and now extends through 2022.

Following the work of the Sustainable Growth Task Force, in 2022 former Vice Mayor Steve Kay established the Goal 4 Work Group. This work group proposed a preservation map identifying more than 97,000 acres for permanent preservation as well as areas that may be suitable for future urban growth if Lexington decides to expand in the future. The group used baseline data from the Sustainable Growth Taskforce and proposed several growth scenarios and criteria to guide future decisions on if the urban service area would expand. Additionally, if a determination were made to expand, the report also suggested a process that could be used to bring specific and smaller areas of land into the Urban Service Area if those areas met a specific set of criteria and demonstrated the ability to meet specific community needs.

While both the Sustainable Growth and Goal 4 Work Group provided important information that could guide the process of preservation and urban growth management, neither were formally adopted and formalized. Both reports can be found to the right under "Related Documents".


What is the Urban Service Area?

Urban Service Areas (USA) are planning tools to manage and promote sustainable growth. Their main purpose is to reduce sprawl by limiting urban development to designated areas so that infrastructure and community services can be provided more efficiently and to reduce costs. USAs are important when planning for a community in order to focus new growth and concentrate public and private investments where services are available and will be most needed. They also preserve agricultural land, open spaces, and environmentally sensitive areas.

City of Lexington exploring a Preservation & Growth Management Program to guide future land use decisions regarding the Urban Service Area

The Urban County Council adopted the Goals and Objectives of Imagine Lexington 2045, the city’s Comprehensive Plan on June 15, 2023. Within those Goal & Objectives the Council included Theme E Goal 4 that calls for developing a formalized framework to guide future decisions regarding the Urban Service Area (USA). The priority is to:

  • Create a data-driven framework to inform decisions on the Urban Service Area
  • Develop a process by which those decisions would be made
  • Ensure the decision-making process includes robust community input
  • Ensure preservation of significant agricultural areas
  • Ensure any future growth occurs in appropriate locations

On January 14, 2025, Councilmember Liz Sheehan placed the “Preservation & Growth Management Program” in the Urban County Council’s General Government & Planning Committee (GGP). Vice Mayor Dan Wu is the sponsor of this item. You can watch the presentation of the item here. The general milestones and timeline for the effort can be found below and on the right side of the page.

Public Engagement Opportunities

The Urban County Council will host two initial education sessions to share information with the public on program goals, history of the Urban Service Area, a timeline for developing Lexington’s Preservation & Growth Management Program, and opportunities for public input. Council and LFUCG staff will provide a brief presentation and there will be time for questions. There will also be an opportunity to speak directly with Council Members and LFUCG staff.

These first in-person events will present similar information to the materials here on Engage Lexington. Both meetings will have an identical structure and content so you can learn the same information by attending either meeting.


Public Meeting Times and Locations:

Sunday, March 16, 2025, 2 – 3 p.m.

Marksbury Family Branch Library

2197 Versailles Road, Lexington, KY 40504


Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 5 – 6 p.m.

Lexington Public Library, Eastside Branch

3000 Blake James Drive, Lexington, KY 40509


Public Input Survey Open March 16 - April 15

Additional Public Input events and opportunities will be scheduled soon. Subscribe to this page below to receive updates about these opportunities.


Preservation & Growth Management Program to build on previous work by the Sustainable Growth Task Force & Goal 4 Workgroup

Historically, decisions regarding the Urban Service Area have taken place during the update of the Comprehensive Plan. This often dominates and overshadows the planning process, taking focus away from discussions on other long-range community goals and initiatives for a better Lexington. In 2018, the Urban County Council added a study of the Urban Service Area (USA) expansion process to the Goals & Objectives of the Comprehensive Plan. The two most recent efforts to modernize and create a formalized process, separate from the Comprehensive Plan update, include work by the Sustainable Growth Task Force and Goal 4 Workgroup. The Comprehensive Plan directs the Council and the Planning Commission to build upon the work of these groups.

The Sustainable Growth Task Force was established in 2020. This group identified the need for more and better data on the availability of land and its utilization within Lexington’s urban service area. The initial report provided a baseline of information on existing development and vacant land through 2020. The trend report was updated last year and now extends through 2022.

Following the work of the Sustainable Growth Task Force, in 2022 former Vice Mayor Steve Kay established the Goal 4 Work Group. This work group proposed a preservation map identifying more than 97,000 acres for permanent preservation as well as areas that may be suitable for future urban growth if Lexington decides to expand in the future. The group used baseline data from the Sustainable Growth Taskforce and proposed several growth scenarios and criteria to guide future decisions on if the urban service area would expand. Additionally, if a determination were made to expand, the report also suggested a process that could be used to bring specific and smaller areas of land into the Urban Service Area if those areas met a specific set of criteria and demonstrated the ability to meet specific community needs.

While both the Sustainable Growth and Goal 4 Work Group provided important information that could guide the process of preservation and urban growth management, neither were formally adopted and formalized. Both reports can be found to the right under "Related Documents".


What is the Urban Service Area?

Urban Service Areas (USA) are planning tools to manage and promote sustainable growth. Their main purpose is to reduce sprawl by limiting urban development to designated areas so that infrastructure and community services can be provided more efficiently and to reduce costs. USAs are important when planning for a community in order to focus new growth and concentrate public and private investments where services are available and will be most needed. They also preserve agricultural land, open spaces, and environmentally sensitive areas.

Page last updated: 05 Mar 2025, 09:58 AM