The Lexington Planning Commission on Thursday approved subdividing the Castleton Lyons horse farm into 16 individual lots that would be sold for housing.
The lots could range from 40 to more than 80 acres, according to the plans. The 1,000-acre Castleton Lyons property is located on Iron Works Pike near Interstate 75 and the Kentucky Horse Park.
During the commission’s meeting, there were a handful of public comments aired against the approval. Community members cited concerns over how the development could impact traffic safety on Iron Pike and the historical value of the property.
New plan: Goodbye to 1,000-acre Castleton Lyons horse farm & hello new housing?
“I just have a lot of concerns about access for 16 different lots,” resident Ashley Kratzer said. “It’s a dangerous road now. … If you add all this construction, it’s going to be really tough to deal with.”
The 16 new lots would be able to have one home and at least one additional home for farm workers as well as needing an entry point to the property.
Resident Jacqueline Bernard said she shared Kratzer’s concerns, also noting the property’s potential status as a historical landmark.
“There are log cabins on that property that have been there since 1793,” she said. “I don’t know if this is where to bring that up, but it would be a concern to me. The main house there, also one of the oldest dwellings in that part of the county, has that been a concern of anyone?”
A proposal to buy the farm and preserve it through the Purchase of Development Rights program, which would spend $5 million in local tax money, was rejected in 2017. The program works to keep land from being developed by using matching federal dollars to buy development rights.
Fayette County farmland preservation group seeks millions to protect Castleton Lyons
However, it would prohibit foreign-born and non-U.S. citizens from receiving federal money. With Castleton Lyons’ original owner, Dr. Tony Ryan, who died in 2007, and his son, Shane Ryan, who now owns the farm, both being Irish citizens, it disqualified the possibility.
Stacey Arani, who owns a farm two miles from the property, questioned how many driveways would need to be added to give access to the lots, and what that would do to traffic on Mt. Horeb Pike with more than 10 new access points to the lots.
“(It) seems like that’s, again, awfully close,” she said. “If they’re going to do that, they have to make it safe because that is probably one of the most unsafe roads. Right now, there’s no speed limit, hills (and) you have people pulling in and out.”
To elevate the concerns, Lexington Senior Planner Tom Martin said Lexington Traffic Engineering would have to approve all new access to lots.
“They can, under their authority, encourage shared access points as well,” he said.
Martin added that, if the property is sold, the owner of the property is allowed, under law, to have access to the property and Traffic Engineering will “endeavor to make it as safe as possible.”
Despite the opposition, the approval of the subdivision of the property was ministerial, meaning the approval of the plans was contingent on the proper meeting conditions and following state law rather than personal discretion.
“It means that if you have met all requirements of the land subdivision regulations, and met the minimum size requirements in the zone, you cannot disapprove, you have to approve,” Martin said.
Following the vote, Commission Parliamentarian Judy Worth added a final thought about the approval:
“Speaking for myself, and I’ve heard this from a number of the commissioners, we’re not happy about this, but we’re doing what the law says we have to do,” she said.
Source Agencies
