It’s been a while since I wrote about the food truck issue for Lexington last fall, but there’s been a lot underway as of late so it’s high time for an update.

As reported last, the Itinerant Merchant Task Force, headed up by Councilwoman Peggy Henson from the 11th District, was formed almost a year ago and has continued to meet on a regular basis.  After attending a number of these meetings, which are all made publically available here, it seemed like things were creeping along. The Task Force was mostly formed as a way to regulate Lexington’s few existing food trucks, particularly those along Versailles Road, out of concerns expressed from some of the residents from Holiday Hills and Viley Heights and later, Hamilton Park. Therefore, much of the energy of the task force has been in altering the existing ordinances to create a new category of stationary merchant (food trucks on public land) and to write in ways of defining their operations along with those of itinerant merchants, particularly regarding hours of operations and location restrictions based on proximity to residential neighborhoods.

The challenge, however, is that simultaneously, while they’re rewriting the ordinance, they’ve also tried to find ways to allow for these vendors to operate legally, particularly in the downtown core. For this task, a subcommittee was formed, which has been working to develop a pilot project for the downtown core.

To say that this issue has been contentious is an understatement.

Many people have different concerns, and each constituent has a different set of needs. This has been further compounded by the challenge of getting all key “stakeholders” at the table. Because the task force was initially set up to resolve the concerns from neighborhoods, it was actually established with NO ONE from the food business!

Over time, as word has both gotten out and as the task force has taken on more and more, folks from the Health Department have been added, in addition to food vendors themselves. Currently the invitation is also open to try and add a bricks and mortar restaurant owner.

But the progress is painfully slow.

In many ways, the advancement was stymied by a recent article in the Herald-Leader.

In fact, the meeting of the Task Force held immediately after this article was published brought out a throng of bricks and mortar restaurant owners to raise objections and concerns over what they perceived as a pending flood of new food truck vendors to downtown Lexington.  Some of their concerns included a lack of downtown foot traffic to support such vendors and a fear of added competition. It should be noted that most of the downtown restaurants are locally owned and operated by individuals who have made a commitment (and financial investment) in Lexington’s downtown.

This opposition was further expanded when the Cheapside Entertainment District Association (CEDA) got word of the proposed Pilot Project of the subcommittee, issuing a letter requesting substantial changes, including language to allow for a 200ft buffer for any bricks and mortar location, and a limitation of only 2 legal spots for stationary vendors in the downtown core. (Because a minimum of 4 are required for State Health Department requirements, CEDA requested that the other 2 be identified outside of the downtown area.) At the last meeting of the Task Force, where several CEDA members attended, there was even discussion of striking the language for a stationary vendor entirely from the new ordinance, crippling the potential opportunities for food trucks in Lexington.

From that meeting, it became apparent that the concerns of the food truck vendors needed to be consolidated, and within a matter of hours, several existing vendors had banded together to form the Bluegrass Food Truck Association. They’ve already had two meetings and have written a press release to call for cooperation and partnership between all the different food vendors.

I am pleased to report that following the last, rather depressing, Task Force meeting where it seemed like we might miss the opportunity to use this current ordinance to allow for food trucks, this past week’s subcommittee meeting struck upon the idea to identify stationary vendor operating hours specifically for late night only (after 10pm) when most downtown restaurants are already closed. Given some of the concerns regarding competition, the subcommittee thought this might have the best chance of moving forward while still meeting the valid need for food options during the late night bar scene for Lexington.

So here’s the thing – it’s been a long road so far, and while things hopefully look like there’s a viable compromise on the horizon, nothing’s a done deal. Of course I respect that the issue is a complicated one – probably much more complicated than this anxious food truck fare eater initially anticipated. But I’m still convinced that stationary vendors offering innovative food options on the go throughout downtown Lexington, particularly during late night, would be a great addition to this progressive city. And while I recognize that we need to be careful to take into account everyone’s unique perspective, I think it’s even more important that we don’t become paralyzed by the fear of the unknown.

Throughout this process a lot of talk has been given to the “unintended consequences” of the new ordinance and what may result from legislation that is too open-ended or unrestricted. It is in fact, this hesitancy that I bristle at the most. ProgressLex’s mission centers around creating and sustaining a thriving, diverse and beautiful Lexington that will serve all of its citizens. To do this, we may at times, have to do things different than before. We may in fact misstep occasionally on the path forward. But progress REQUIRES movement, whereas fear suppresses it.

Given the response to the Kentucky.com article announcing that food trucks were imminent for Lexington, I have come to realize that it is possible to be too bullish about this issue. In our quest as consumers to have a wider variety of food options, we should also recommit ourselves to the wide spectrum of food establishments that have already committed to downtown. But we as consumers also need to be heard.

If you, like me, are anxious to see our ordinance rewritten to allow for stationary vendors legally offering a wider range of food in Lexington, I urge you to show your support to the Bluegrass Food Truck Association by liking them on Facebook.

Furthermore, I urge you to contact your councilperson to let them know that you’d like to see the new ordinance allow for stationary vendors, providing more options to consumers and food entrepreneurs alike.

And of course, don’t forget to continue to support the other brick and mortar establishments that have long been dedicated to our city’s downtown.

For now, it doesn’t seem like the ordinance is in a final enough form to move out of committee. However, on a positive note, I think we’re getting closer to compromise. And compromise is what it’s going to take to move this issue from the fear of the unknown to a more progressive, tastier downtown.

ProgressLex is pleased to announce the 2012 Lafayette Seminar, sponsored by UK’s Gaines Center for the Humanities. The first session, featuring Dhiru Thadani, the principle author of Lexington’s Downtown Master Plan, and one of America’s most distinguished planners, will be THIS MONDAY, FEB. 20, 6 P.M. in PATTERSON A-B ROOM, THE HYATT REGENCY HOTEL, 401 West High Street. Councilmember Tom Blues, Chair of the Design Excellence Task Force, will respond, and give an update on the work of the Task Force. As new and exciting plans emerge for the CentrePointe block and the Rupp/ Arts and Entertainment District, it is especially important to remind ourselves of, and update our thinking about, the Downtown Master Plan, probably the most extensive downtown planning exercise that Lexington has ever experienced, with hundreds of citizen and professional participants. Many of its recommendations have been implemented, and more are in the process of implementation.

There will be two more important sessions from distinguished experts, both in the same location.

Robert Gibbs will speak AT 6 P.M. on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22. Mr. Gibbs, a landscape architect, is an internationally recognized planner specializing in sustainable economic development. He has taught urban retail planning at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and worked with the famed Urban Land Institute. He is the author of Principles of Urban Retail Planning and Development (2012).

Daniel K. Slone will speak AT 6P.M. on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27. Mr. Slone is an expert in overcoming the land use and environmental permitting impediments to projects at all scales, and has represented numerous developers around the country. He is co-author of A Legal Guide to Urban and Sustainable Development for Architects, Planners and Developers (2008).  His expertise will be particularly useful in Lexington, whose processes of permitting are felt by many to be unusually difficult and cumbersome.  

These sessions promise to be exceptionally timely and useful to the Lexington Community. They are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. You can find more information in this brochure. I urge you to attend as many as possible!

The Latitude Artist Community and the Human Development Institute at UK will host an unconference next week that will focus on sexuality and gender identity within the context of services to persons with disabilities.

As with any unconference, there is no set agenda for the day. Instead, participants will present topics of their own interests and/or areas of expertise. Attendees will then “vote with their feet” by choosing which sessions they would like to attend. The purpose of this unconference is to bring attention to these sensitive issues, in a welcoming and supportive environment.

The unconference organizers have a particular interest in the rights of people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, including those from the LGBTQ communities. To learn more about the unconference, please visit their website & blog here.

The unconference will be held Friday, February 10, 2012, from 10am – 4pm at the Clarion Hotel located at 1950 Newtown Pike.  There is a $10 fee to attend, but full scholarships are available to those in need. Click here to register.

 Possible topics for Undressing Normal sessions:

• Power & Privilege
• Sexuality & the autism spectrum
• Supporting LGBTQ clients & staff
• Legal issues for individuals with intellectual disabilities & those who support them
• Into the nursing home & back into the closet
• Parenting & the eternal child stereotype

Who should attend?

• People with intellectual or other developmental disabilities
• People regarded as having disabilities
• Direct support staff
• Directors and administrative staff
• Educators, administrators, psychologists, social workers & other professionals
• Policy makers & government agency staff
• People of all sexual orientations & gender identities
• Advocates or individuals interested in supporting the rights of people with disabilities

In the 1960s, downtown Lexington suffered several mighty blows when looked at from the architectural, historic or preservationist perspectives. Many architecturally significant buildings were demolished to make way for surface parking lots, the charm of the old courthouse‘s interior was masked over, and the beautiful city hall on what is now Martin Luther King Blvd experienced an addition which destroyed its character leaving no saving grace when the structure was ultimately destroyed in the early 2000s.

Another development blunder was the construction of the Bluegrass Upholstery building at 615 West Short Street in the heart of the Historic Western Suburb. This one story, warehouse style structure wraps around the entire property which consists of a consolidated plat including both 615 and 617 West Short Street. While the occupants of the building may have been good neighbors and their work exquisite, the building serves as a ‘non-conforming use’ under current zoning laws because it operates in an otherwise residential area.

Adjacent to (and literally connected) to the Bluegrass Upholstery building is the house at 617 West Short Street. Like 615, the first floor of 617 serves a commercial use as part of the upholstery company. Built in the 1800s, 617 is part of the architectural fabric of the street and the neighborhood, where citizens of taken great strides over the past thirty years to bring the area back to glory. Businesses now thrive on Jefferson Street, a block away.

But the owners of 615/617 want to have the property subdivided between the two units so that 617 can be sold off to a private owner who, in the best of circumstances, will effort to return the property to its own glory days. But a residence butted up to the one-story commercial building would reduce its value as a residence and would in turn diminish the value of other neighboring properties.

So why would a preservationist and history-lover not want to see the properties subdivided and a historic residence returned to beauty?

Because I believe that the subdivision would perpetuate the non-conforming use at 615 West Short Street. I’m not alone: the Blue Grass Trust, the Western Suburb’s Neighborhood Association and other like-minded organizations including the South Hill and Northside neighborhood associations are joining forces to object to the proposed subdivision. You can join them at the Board of Adjustment’s hearing tomorrow, Friday November 18 at 1 p.m. in the Council Chambers in Lexington.

Section 4.2 of Lexington’s zoning ordinance discourages these ‘non-conforming uses’ by suggesting that the Planning Commission “not encourage their survival.” By isolating the two properties, if makes it easier for future occupiers of 615 West Short to continue the non-conforming use.  Which is precisely why section 4.5(a) of the ordinance prohibits subdivision or consolidation “in a manner that increase its non-conformity.”

Further, as the city of Lexington considers moving forward with making downtown streets – including West Short Street – two-way, it is important to consider how this subdivision would further impact traffic by making it more difficult for delivery trucks to service any commercial entity operating at 615. Currently, there is a surface parking lot sufficient to allow for off-street loading and unloading, but reducing the size of this lot through subdivision would eliminate this functionality. Too, it would put more pressure on the already premium on-street parking on this block of West Short Street where many homeowners do not have off-street parking options and rely each day on finding a place to park their vehicles.

The long-term ramifications of this subdivision proposal are great and detrimental to the welfare of the community. The subdivision itself, though recommended by the staff of the planning commission, appears to violate the provisions of Lexington’s zoning ordinance. For these reasons, the subdivision on West Short Street should not be allowed to proceed.

This post originally appeared on the author’s website, The Kaintuckeean. Photo an aerial of 615/617 West Short Street cropped from Microsoft Bing

The recent announcement by the Webb Companies that they have terminated their relationship with Studio Gang Architects (SGA) for work on the CentrePointe block has hurt Lexington in several ways.

First, the quality of the design for this project, on a lot that is arguably the most important in our city, will be compromised. EOP Architects and the Webb Companies have said that they plan to follow the concepts set out by SGA in their work so far. But this would surely best be done by SGA themselves, the originators of the concepts, in concert with the team of local architects announced this summer. The loss of SGA from the project really hurts Lexington by depriving us of the chance to get a building from one of America’s top architects. Their principal, Jeanne Gang, recently received a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” award, perhaps the most prestigious award in any field available in this country and one seldom awarded to architects. As too often happens, Lexington fails again to reach for the very top. As the saying goes, it takes a fool to fire a genius.

Why did the Webb Companies dismiss SGA? In the Herald-Leader article by Beverly Fortune, they give the reason that the Marriott Company demands a firm with experience building Marriott hotels. This is a transparent excuse to hide the real reason(s) for the SGA dismissal. A quick check of the EOP website shows no Marriott projects. Jeanne Gang, in the same article, said that she would gladly work with Marriott. Given this comparison, how can one choose EOP over Studio Gang? A more likely reason for SGA’s dismissal may be cost. Rumor has it that SGA proposed a fee higher than that suggested by EOP. But surely on this block– of all spaces in Lexington– the higher cost is justified. My own hunch is that the Webb Companies were never comfortable with the inclusive, community-oriented approach that Mayor Gray and SGA brought to this project. The Webbs want total control, which they are far more likely to get with EOP as the sole architect. The danger is that EOP will find it hard to insist on a great design, and will be forced to follow the Webb Companies lead. In doing so, EOP will become the latest victim in the list of well-meaning groups who have aspired to collaborate with the Webb Companies on this project and have gotten steamrolled in the process.

This point brings me to the second reason why the dismissal of SGA moves Lexington backwards. Since I moved to Lexington in 1974, the prevailing philosophy of our city has been to let developers determine our urban design by building pretty much whatever they pleased. In the mayoral election, Jim Gray enunciated a better philosophy, that the city and the developer should work together to arrive at the best possible design for every lot in our precious downtown. This new approach seemed to have worked miraculously well in the CentrePointe case. A community that was previously bitterly divided came together to support a brilliant design concept by SGA, brought in at the suggestion of Mayor Gray. Instead of the divisions of the past, all players—the Mayor, the developer, and the community—were united in support of a great project. As an historian, I valued SGA’s research on Lexington history, and particularly their discussion of the architects who created the buildings on the opposite side of Main Street from the CentrePointe block. The dismissal of SGA moves us back to the old model of the all-powerful developer. The mayor is surely disappointed, if not angry, at the dismissal of the firm he suggested, and may well be disinclined to work further with the Webb Companies. The old divisions over the project may well reappear. In other words, the alliance so inspiringly established earlier this summer is in danger of falling apart.

But how much damage has the Webb Companies done to Mayor Gray’s new model of urban development? My hope is that the exciting, even heady, experience of this summer has bolstered public support for good design, and the power of good design to improve our community. Even if Jeanne Gang is gone from this project for good, Lexington still needs to insist on the positive urban qualities already established for this project: an active streetscape, dynamic public spaces, careful integration of this project with Lexington’s history, and with the rest of downtown, including the area around Rupp. And Mayor Gray needs to continue to insist on a vibrant collaboration between developers and the city, and not permit a return to the bad old ways of developing our city’s downtown.

Ever wondered how you can help make Lexington a better place, while getting some great prizes for yourself?

Well, wonder no more.  The Blue Grass Community Foundation and Smiley Pete Publishing (which produces Business Lexington, Chevy Chaser Magazine and Southsider Magazine) announced yesterday the GoodGivingGuide, a publication, accompanied by a website GoodGivingGuide.net, whose primary goal is to facilitate year-end giving to a cross-section of Lexington based non-profit organizations.

By donating to any of the non-profits listing on the site, you can help not only the cause you support, but also receive a ton of cool prizes.  If you give a total of $50, you get 10 prizes, including a cup of coffee, a game of bowling, a movie ticket, and a cup of tea.  If you give $100, you get all of that, plus a raffle ticket to win a car! And the prizes get even better from there.

But the timing is critical to the non-profits.  The first 3 non-profits to get to 50 donors, get an extra $1000 dollars.  There are additional bonuses for the most number of donors, the most money raised, and the most donors under 35.  Don’t delay — go over there and give right now.

So, go give $25 to a few non-profits today.  Because $25 may not mean a ton to you.  But to these non-profits, it means another year of doing the good work of making Lexington a better place.

It’s no secret that our economy is struggling and Lexington is not immune. As a result, many of our city’s services and departments will see a reduction in funding. One that I am personally concerned about is the Division of Parks and Recreation. Our public parks and trails are a vital part of our community and add immeasurable value to our quality of life, at very little cost to each of us. In May, at the Now What, Lexington unconference, I facilitated a session discussing how citizens can get involved in saving our parks. You can read my previous post regarding this discussion here.

As revenues fall and expenses rise, the Division of Parks & Rec is forced to make some tough decisions in the coming months and needs YOUR voice. Please share what matters most to you – swimming pools, golf courses or summer youth programming?

Click here to complete the survey and help shape the future of our parks system.

Though the summer has been busy, I was happy to be able to attend the recent Itinerant Merchant meeting last Wednesday after missing the last several. As I’m not a member of the Task Force, my role is simply to listen and comment if necessary at the end, but today’s meeting was extremely insightful and one that I think ProgressLex members and Lexingtonians interested in the developing food scene will want to stay abreast on.

Just as a bit of background, we first reported about the Itinerant Merchant Task Force back in May, when we became aware almost by accident that the city was looking at changing the current ordinances in response to the growing enthusiasm nationwide for “Food Trucks” – mobile food vendors that often specialize in fusion or ethnic cuisines at reasonable prices. But as it happens, that was the not the original purpose of the task force; rather, they were formed to address the growing concerns from residents in the 11^th District on a numbers of food vendors in the area, specifically taco trucks, which they thought were diminishing the feel of their neighborhood with additional trash, unsavory smells, and additional and often unsafe pedestrian traffic.

But to give them credit, under Councilwoman Henson’s direction, along with the support of many, the Task Force quickly realized that there was a much larger issue at stake – mainly how can they allow for an easier process to encourage a food truck culture that serves both businesspeople and customers alike that can also be well regulated.

Wednesday’s meeting included some excellent presentations, but by far the most intriguing was that done by Sean Tibbetts of CluckinBurgers, a new food truck to Lexington.

He painstakingly pointed out all the hoops his company had been forced to jump through by both LFUCG regulations as well as the local and state Health Department. Along the way, they continued to get conflicting information from the same agencies, often depending on who answered the phone on each particular day.

He also presented the challenges in finding approved locations to set up and to learn about when all the area events were taking place.

Most impressive was a total list of fees they pay ANNUALLY – totally nearly $3000. For his business, he broke that down further to show that it required him to sell more than 1400 sandwiches JUST TO PAY THE FEES!

While his hopes were obviously that some of the costs might be lowered, it was clear in his conclusion that a streamlined process that encouraged food trucks would be enormously helpful rather than the current system, which not only discourages them, they actually make them downright illegal when parked on anything but private land (and even then its massively cumbersome!). He adamantly believed that the market was willing to support these new businesses, if the city would just “get out of the way.”

At the end of the meeting, Councilwoman Henson asked each Task Force member to go home and consider what changes they might like to see in the regulations. These might concern new definitions for food truck vendors (as opposed to the only 2 options available now as either peddlers or itinerant merchants), suggested processes for helping these businesses get set up, ways to determine where and when they can operate, and ways to ensure they do not cause unnecessary headaches. She then asked that these suggestions be emailed to the Task Force in preparation for the next meeting, to be held on Sept 21^st. They plan to look through them and compile them into a draft of a new ordinance.

So here’s where we need your help.

If you care about this issue at all, we need to hear from you.

If you’re a foodie who just wants better food options for Lexington.

If you think the low start up costs might be just the kind of local jobs we want to stimulate.

If you just want our city to be progressive enough to adapt to this new trend rather than throwing up complicated and discriminatory regulations.

Maybe you just don’t want to sit back and see the typical response of “we’ve never done it that way, so we can’t start now.”

Or maybe it’s all of these reasons or more.

We need you to take a moment to write down your suggestions and visions for Lexington’s Food Trucks. Then email them to me or put them in the comments below and I’ll compile them in time for the next meeting (in just a few weeks, so do it now!).

Let’s let the city know that this is an issue that Lexingtonians care about!

By the way, if you want to read the documents from today’s meeting or see past meeting minutes, you can always check out the link here.

Looking for a way to support your favorite community groups while enjoying a great night out? Look no further… We are so excited to invite you to the Balagula Theatre Company‘s season opener – One Flea Spare at Natasha’s Bistro & Bar.  Balagula continues its tradition of partnering with local non-profits and will donate a portion of their ticket sales to ProgressLex for the production Friday, September 2nd. (curtains: 8p; dinner seating: 6-7p)

Playwright Naomi Wallace is originally from Prospect, Kentucky, but currently resides in England. One Flea Spare’s American premiere was in Louisville at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in 1996. It received the 1997 Obie Award for Best Play, among other accolades, and was incorporated into the permanent repertoire of the French National Theatre (Comedie-Francaise) in 2009 – an honor bestowed upon only one other American playwright in 300 years – Tennessee Williams.

“This production is dedicated to the female playwrights… Ms. Wallace’s success is a great example of the significance and power of women’s voices on stage,” states Natasha Williams, the play’s Director.

Definitions of morality are up for grabs and survival takes many forms in this dark, fiercely intense and humorous play. Set in plague-ravaged 17th century London, the play opens with a wealthy couple preparing to flee the city when a mysterious sailor and a young girl sneak into their boarded-up home. Now quarantined for 28 days, the only thing these strangers fear more than the plague is each other. One Flea Spare deals with the theme of humanity in the face of an equalizing disaster, a theme that echoes modern natural and man-made catastrophic events.

“One Flea Spare is built to provoke, not to distract, and it doesn’t surrender its meanings easily. But the play’s powerful sexual subtext and its beautiful poetic surface reveal an original theatrical imagination,” John Lahr, The New Yorker

For reservations, please call: 859.259.2754
Tickets = $15/students = $10

The popular “Made You Look” storm drain artist, Blake Snyder Eames, will install her public art meter on August 27 at CD Central on South Limestone, as part of the Change for Art project.

“Iʼm thrilled to be a part of this project! While painting the streets of Lexington last summer, I realized how hungry our community is for public art,” says Eames.  “Our supporters said a lot of the same things to0: ‘art is not in my daily life’ or ‘Iʼve never been to a gallery’ … they had no access.”

Change for Art was an inspiration from the Now What, Lexington? unconference, hosted by ProgressLex in 2010, following the Creative Cities Summit. The first meter was designed by Phillip March Jones and installed at what is now the Whitaker Bank Ballpark, home of the Lexington Legends.

Change for Art is a non-profit that pays artists to turn decommissioned parking meters into public art.  The working meters, while not used for parking, function as an ongoing fundraiser to support individual working artists in Lexington, Kentucky.

Organization founder, Robbie Morgan states, “Change For Art brings art to the public in a fun, inclusive way while recycling an everyday product bound for the landfill. The meters make art more accessible to more people and allows the public to make a personal impact by donating spare change to support art in Lexington!”

CD Central owner, Steve Baron, is looking forward to the new installation in front of his business. ” We’re very excited to be able to host a Change for Art meter at CD Central.  As a record store, we’re very much in tune with the idea of promoting artists and culture in our community and with our location on campus, we hope that the Change for Art concept will reach a wide range of people who want to support the arts in an easy and fun way.”

The meter installation begins at noon Saturday, August 27th, and will continue throughout the day.  The public is invited to watch all or any part of the installation process.

Stay tuned for the next Change for Art installations coming next month: one will be hosted by Good Foods Market and Cafe with artist, Lennon Michalski and a second one hosted by Buster’s Billiards and Backroom with artist, Keith Spears.