The Kenton County Planning Commission (KCPC) has updated the county’s award-winning comprehensive plan, Direction 2030: Your Voice. Your Choice. after considerable work by the commission’s staff. State law requires that comprehensive plans be reviewed and updated by local planning commissions every five years. The KCPC adopted Direction 2030 in 2014.

“Direction 2030 was originally designed to take Kenton County’s planning program in a new direction,” said James Fausz, AICP, Long-Range Planning Manager for PDS of Kenton County. PDS provides professional staff for the Kenton County Planning Commission.

“This latest round of updates continues with the plan’s new path. While the plan’s online-only format was a definite paradigm shift, reviewing and amending the plan more frequently than every five years  allows us to be more responsive to our communities’ needs. These recent amendments are a perfect example of this new direction.”

A number of Kenton County’s elected officials approached PDS staff of late, wanting to update their respective future land use maps. These maps provide direction to elected leaders and the planning commission when they’re faced with rezoning requests.

According to Fausz, the new approach of updating the plan when necessary (but no less frequently than every five years) “allowed us to respond to the cities’ needs in a more timely manner, putting them in the best position to be proactive for the future.”

The recent amendments to Direction 2030:

·        updated the Recommended Land Use map for the Cities of Bromley, Edgewood, Elsmere, Erlanger, Fort Mitchell, Independence, Ludlow, and Ryland Heights;

·        updated several elements to insert recommendations and maps from Kenton Connects, the county’s new bicycle/pedestrian plan;  

·        updated the interactive land use map to reflect the state’s more detailed proposed alignment for KY 536 from Staffordsburg Road to KY 177 and remove a proposed arterial connecting KY 16 and KY 177; and,

·        updated and amended the description for Mixed Use; and, updated the Community Service Areas for Cox Road, KY 16, KY 536, and KY 1303.

Direction 2030 may be found online. Questions should be directed to PDS at 859.331.8980.

 

The Kenton County Planning Commission will act next month on a bicycle and pedestrian plan for Kenton County. The year-long effort to craft the plan concluded recently with an open-house forum at Dixie Heights High School. If approved by the Planning Commission, the new plan titled Kenton Connects will be incorporated into Direction 2030, the Kenton County comprehensive plan to guide future mobility decisions across the community.

Kenton Connects replaces the county’s two stand-alone plans. The Kenton County Bicycle Plan was adopted by the Kenton County Planning Commission in June 1999. And, the Kenton County Pedestrian Plan was adopted by the Planning Commission in June 2001.

For more information on Kenton Connects, logon to the plan’s website, email cschneider@pdskc.org, or call him at 859.331.8980.

The Kenton Connects Advisory Committee invites Kenton County residents to a Public Open House on May 16 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. The forum will be held in the Dixie Heights High School cafeteria (3010 Dixie Highway).

Residents may come and go at their leisure.

“Public input and feedback is a critical part of creating successful bicycle and pedestrian policies for our communities,” explained Chris Schneider, AICP, Principal Planner for PDS and project manager for the study. “We’re pleased with the input that led to the draft and hope a large turnout will provide feedback from residents.”

The Kenton Connects study began last summer with the goal of updating the county’s most recent bicycle plan (1999) and pedestrian plan (2001) and encouraging these modes of transportation in Kenton County. The study’s Advisory Committee is comprised of residents, business owners, elected officials, and professionals to provide staff oversight and guidance to the study.

A public survey conducted in October 2017 provided initial direction for the study and the resulting plan was built on that input. The study focuses on bicycle and pedestrian safety, usage, infrastructure, and education. The resulting plan is the months-long efforts by the Advisory Committee and PDS staff.

The Public Open House will give attendees an understanding of the work and research that went into the study and the draft recommendations, and an opportunity to provide feedback.

“We’ve learned a great deal from the community and believe the draft plan presents an accurate vision for bicycle and pedestrian issues,” said Jason Reser, Advisory Committee member. “This Open House is a great opportunity to learn more about the Kenton Connects study and to contribute to making cycling and walking better in Kenton County.”

Committee members will review feedback and begin finalizing the plan following the Open House.

While the plan might be nearing completion, there is still much work to do before the final approval process. Visit www.KentonConnects.org or email Chris Schneider at PDS or call him at 859.331.8980 for more information on ways you can play a role.