The Kenton County Fiscal Court is holding a public open house on July 22, 2019 to display findings of a research effort for the future of southern Kenton County. If you live, work, play, or learn in southern Kenton County, please plan to attend the meeting anytime between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on July 22, 2019 at Piner Baptist Church (15044 Madison Pike, Morning View, KY 41063).

Over the last several months, the Fiscal Court has been working with Planning and Development Services of Kenton County (PDS) staff to conduct in-depth research for the south Kenton area. The effort has reviewed everything from natural features to the location of infrastructure to gain as clear a picture as possible before moving from research to the planning phase. Now, the county would like to get your input on the research to date and any additional research needs before moving to the next phase of the project.

To best display the research, a public open house will be held to provide participants an opportunity to learn about topics in-depth, ask questions of staff, and provide input for official consideration. As the meeting is an open house, people can come any time that is convenient between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

This meeting is part of an ongoing project seeking to update the Direction 2030 comprehensive plan for all communities in Kenton County. This specific meeting will present research on existing conditions, describe trends that could impact southern Kenton County, and establish a foundation for updating the plan for the unincorporated area in the next phase of the project. The associated research builds upon public involvement efforts that started in 2011, continued via surveys that were distributed to all south Kenton County addresses in 2014 and 2016, and is ongoing in the form of the South Kenton Citizens Group.

Direction 2030: Your Voice, Your Choice is a strong public-engagement process intended to prepare Kenton County for the challenges and possibilities of the future. For more information, visit the project website at www.direction2030.org.

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.