Kenton County’s 19 zoning ordinances were developed during the early 1980s based on a “model” ordinance crafted by PDS’ predecessor organization. Except for the City of Covington which rewrote its ordinance during the mid-2000s, these ordinances have not been updated in a comprehensive manner since then.

Most of these ordinances continue to regulate with their original administrative policies and protocols. While close to 80 percent of their texts remain nearly identical, individual differences have been pursued by local governments in the form of over 700 text amendments just since 2000. Almost all of these were undertaken on a reactionary basis, addressing new development trends or specific issues that were unique to them.

The Kenton County Planning Commission adopted Direction 2030: Your Voice, Your Choice, the county’s comprehensive plan, in 2014. This was the first wholesale rewriting of the communities’ comprehensive plan since their first was adopted in the early 1970s. The process that led to this new plan included over 100 opportunities for input from the public, staff from the county and cities, elected officials, developers, and other interested parties. Numerous goals, objectives, recommendations, and tasks resulted from that input, voicing the need for updating the various jurisdictions’ zoning ordinances.

PDS embarked on a project in 2016 to accomplish this—to create Zoning for the 21st Century (Z21).

Part 1: The Zoning Code Audit
Part 1 of this 3-part series summarizes PDS’ consultant team’s approach to the zoning audit process and what it looked for when it reviewed Kenton County’s zoning ordinances. This process resulted in detailed recommendations for updating those ordinances. (The full presentation was presented originally to the Z21 Task Force on June 20, 2017.)

Part 2: Analysis and Overall Recommendations
Part 2 of this 3-part series explains the consultant team’s 30,000-foot-view recommendations for Kenton County’s zoning ordinances. These recommendations were based on the team’s analysis as described in Part 1. (The full presentation was presented originally to the Z21 Task Force on September 20, 2017.)

Part 3: Detailed Recommendations
Part 3 of this 3-part series describes the consultant team’s detailed recommendations for Kenton County’s zoning ordinances. These recommendations build on the 30,000-foot-view recommendations discussed in Part 2. (The full presentation was presented originally to the Z21 Task Force on January 17, 2018.)

Kenton County Fiscal Court voted unanimously this month to adopt text amendments to the Rural Commercial (RC) zoning district in the county’s zoning ordinance. The changes, which were crafted by a group of rural county residents, address one of the goals in Direction 2030: Your Voice. Your Choice., the countywide comprehensive plan. 

Fiscal court’s action marks the culmination of almost two years of work by the South Kenton County Citizens’ Group to review, analyze, and recommend changes to the Rural Commercial Zone. Goal #5 of the comprehensive plan’s Rural Subarea states, “Rural commercial and industrial development policies need to be tailored to align with the recommended land use map and community preservation, scale, and values.”

As crafted and enacted, these text amendments align the rural commercial regulations to preserve rural character and ensure that any new development reflects the desired scale, character, and form in the community.

“We studied other rural areas to see what communities are doing to preserve rural character,” explained Kathleen Donohoue, chair of the South Kenton Citizens’ Group’s zoning committee. One of the key text changes is a cap on the square footage for retailers serving rural residents. Those include convenience stores, bakeries, and restaurants. Larger buildings are permitted for businesses that support farming operations such as farm equipment stores, feed and seed stores, and lumber yards.

“Our goal is to make the rural commercial areas conducive to small, independent businesses. The rural community is a place for them to thrive without the pressures and competition of larger retailers,” said Donohoue.   

PDS staff and Kenton County Commissioner Beth Sewell assisted the committee in drafting the changes.

“It’s not every day you see a community group stepping up to propose changes to their community’s zoning ordinance,” said Emi Randall, AICP, RLS, Director of Planning & Zoning. “This group took an active role in making changes necessary to fulfill the vision for the community included in Direction 2030. I applaud them for the hard work and dedication it took to get this done.”

Former PDS Principal Planner Edward Dietrich, AICP, and Chris Schneider, AICP, Principal Planner, supported the group by providing research on rural zoning trends, drafting proposed text, and attending monthly meetings of the zoning committee.

Commissioner Sewell provided input and facilitated necessary discussions with other Fiscal Court members. The project is a great example of community members, PDS planners, and Fiscal Court members working together to implement an important element of Direction 2030, according to Sewell.

As enacted, the Rural Commercial (RC) text amendment will impact several small commercial nodes in southern Kenton County. They are located primarily at roadway intersections in Nicholson, Piner, Kenton, Visalia and White’s Tower. Three additional rural commercial zones are located along Dixie Highway near the intersections of York, Green, and Bracht-Piner Roads.

For questions regarding these changes, email Emi Randall or Chris Schneider, or call them at 859.331.8980.

 

The Elsmere City Council voted unanimously during its March 14, 2017, meeting to become the 14th jurisdiction represented by the Kenton County Joint Code Enforcement Board, a local area alliance staffed by PDS’ One Stop Shop program.

Other members of the joint board are Kenton County, Crescent Springs, Crestview Hills, Edgewood, Fort Wright, Independence, Kenton Vale, Lakeside Park, Ludlow, Park Hills, Ryland Heights, Taylor Mill, and Villa Hills.

Elsmere City Administrator Matt Dowling stated, “Code enforcement continues to be a growing issue in most communities; Elsmere is no different. Cities struggle with serving citations legally and providing an appeal process that will hold up if the case ends up in court. By entering the Joint Code Enforcement Board, Elsmere will benefit by getting these concerns filled.”

“If a property owner appeals his case we know the Joint Code Enforcement Board members will be trained and have legal representation present during all meetings to provide them with legal advice every month. Another benefit is our city staff will no longer have to administer the city’s Code Enforcement Board, allowing the staff to work on other job duties,” said Dowling.

The board, comprised of an appointed representative from each jurisdiction, provides an objective forum to hear appeals from property owners, order timely remediation or abatement of issues, or if necessary impose civil fines for continued, unabated violations of ordinances.

The Joint Code Enforcement Board meets on the second Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of the PDS Building in Fort Mitchell.

Elsmere City Council and PDS entered into an expanded level of services agreement effective July 5th that delegates all the city’s building codes administration responsibilities to PDS. Until recently, PDS pursued only non-residential building codes work.

“When our long-time building inspector retired, it made sense to move our building permitting and inspections to PDS,” Mayor Marty Lenhof said.  “I know that PDS will continue to provide great service in the manner that Elsmere residents expect.”

 “We’re pleased to be able to provide more services to the city,” said Dennis Gordon, FAICP, executive director. “We’ve built a good relationship with Elsmere residents. This expansion of services will help us strengthen it.”

As it is with other One Stop Shop program communities, filing code enforcement complaints, seeking information about building or electric inspections, and searching for a property’s zoning classification is one phone call away. PDS can be reached at 859.331.8980 between 8 and 5 Monday through Friday. Considerable information in this regard is also available on the PDS website and the One Stop Shop website.

“The One Stop Shop program has helped a number of cities increase service levels for their citizens and reduce costs since 2005. We’re looking forward to providing more of those benefits to Elsmere and its citizens,” concluded Gordon.