STEPS INVOLVED IN APPEALS TO THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT 1. CONFIRM WITH THE BOA PLANNING STAFF that an appeal is needed, and, if so, the type of appeal(s) that should be filed. The Division of Planning office is located on the 7th floor of the Phoenix Building at 101 E. Vine Street in Lexington; phone #859-258-3160. 2. GET APPLICATION MATERIALS and FILING & FEE SCHEDULES from the Division of Planning. 3. BEGIN COMPLETING YOUR APPLICATION ONLINE: CREATE AN ACCOUNT by signing into the LFUCG’s Online Portal at www.LexingtonKY.gov/plans. This can be done from your home or in the Division of Planning office. A user ID and password will have to be established, which should be recorded for future reference. FILL OUT THE BASIC APPLICATION INFORMATION online completely, as prompted. A number will automatically be assigned to your case (PLN-BOA-16), which should be recorded for future reference so that you can easily locate your application online in the event that you need to complete, amend, or supplement it, or want to monitor its progress prior to the actual Board of Adjustment hearing. Part of the information that must be provided is a detailed description of the project. Please provide as many details as possible, and make sure that the description matches the site plan. For variances, clearly describe the requested adjustment, and state reasons why you feel an adjustment is justified. For conditional uses, operational details such as days and hours of operation, descriptions of anticipated activities, and proposed efforts to minimize impacts to surrounding properties (e.g., landscape buffers) are important to mention. 4. PREPARE A SITE PLAN, using the sample provided by staff as a guide. The intent of the site plan is to provide an illustration of the property and the proposed activity. The name of the applicant must be clearly indicated on the site plan, and that name must match the name provided in the online application as well as the applicant name indicated in the notice letter that is mailed to surrounding property owners. For most appeals, the site plan is one of the most important items to be submitted. It must be prepared accurately, clearly differentiating between existing and proposed structures, and should contain sufficient detail for the staff and others to understand what is being requested. The site plan must be drawn to scale; and for simple projects, a size of 8.5 x 11 or 11 x 17 is preferred. For more complex projects, a larger size is acceptable if needed to show a desired level of detail. 5. ASSSEMBLE A NOTIFICATION PACKAGE, consisting of: a. Notification Area Map, which identifies all properties (by street address) that must be notified by letter of the proposed activity. The staff will prepare the map needed for your application. The required notification areas are all properties within 500’ of the subject property for Conditional Use and Administrative Review applications; and all properties within 200’ of the subject property for Variance applications. If a property proposed for a conditional use or administrative review adjoins any agricultural zone, the next two properties beyond the 500’ line (up to one mile from the subject property) must be included. If a property proposed for a variance adjoins any agricultural zone, the next two properties beyond the 200’ line (up to 2,400’ from the subject property) must be included. b. List of Surrounding Property Owners, showing the names and mailing addresses of all property owners within the required notification area. This list is generated by using the map prepared by staff (described above), obtaining property owner information for all properties within the notification area, and then recording that information on the form provided by staff. The quickest way to obtain property owner information is to access the Property Valuation Administrator’s website at www.fayettepva.com. Alternatively, the information can be obtained by going to the PVA office on the 6th floor of the Phoenix Building, also at 101 East Vine Street in Lexington. Please be aware that the physical address of a property and the owner’s mailing address are often different; in such cases, letters must be sent to the property owner at his/her correct mailing address. c. Notice letter, indicating the name of the applicant, date of the BOA hearing, type of appeal and a brief description of what is being requested. This letter is either prepared by the staff or by the applicant using a standard form provided by the staff. Since this is a letter from local government, it can contain only factual information and no extra language attempting to justify or support an application. d. Stamped and addressed envelopes, one for each property owner identified on the list of surrounding property owners and one for each neighborhood association (Neighborhood Associate envelopes, do not need to be addressed, but must be stamped). A copy of the notice letter and site plan must be placed in each envelope. A return address rubber stamp is available for your use in the Division of Planning Office, if desired. Should you desire to place the return address on the envelopes prior to submitting them to the Division of Planning, the following return address for the Board of Adjustment should be used: LFUCG Board of Adjustment 200 E. Main Street Lexington, KY 40507 Duplicate envelopes are not required for a property owner that owns multiple properties in the notification area and has the same mailing address for each property. The envelopes should be standard business (4.25 x STEPS.boa-Aug2016rev.doc

9.5), no “easy close” type. They should not be sealed, and postage stamps, not a postage meter must be used. Also, envelopes must be stacked in the same order as shown on the list of property owners. Note: Do not copy your site plan and notice letter, or stuff the envelopes, until the staff has confirmed that the site plan and letter are acceptable. 6. OBTAIN THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTAL ITEMS: a. b. c. d.

Copy of the Deed to the property. Letter of Permission from the property owner, if the applicant is not the owner of the property. Ten copies of the site plan. Fee – A nonrefundable application fee, as indicated in the “Filing Fee Schedule,” must be submitted at the time an application is filed. This fee should be in the form of a check or money order made payable to “Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government” or “LFUCG.”

7. COMPLETE THE APPLICATION ONLINE and BRING THE NOTIFICATION PACKAGE AND ALL SUPPLEMENTAL ITEMS TO THE DIVISION OF PLANNING before the filing deadline, preferably a few days early so that any needed corrections can be made. Note: An application will not be considered as officially “filed” unless the online application is completely filled out, the notification package and supplemental items are dropped off, and the fee is paid by no later than 4:00 p.m. on the date of the filing deadline (shown on the filing schedule). THIS HAPPENS AFTER YOU APPLY: *

REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION BY THE DIVISION OF PLANNING takes place over the 1- to 2-week period after the filing deadline. If the staff discovers errors or inconsistent information in your application, you can expect a phone call from a staff member. If the errors are serious or if you fail to provide corrected information in a timely fashion, it could result in postponement of your request by the Board at their scheduled meeting. Remember that the Board only meets once each month.

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SIGN POSTING ON THE SUBJECT PROPERTY BY THE DIVISION OF PLANNING is done at least 14 days prior to the public hearing for all conditional uses. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the sign remains up until the public hearing. If it comes down, please notify the Division of Planning. After the hearing, typically the following Monday, the Division of Planning will retrieve the sign.

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ADVERTISING IN THE LEXINGTON HERALD LEADER is done by the Division of Planning 7-10 days before the Board’s scheduled meeting. After the legal ad is published, only action by the Board can postpone an application.

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STAFF REPORT and AGENDA ARE E-MAILED BY THE DIVISION OF PLANNING one week before the Board’s meeting to the address provided in the application. This will inform you of the final staff review of your Application, including a recommendation, and will identify where your request is listed on the Board’s meeting agenda. If you wish to receive a hard copy version of the staff report via US Mail, please inform Tammye McMullen at (859) 258-3161. Mailed copies can be sent out after the email notice has been completed for all applications on the agenda.

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A PUBLIC HEARING IS HELD BY THE BOARD in the Council Chambers of the Government Center Building at 200 E. Main Street in Lexington. The hearing agenda will generally outline the order in which cases will be heard. However, any cases with a staff recommendation of disapproval, or cases that have objectors present, will typically be shifted to the end of the hearing. If you (or your representative) do not attend the Board of Adjustment meeting, it is likely that consideration of your appeal will be postponed for one month. … If disapproved, the appeal cannot be heard again for one year, unless there are new grounds (such as a change of facts or conditions) that were not considered at the first hearing. Should things change, you can request a new appeal before the one year expiration – known as an “Early Rehearing Request.” If the Board decides to rehear your appeal, you may re-apply before the one year is up and will be placed on the agenda according to the normal filing schedule. … If approved, in most cases a permit will be needed from the Division of Building Inspection after a Zoning Compliance Permit is issued by the Division of Planning before you can initiate your proposed activity.

Applicants should be aware that any party can appeal a Board of Adjustment decision to Circuit Court within 30 days of Board action. __________________________________________________________________________________________ If you need assistance, the following people may be contacted at the Division of Planning by calling (859) 258-3160: Senior Planner: Autumn Midyett Goderwis ([email protected]) or (859) 258-3187 direct phone line Additional Staff Members: Tammye McMullen, Administrative Specialist; Barbara Rackers, Administrative Officer; Jim Marx, Planning Enforcement Manager __________________________________________________________________________________________ Note: In conformance with Article 16 of the Code of Ethics, any employee or officer of the LFUCG must disclose any financial interest, either direct or indirect, in any matter pending before any department of the Government. Therefore, if either the applicant or any property owner is an LFUCG employee/officer, his/her name must be listed on the appropriate line of the application form, under item “A” of the “General Information” section, and his/her status must be indicated (i.e., LFUCG Employee/LFUCG Officer). In addition, he/she must sign the Application on the separate signature line provided in the “Certification” section of the application form. STEPS.boa-Aug2016rev.doc