Landscaping & Tree Protection Standards

Landscaping & Tree Protection Standards

Imagine Lexington 2045 seeks to fortify Lexington’s resilience against the adverse impacts of climate change. To ensure that we are moving towards a more environmentally sustainable community, the Lexington community must update our outdated regulations regarding landscaping and tree canopy. The purpose of the Zoning Ordinance text amendments (ZOTA) is to reduce the environmental impact of built environments and to incorporate more sustainable practices that will be in alignment with green infrastructure best management practices.

Planning Commission Status: APPROVED (7.25.24)

Council Status: ADOPTED (9.12.24)

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In Summary,

Why is this important?

A foundational goal of this text amendment is to encourage the best use of current natural resources within the Urban Service Area by focusing on the preservation of ecosystems and wildlife habitats, and the mitigation of the urban heat island effect. It also focuses on the resiliency and quality of landscaping in commercial development.

Why change it?

Lexington’s current landscaping and tree regulations were introduced in 1983 in the city’s Zoning Ordinance and have not been significantly updated since that time. The amendment consolidates enforcement and citation regulations (Zoning Ordinance Article 5), updates landscaping regulations (Zoning Ordinance Article 18), and provides clearer and modernized definitions for tree protection standards (Zoning Ordinance Article 26) — all incentivizing green infrastructure best management practices.

The updates proposed through this text amendment address various climate resiliency issues by providing focused yet flexible regulations to minimize the negative environmental impacts of development while also supporting greenspace and urban tree canopy goals consistently across Lexington. This is achieved through revised requirements for new developments to include low impact landscaping and establishing standards to ensure developer-provided spaces are protecting our valuable natural resources, including the preservation and growth of our urban tree canopy.

— Eve Miller, Senior Planner

FAQs

The updated regulations will help Lexington become more ecological-friendly and help preserve, protect, and maintain our urban tree canopy during development.
The Division of Planning met with dozens of stakeholders and community groups to gather input on the regulation changes, including:
• Corridors Commission
• Greenspace Trust
• Lexington Tree Board
• Trees Lexington
• Environmental Commission
• Bluegrass Youth Sustainability Council, Fayette-County Public Schools
• Local Landscape Architects and Engineering Firms
• Builders Industry Association of Central Kentucky
Events:
• Trees Lexington Tree Giveaway
• Reforest the Bluegrass
• Plants and Prints
• Streetfest
• Mayfest
Request us at your next event, by emailing imagine@lexingtonky.gov
The regulations do not affect current residential properties.
The Landscaping and Tree Protection Standards Zoning Text Amendments' projected timeline is currently as follows:
• Ongoing since August 2023 - Conducted Public Outreach and Education
• May 6, 2024 - ZOTA Official Filing
• July 3, 2024 - Planning Commission Zoning Committee Meeting
• July 25, 2024 - Planning Commission Public Hearing
• Summer/Fall 2024 - Urban County Council
You can be present and speak at a future scheduled public hearing, leave a comment on this page that will be shared with the Planning Commission as part of the hearing record, or email imagine@lexingtonky.gov with your feedback.