Zoning Ordinance Amendments
My wife and I have lived and farmed at the end of McCowan’s Ferry Road for more than 26 years and in that time our road has gotten excessively built up with houses along its full length. We used to think that we were so far out of town that it would not be a problem where we live, but that has proved not to be the case.
The main culprits in the rampant development in the southern part of Woodford County are the zoning compromises worked out decades ago regarding in-family conveyances and rural residential developments. Those compromises were intended to help preserve the rural/agricultural nature of the area, but they have failed because the rules are being abused for development purposes. If something is not done to fix the zoning ordinances, it will become more and more difficult to continue farming.
Our best bet for fixing the problem is the proposed amendments to the zoning ordinances as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The amendments would not eliminate in-family conveyances or rural residential developments, but they would help slow down residential development by restricting the abuses of the current ordinances.
These amendments have been unanimously approved by the Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Planning Commission, but now need approval by the Woodford County Fiscal Court. These proposed amendments are the best chance for slowing down the rampant development that threatens to totally change the rural nature of the southern part of Woodford County.
This is an issue that affects all Woodford County residents, not only those of us who live and/or farm in the southern part of the county.
I urge people to contact their magistrate and ask them to vote for the proposed changes. You can also come to the Fiscal Court meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 13 to show your support. Also, check the Fiscal Court’s website to see if this issue is going to be debated and voted on in a committee session that is held before the regular Fiscal Court meeting. If so, these meetings are held on the same day as the regular meeting, usually starting at 4 p.m.
John H. Wilhoit
Versailles
South Woodford Farm Land Preservation
You can tell you are in Woodford County by the farm land, open spaces and lack of rural housing sprawl. You can see the difference in neighboring counties. Now South Woodford County is in the crosshairs for further housing development.
The problem was identified two years ago by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Agricultural Advisory Board. Farm land was being cut up into smaller housing lots. So far, no decisive action has been taken to fix this problem.
The Comprehensive Plan, which is supposed to guide the land use wishes of the people into the future, was approved unanimously by the Woodford County Fiscal Court in January 2024. A stated goal in the Comp Plan is to “Encourage future residential growth to be located within the urban service boundary and small communities while discouraging residential subdivision growth that is scattered outside the urban service area.”
Amendments to Articles II and VII in the Woodford County zoning ordinances were forwarded to the Fiscal Court, which will realign them back to the original intent. The Fiscal Court will address this problem at its Jan. 13 meeting.
We have held two well-attended public meeting at the Troy Center at Troy Presbyterian Church to learn about and address the threat of rural housing sprawl. I encourage residents to join us in asking the county judge-executive and Fiscal Court members to vote YES on the proposed Amendments to Articles II & VII.
Jim Mansfield
Versailles