A proposed overhaul of Lexington’s zoning ordinances that city planners hope will make it easier to build more types of housing is moving forward.

On Tuesday, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously to move forward with changes to zoning ordinances that include slashing mandatory setbacks in some residential zones, allowing apartments in one business zone and tweaking incentives to allow more affordable housing, among other changes.

It’s the most substantial one-time change to the city’s zoning ordinance since 1983.

The council will likely take a final vote on the changes at its June 27 meeting.

The Urban Growth Management zoning text amendment was first approved by the Urban County Planning Commission in December. The council’s General Government and Planning Committee approved zone text amendment in May. Originally the plan nixed all drive-thrus in the B-1 zone, the city’s dominant neighborhood business zone.

The council committee changed it to allow some drive-thrus on major roadways or collector roads. Collector roads are not neighborhood streets. Examples of collector streets include Mount Tabor Road and Pasadena.

During Tuesday’s work session meeting, Councilwoman Liz Sheehan removed collector streets from the proposal, citing an uptick in pedestrian accidents, including the death of Brent Lyons, 36, of Harrodsburg who was struck on Interstate 75.

Councilman Preston Worley, who proposed the changes to the B-1 zone to allow for drive-thrus on some roads, said allowing drive-thrus only on larger, busier streets was a compromise.

“This is about pedestrian safety,” said Councilwoman Hannah LeGris. Drive-thrus can create collision points between cars and pedestrians, she said.

The council ultimately voted to limit drive-thrus in the B-1 zone to major roadways.

Lexington’s zoning is largely single-family homes

Roughly 42% of all land inside the city’s growth boundary is currently zoned for homes. Yet, due to the rising cost of land, building single-family homes is very expensive, Lexington planners have said.

Moreover, many people are looking to start home ownership by buying duplexes or townhomes rather than homes.

Rents for apartments and homes have also skyrocketed over the past decade in Lexington and most major cities across the country.

Allowing for different types of housing in more areas will help alleviate the housing crunch, Lexington city planners have argued.

One of the proposed changes would allow builders who build affordable or workforce housing—called “missing middle housing” — a density bonus. If those builders can show those units will be affordable, they can go up one zone.

For example, if the zone is an R3 zone, an affordable housing developer would be able to go up to an R4 zone, which allows more units per acre.

Proposed changes to residential zones

Some of the proposed changes to the residential zones include:

• Allowing more types of housing in the R-2 zone, typically referred to as the townhouse zone. It is one of Lexington’s least-used zones.

• Requiring different housing types for the R-4 zone, which is typically large apartment complex. Apartments will still be allowed but for every five units there must be a different type of housing. For example, a development could include both apartments and townhouses or condos.

• Creation of a “corridor node” zone for high-density residential that includes some mixed-use. This would be for developments around the city’s major corridors such as Nicholasville and Harrodsburg roads. Developments like The Hub, a large private student apartment complex on Virginia Avenue and Nicholasville Road, would be the type of development on a corridor node zone.

Proposed changes to business zones

Some of the proposed changes for the business zones include:

• Limiting drive-thrus to major roadways in the B-1 zone.

• Doing away with gas stations in the B-1 zone

• Allowing some multi-family developments, such as apartments, in the B-3 zone, another major business zone. The changes to the B-3 zone will also have distance requirements for gas stations, pawn shops and car lots, and limitations on paved surfaces.