Also accepts findings of fact from wind energy system public hearing and sends to the fiscal court
The Henderson City-County Planning Commission Tuesday evening recommended approval of zoning regulations regarding tiny homes for areas within the city of Henderson.
The recommendation includes permitting tiny homes in the planned unit development district, manufactured home district and the residential subdivided manufactured home district. The recommendation also includes tiny homes within the residential medium- to high-density district and Audubon residential district with a conditional use permit.
Additionally, the recommendation included language defining a tiny home as a single-family living unit with a size of 120 to 800 square feet, built on a permanent foundation, includes independent living facilities for permanent occupancy and is subject to the same utility and permitting requirements as other single-family dwellings.
Henderson City Attorney Dawn Kelsey told the planning commission Tuesday night that the city’s codes department has been receiving calls from people wanting to build tiny homes. She said one call came from a person at a mobile home park that wants to replace dilapidated trailers with tiny homes.
She didn’t know how many tiny homes can be built in the near future, but she did say that there’s one builder who’s ready.
“We know that there is interest,” she said.
One resident was concerned that the smallest of the tiny homes would be too small for a person to live comfortably.
“My concern is… is that realistic?” Niagara resident Lisa Meyer said about the minimum 120-square-foot size requirement.
Planning Commission Executive Director Brian Bishop said tiny homes would still need to meet requirements of the Kentucky Residential Code.
Additionally, Kelsey said tiny homes can be rented out, planned unit developments could possibly contain numerous tiny homes and tiny homes could go on some of the infill lots that are empty throughout the city.
The recommendation will go to the Henderson City Commission to act upon, most likely at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 14.
Planning commission accepts and forwards findings of fact regarding windmills from September meeting
The planning commission accepted and forwarded the findings of fact from its Sept. 2 meeting, when it recommended to the Henderson County Fiscal Court a two-year moratorium on any permits or applications for wind energy conversion systems.
Now that the findings of fact from Sept. 2’s public hearing and the minutes from that same meeting have been approved, documents detailing those two subjects along with the draft minutes from Tuesday’s meeting will be sent to the fiscal court—probably in one or two days, Bishop said.
That leaves the next step to be the fiscal court’s. That body can approve the recommendation, which would increase the current one-year moratorium proposal it had sent to the planning commission for review. Or, the fiscal court can basically start over, scrapping the planning commission’s recommendation and calling for more public hearings on the moratorium.
Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider said soon after the planning commission’s Sept. 2 meeting that he was ready to move on the item, so most likely, it will be on the agenda for the fiscal court’s Oct. 14 regularly scheduled meeting.
According to the findings of fact, 28 people testified at the Sept. 2 public hearing; two were employees of Cordelio Power, the company taking leases in eastern Henderson County; one was neutral but said that wind energy systems information was readily available and urged a speedy process; and most were strongly against the WECS or urged government officials to proceed cautiously.
Read the Hendersonian’s report about the Sept. 2 meeting here.
Planning commission approves site plan for Clay Street Fence Pros location
The planning commission approved a site plan for a new Fence Pros office on Clay Street.
The plan includes a 4,000 square-foot building that has a 3,000 square-foot lean-to attached to it.
The property fronts Clay Street and sits behind the Ideal Market and New Hope Animal Shelter which is on Atkinson Street.
The building is planned to include 1,600 square feet for office space, 2,400 square feet for shop space and have 18 parking spots, said Jennifer Marks, the planning commission assistant director. Additionally, the building will encompass 2.133 acres of the 11.092 acre lot.
The approval is contingent upon the site’s final plat approval and the acquisition of an encroachment permit from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet which maintains that section of Clay Street.
