About Us - News - Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission

Ludlow joins One Stop Shop program

Posted on April 27, 2012

Ludlow City Council and the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission entered into an agreement effective March 15th that puts NKAPC in charge of the city’s building, electric, property maintenance, and zoning codes administration. Ludlow is the 14th Northern Kentucky jurisdiction to enter into NKAPC’s One Stop Shop program.

The program also provides staff support for Ludlow’s board of adjustment and code enforcement board. The program is built on NKAPC’s “critical mass” of professionals, providing economies of scale that are impossible for local jurisdictions to match and levels of service the local jurisdictions can’t afford.

“We’re pleased to welcome Ludlow to this program,” said Dennis Gordon, NKAPC’s executive director. “Mayor Wynn and City Administrator Brian Richmond have given us marching orders regarding the city’s priorities; we understand code enforcement is Job 1.”

Filing code enforcement complaints, seeking information about building or electric inspections, and searching for a property’s zoning classification is now one phone call away. NKAPC can be reached at 331-8980 between 8 and 5 Monday through Friday. Considerable information in this regard is also available at www.nkapc.org.

“The One Stop Shop program has helped a number of cities to increase service levels for their citizens and to reduce costs. We’re looking forward to providing those benefits to Ludlow and its citizens,” concluded Gordon.

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NKAPC provides data inventory to City of Elsmere

Posted on April 27, 2012

NKAPC is nearing the end of a three-month project to inventory Elsmere’s signs, sidewalks, and streetlight assets. The sign inventory alone will assist the city in preparing for an upcoming Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) mandate.

This federal mandate requires all municipalities to have an asset management system in place by 2012, which will track the retro reflectivity of their regulatory and warning signs. The first step in that process is to conduct an inventory to determine exactly what signs a city has, and precisely where they are located.

As part of this initial inventory, NKAPC is collecting condition data for each sign as well as whether the sign has reflective qualities at all. This will save the city time when they begin the second phase which requires retro reflectivity to be measured. “Elsmere won’t need to measure the reflectivity of the signs we have identified as being in poor condition or never being reflective to begin with,” said Scott Hiles, NKAPC’s deputy director for infrastructure engineering. “They can just slate them for replacement.”

In addition to signs, NKAPC inventoried all streetlight locations and all locations of sidewalks containing damage. The sidewalk inventory included an assessment of the repair area to determine the type and severity of each failure.

NKAPC used GPS technology to collect locations of these assets by walking 55 miles of city streets and to provide Elsmere all the information in a digital GIS map format.

“The end result of this effort will allow Elsmere to pull up a digital interactive map and see exactly where and what signs, sidewalk damage, and street lights are located within the city. They can then click on the digital asset to identify background information we collected about the asset while on-site” said Hiles.

Having that detailed information will allow Elsmere to determine budgetary needs and options available to them immediately and in the years to come.

NKAPC began this project in December 2011 and will finish later this month. “We’re on target to collect over 2,600 inventory points in total,” Hiles said. “We have the equipment and experience now that we’ve completed projects for Kenton County, the City of Covington, and the City of Elsmere” Hiles said. “We’re open to other projects that any other cities might want us to complete for them.”

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Comprehensive plan effort moves forward

Posted on April 27, 2012

The second round of public meetings for Direction 2030: Your Voice, Your Choice, the new comprehensive plan for Kenton County, has been scheduled. Mark your calendars for June 14 from 6-8PM at Ludlow High School.

The first meeting will provide attendees with an overview of market forces. Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Amanda Van Benschoten will moderate a panel discussion, and the program will conclude with a work session where the public can discuss issues in greater detail. The second meeting will center on policy level issues that will be used to prepare countywide goals and objectives.

“Over 200 citizens attended and participated in the first round of meetings held between last October and December. They provided their thoughts on Kenton County today and what they would like to see in the future,” said Sharmili Reddy, AICP, senior planner for long-range planning.

Employment was an area of interest to a majority of the respondents that attended the meeting. Concerns regarding good jobs for youth were expressed. The desire for a more comprehensive transit system and alternate modes of transportation were also discussed. The topic of accessibility was brought up in multiple meetings as it relates to the aging population in Kenton County and the need for this demographic to be close to amenities.

In two of the four meetings attendees thought the urban core needs to be strong in order to attract the younger generation. Several comments were made about the lack of amenities (night life, mass transit, and housing choices) to retain younger residents within the area.

“A big focus of Direction 2030 is to align policy with market reality. We have to be evermore mindful of the market during these tough economic times, especially when providing policy guidance for the future. We are excited about the information we received from the public and now we need to focus on how we can make that happen by having a good understanding of the market forces,” said Reddy.

To assist with providing that marketing expertise, the services of Michael Dinn with Dinn Focused Marketing have been sought. He and other local experts will provide their perspectives to the issues during the meeting on June 14.

A third round of meetings will focus on acquiring more input from the public on the plan’s goals and objectives. The feedback will be reviewed by all Kenton County legislative bodies and NKAPC, and their recommendations will be considered for adoption by the Kenton County Planning Commission.

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Citizen groups report progress to Kenton County Mayors’ Group

Posted on April 27, 2012

On February 18 representatives from three citizen groups—Independence Strategic Action Committee (ISAC), Linden Gateway Oversight Committee, and the Latonia Strategic Action Committee—presented progress reports to the Kenton County Mayors’ Group.

These citizen groups were formed after the completion of small area studies in an effort to demonstrate that the implementation of these studies does not have to fall back on cities. Actively engaging citizens during the preparation of the study can enable the community to take ownership of the study and move it forward.

The NKAPC’s extensive public engagement efforts drew a large number of people to the focused nature of the studies. “Given the level of public interest in these studies it was important for us to leave these communities with a strong but easy strategy for implementation. This led to the recommendation of forming citizen groups to focus on implementation,” said Sharmili Reddy, AICP, senior planner in the long range planning department.

Butch Callery, former mayor of the City of Covington and chair of the Latonia Strategic Action Committee reported that the committee is currently focused on resolving traffic issues around Church Street in collaboration with Holy Cross High School. They are doing this by applying for two place matters neighborhood mini-grants and conducting a survey to obtain more detailed input from residents.

Rodney Crice spoke on behalf of the ISAC and noted that the committee is working on zoning updates recommended by the small area studies’ preservation efforts around the historic downtown and farmers’ market initiatives.

Pete Nerone, representing the Linden Gateway Oversight Committee, talked about the completion of zoning code updates along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the implementation of traffic recommendations from the study. He also noted other ongoing efforts such as completing the survey for a National Register District nomination, planning improvements to Linden Grove Cemetery which serves as prime green space for the neighborhood, and landscaping the median along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Rachel Hastings, Director of Neighborhood and Housing Initiatives at the Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington, outlined their efforts as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program that rehabs abandoned and foreclosed homes. "The attention that the small area studies brought to the housing issues in the Linden Gateway neighborhood was a key factor in enabling us to focus rehabilitation grants in this area."

“It was very encouraging to hear that our citizens are so actively involved in the implementation of these small area studies. It just goes to show that if public engagement is done right, our community will step up to make sure these studies are not forgotten. Having citizens take on implementation is a huge help for cities since resources are limited,” said Paul Meier, chair of the Kenton County Mayors’ Group.

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NKAPC offers assistance to tornado victims and emergency crews

Posted on April 27, 2012

As storm sirens blared Friday, March 2, Kenton County families lost their homes, barns, livestock and loved ones. A devastating F4 tornado hit Piner and leveled everything in its path. Within an hour of the storm, Jeff Bechtold, a senior building official at NKAPC arrived at Kenton County Emergency Management’s headquarters to offer assistance.

By 5:30AM the next morning, NKAPC had seven inspectors on the ground doing preliminary inspections on the storm-ravaged dwellings. “It was clear from the start that we were going to need assistance from our GIS department with maps containing the building layers so we could see where each building was located and which ones were in the storm’s path,” stated Brian Sims, Deputy Director for Building Code Administration.

Trisha Brush, Deputy Director for GIS Administration and her team created maps of the affected area with parcel lines, addresses, and building footprints. They worked all day Saturday to assemble seven sets of 54 maps for each inspection team, and deliver them to out-of-town EMS support teams in Piner.

Fire Chief Jason Schleue with Piner-Fiskburg Fire District stated, “The NKAPC was a great asset during this event. Due to the already-provided and on-hand maps that we had here at the firehouse we were able to start operations. Then when more maps were needed, NKAPC staff were here immediately to see what we needed and made sure we got it right away. The Piner-Fiskburg Fire District and community appreciate all the help from NKAPC.”

NKAPC’s building department had four inspectors and commandeered two inspectors from Boone County and one from Independence to conduct preliminary inspections on March 3. They assessed a few hundred structures in the area and classified 88 as uninhabitable with an additional 279 as being affected. Steve Hensley, Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in Kenton County stated, “The knowledge and expertise of these individuals was very valuable, as we conducted structural inspections and damage assessments”.

Inspectors returned to Piner later that week and tagged each structure according to one of three categories: habitable, limited entry, or uninhabitable. During immediate post-recovery efforts, NKAPC also assigned one of its administrative assistants to address questions from storm victims. The building department is now pursuing more in-depth inspections on an as-needed basis.

“Again I want to commend the NKAPC for the assistance they have and continue to provide to the residents of Kenton County. In my eyes, this agency and its staff members have performed over and beyond the call of duty throughout this event,” Hensley stated.

NKAPC waived all building and HVAC permit and inspection fees, as well as all electrical permits until June 4, 2012. Electrical inspections will still need to be paid to IBI.

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Code Enforcement Boards training session is an informative success

Posted on April 27, 2012

NKAPC, the City of Covington, and the Kenton County Joint Code Enforcement Board all contributed to a joint effort recently to provide an important educational opportunity to local code enforcement board officials.

On March 24 continuing education geared towards new and long-term code enforcement board members was held at the NKAPC office. Twenty-four people from ten jurisdictions attended the training. Presenters included; Stacy Tapke, Edmondson Law; Alex Mattingly, City of Covington; and Martin Scribner, AICP, NKAPC deputy director for current planning.

Since enabling legislation was passed in 1996, most municipalities in Kenton County have formed code enforcement boards to help strengthen their city codes and keep zoning enforcement issues out of the courts. Unlike their counterparts on other planning-related boards, members of code enforcement boards are not required by Kentucky Revised Statutes to get a prescribed amount of continuing education, sometimes making it difficult to offer any training at all. This leaves them at a definite legal disadvantage, and could also cause procedural issues. The training was designed to address both of these issues and make sure members know what they can and cannot do as board members.

Topics covered the history and purpose of code enforcement, the creation and organization of code enforcement boards, due process and hearing procedures, and how citations are issued. Legal issues, such as burden of proof, taking evidence, deliberation, decisions of the board and findings of fact, were also discussed.

A mock hearing was held using training attendees as board members and NKAPC staff as property owners and evidence presenters. This exercise demonstrated how an actual hearing should be run and gave a feel for how other boards conduct their hearings. Staff and presenters provided feedback to let the board members know what they were doing correctly and what might be done differently.

A video recording of this training is available to Kenton County and Cold Spring board of adjustment jurisdictions. New board members or members who were unable to attend the training are invited to check out a copy from the NKAPC office.

Feedback from attendees was positive and staff already has several requests to borrow the video or to provide another training opportunity in the near future. Attendee Frank Henn said, “It was interesting to see how other cities structure their hearings, and that the end result appears to be the same. I learned some things I didn’t know and overall found the class helpful and interesting. Job well done.”

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NKAPC and Scott High School: Partners in Planning

Posted on April 27, 2012

NKAPC is involving area high school students in the development of Direction 2030: Your Voice. Your Choice. This is an innovative, forward-looking approach in the field of area planning, and NKAPC believes it is critical to the success of the plan. Dr. Brennan Sapp, Principal of Scott High School agrees. “These students will soon be fully functioning members of our community. They are going to be our leaders of tomorrow, so why not involve them now?”

As an important group of stakeholders in the community, the students participating in this project are creatively contributing to the development of the plan, partaking in interviews, group forums and collaborative learning in the classroom with their teachers and planning professionals. The aim of the forum is to find out more about how the students are living their lives today, learn more about their plans for the near future, and to be sure their input is included in the plan.

The program started last month with students from Scott High School. Their teacher, Jeff Jackson, is the faculty leader for Hanner’s Heroes, a student leadership and community engagement group for those students who want to make a difference in their community.

“This experience allows our students to interact as adults while still receiving high quality guidance from a master teacher like Mr. Jackson,” Sapp explained. “They will be much more knowledgeable and confident in similar situations in the future because of this program.”

During the first meeting at the high school, planning officials gave an educational program on planning and zoning issues, how the plan works in the real world, transportation logistics and a review of changes in our community from 1989 through today. Students were then asked to give their feedback using a web-based real-time polling tool.

James Fausz, AICP, and Ed Dietrich, AICP, planning professionals with NKAPC, facilitated the session and worked with students. “It was a great meeting,” explained Fausz. “The students are very open. They told us they want more intimate, walkable communities to live in that have a more fast-paced urban style of living. They really want to see smaller, locally-owned retail stores to shop at, unique, attractive architecture, convenient public transportation, and lots of things to do nearby.” When asked about the things they don’t like about their present-day community structure, they mostly agreed on one thing: there is nothing to do but live there. If someone wants to go out to eat, go to a park, or join friends for a cup of coffee, they have to get in their car and drive miles to do it.

The students learned a lot during the 90-minute sessions. “No one in the room knew what planning was when we first got started,” commented Dietrich. “But by the end of the session we were having a very engaging conversation about urban sprawl, quality of life, community engagement, and the things that need to be done to attract and keep young people here in our community.”

Sapp is very enthusiastic about these kinds of opportunities for his students. “This experience is an actual real-life experience that is not hypothetical or artificial. Students respond differently to real situations. They take things more seriously as they function as young adults, not as students.”

Jackson said, “Once the students realized that their thoughts and ideas were being taken serious, they began to flourish in this experience. Students are hardly ever given an opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns in a venue that has an avenue for their thoughts and concerns to make an impact on future decisions made by lawmakers, that is why this opportunity is so special.”

Dennis Gordon, FAICP, NKAPC’s executive director, says public forums are critical because they provide great opportunities for citizens to give their input to the plan. “Kenton County is going to change over the next 20 years; it’s one of those few guarantees of life,” he said. “What we as citizens need to do is help shape the change so it benefits the community’s overall quality of life. That’s what Direction 2030 is all about… reaching out and engaging citizens on how to shape the inevitable change that’s coming.”

Sapp said, “It takes many different groups working together to make good decisions for the future of our area. NKAPC is an essential member of Northern Kentucky. We need more experiences like the one they have provided for our students and our citizens. For too long, education has not been about real life. Direction 2030 is about real life.”

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Final version of county subdivision regulations is near completion

Posted on April 27, 2012

The Kenton County Planning Commission is entering the home stretch as its members begin deliberation on draft subdivision regulations. This marks the near culmination of a several-year effort led by the NKAPC staff to create an updated set of regulations that are more efficient, provide more options for creative design, and strengthen standards to protect the taxpayer from unnecessary expenses.

Since the draft was published for public review in the fall of 2010, planning commission members have been busy on several fronts. Their first effort was to establish a committee and begin a series of informational meetings with staff to learn about the differences between the existing and proposed regulations. “Staff handles most of the administration of the existing regulations,” said Scott Hiles, Deputy Director for Infrastructure Engineering. “It was important to educate the committee on the reason we have subdivision regulations and what they were required by law to contain.” The committee met throughout the early spring and summer to accomplish this goal.

The committee then decided to invite all of the major stakeholders in the community that would be affected by the proposed regulations to address them during face-to-face meetings. “It was very important to me to see that everyone that would be affected by the regulations would be heard by this committee,” said Paul Darpel, Chairman of the Kenton County Planning Commission. “We may not always agree to include all the ideas that we hear, but I wanted these groups to know that they were heard, their ideas were carefully considered and based on their input we were able to make an informed decision.”

Several groups have taken advantage of this opportunity. Because of their shared interest in storm water runoff and water quality issues, the Kenton County Conservation District teamed up with the Banklick Watershed Council and the Sanitation District to present their ideas to the committee in January. They were followed by the Home Builders Association in early February and the Kenton County Mayors’ Group later that same month. One group remains to meet with the committee, the Northern Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers which is scheduled to present to the committee on April 24.

In the interim, the committee has instructed staff to begin the process of revising the document to include those issues where consensus has been reached between all groups. In May, the committee will begin the final deliberation to decide what changes need to be made to the draft.

The one issue that has received the most debate thus far is whether or not the new standards for subdivision streets should be strengthened, and if so, to what degree. “It seems most everyone agrees that streets are failing before their expected design life,” said Hiles. “But little consensus between the groups has been reached as to the cause of this premature failure, or what should be done about it.”

That will ultimately be a decision the planning commission must make. After staff revises the draft for the final time it will be published again for public review. KCPC members will then take action on the issue at a public hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

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Independence Steering Committee continues presentations to council

Posted on April 27, 2012

In January 2012 the Independence Zoning Update Steering Committee began a series of presentations to the Independence City Council with the purpose of introducing recommended updates to the city’s zoning code based on the Independence Community Small Area Study.

So far, the first three components of the steering committee’s recommendations have been presented: the Downtown Independence Zone, the Conservation Development – Single-Family Zone, and Design Review Board Regulations. Still to be presented is the Gateway Mixed Use Zone.

This process has prompted some hurdles. Thus far, the main concerns have been about individual property rights and opposition from neighbors to the proposed optional Conservation Development Single-Family Overlay Zone.

While the steering committee has been taking the initiative to present its recommendations to the city council, NKAPC staff has been assisting by presenting the more technical aspects of each zone, and helping city council members gain a better understanding of each proposed zone.

After the presentations, city council will have the opportunity to send each zone to the Kenton County Planning Commission for a public hearing on the issue, which it will then offer recommendations back to the city council.

The Independence City Council will make the final decisions on the applications based on all of the planning commission’s recommendations.

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Tornado Damage Assistance

Posted on March 07, 2012

The storms communities experienced on March 2nd left behind a great deal of destruction and tragedy. NKAPC offers services and assistance to Kenton County residents to help repair and rebuild damaged homes.
Details regarding waived fees and permit applications can be found here.

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Kenton Co mayors take unanimous stand for subdivision regulations, with changes

Posted on January 25, 2012

The Kenton County Mayors’ Group recently endorsed the new, draft Kenton County Subdivision Regulations crafted by NKAPC staff. The group’s unanimous endorsement includes 13 modifications that its members want to see adopted by the Kenton County Planning Commission. Among them are tougher street standards that provide underdrains beneath all curbs and a full drainage mat beneath the street pavement.

Underdrain systems and drainage mats have been used in other jurisdictions for years to relieve subsurface water problems. Kenton County’s mayors believe that subsurface water is a major cause of streets that fail long before their expected design life.

“Most lots that are created today are graded to drain toward the street,” said Scott Hiles, NKAPC’s deputy director for infrastructure engineering. “Over-watering lawns, discharging sump pumps, and rainfall drain to the street and destroy the integrity of the street’s foundation. Underdrain systems can relieve this problem by giving the water a way to drain into a storm sewer and away from the street.”

New subdivision streets are designed and built with the expectation that they will last at least 20 years before needing major repairs. Many cities in Kenton County have reported that a significant number of new streets aren’t lasting half that time before requiring thousands of dollars of repairs. Because cities own these failing streets, repairs must be funded with tax dollars.

Kenton County’s Mayors’ Group believes that developers should pay to construct these streets to a higher standard in the first place rather than the entire community paying to rebuild them later with limited tax dollars. The group says that constructing to a higher standard will produce streets that last which will ultimately save taxpayer dollars for more critical needs.

The November 19th vote by the Mayors’ Group represented a culmination of work that began late last winter. Since July, a committee of Mayors’ Group representatives worked with representatives of the Home Builders Association to reach consensus on the 13 recommended additions to the draft document. Other recommended modifications included increasing flexibility with respect to curbs and multi-use paths and eliminating old design practices that have proved problematic for street maintenance and snow removal. With the exception of the street underdrain issue, the Mayors’ Group reached consensus with local builders on all of the other recommended modifications.

The Mayors’ Group recommendation is now in the hands of the Kenton County Planning Commission, the group that is ultimately responsible for adopting the new regulations. The Planning Commission is well into a several-month process of its own to review the staff’s document and recommendations from a number of groups including homebuilders and mayors.

A public hearing and final action on the draft document is slated for the spring of 2012. Copies of staff’s draft regulations are available on nkapc.org.

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Archived aerial photos being put online to facilitate greater analysis of growth

Posted on January 25, 2012

Ever wonder what your property looked like before it was developed? Ever need an historical aerial photo but weren’t sure where to find it? LINK-GIS is now your online go-to place for help.

NKAPC staff added a tool recently to the LINK-GIS website mapping service. The site’s GIS Viewer now includes a tool to view historical aerials from 1999, 2004, and 2007 in addition to those from 2010. Aerials from 1962, 1973, and 1989 will be uploaded and available soon.

Historical aerials provide windows into the past. Clues on how land was managed and how growth occurred in a community are often used by planners to predict how future land use should take form. Having a glimpse of the past helps unlock evidence to understand cultures and landscape challenges that have prompted changes in neighborhoods.

“Our goal is to serve up as many resources—both historical and current—on our website as possible,” said Trisha Brush, GISP, NKAPC’s deputy director for GIS administration. “Helping the public to understand the past through historical aerials and maps can empower decision makers and community leaders of the future. It’s important to know where we came from in order to know where we’re growing.”

The historical aerials may be accessed by visiting linkgis.org. To access the tutorial and video on how to use the historic image slider, click the ‘How to Find’ tab and choose LINK-GIS Map Viewer. An additional menu will appear to the side with more options; choose ‘Historic Image Slider.’ This will lead to step-by-step instructions on how to access and use the new Historic Image Slider.

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Increased number of permits available on walk in/take the permit with you basis

Posted on January 25, 2012

Staff in NKAPC’s current planning and building codes departments have increased substantially the number of zoning and building permits available on a walk in/walk out basis. This achieves a long-held goal of the organization’s annual work program.

“What this means is that a permit that used to take a couple days to process, can be completed now while you wait… if there are no extenuating circumstances,” said Martin Scribner, AICP, NKAPC’s deputy director for current planning. His team manages zoning permits.

Brian Sims, CBO, NKAPC’s deputy director for building codes administration, says, “If a licensed contractor comes in for an HVAC replacement or new installation permit, we review the application for minimum code requirements and issue the permit if everything meets code.”

Sims says electrical permits are also available on a walk-in/walk-out basis as long as all necessary information is submitted at the time of application. This includes workers compensation and occupational license information.

The primary catalyst for this increased efficiency is greater staff coordination and a staffing change that moved Mike Carpenter from the building codes department to current planning. Carpenter is both a certified zoning and building inspector, which means he can review a variety of applications.

“Now, if you’re building something that doesn’t require a building permit—like building a fence under six feet, or making some electrical upgrades, or putting in an above-ground pool or patio, or making a change of use (ownership)—we can process that on a walk-in, walk-out basis,” said Scribner. “Mike’s two hats and our greater coordination between departments have really helped us speed up the process.”

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Independence citizen taskforce sends update to council

Posted on January 25, 2012

A steering committee of citizens appointed in late 2009 by Independence City Council has completed its work and sent its findings and recommendations back to council for consideration and action. The results from that review by the city’s elected officials will be sent to the Kenton County Planning Commission for consideration before being amended into the city’s zoning ordinance.

The catalyst for this citizen effort was the 2007 adoption of the Independence Community Small Area Study by City Council and the Kenton County Planning Commission. The planning commission’s action incorporated the study’s contents into the Kenton County comprehensive plan.

“The Independence Community Small Area Study included land use recommendations that did not conform to our existing zoning code,” said Rodney Crice, citizen member of the steering committee. “Those who were charged with implementing the study recommended that city council conduct a zoning update process to create zoning more compatible with the recommendations of the study.”

The appointed steering committee met almost monthly for a year and a half to review current zoning requirements, small area study recommendations, and zoning alternatives. The members’ geographic focus was for areas around downtown Independence, McCullum Pike, and the intersection of McCullum Pike with new KY 17.

The steering committee wrapped up its work last month and is now in the process of presenting its recommendations to the Independence City Council. Those recommendations include the following three new zoning districts and the formation of a design review board.

* DI/Downtown Independence zone
* CD-SF/Conservation Development Single-Family overlay zone
* GMU/Gateway Mixed Use zone

Crice states, “Our committee worked diligently to reach consensus on these recommendations. Our process was open and included two public forum opportunities for community input. The public input definitely influenced our final recommendations and I think helped create a better end product.”

Crice concludes that he is pleased with the final recommendations. “If council approves the new zoning codes, we will have achieved a primary goal for implementing and realizing the small area study recommendations.”

More information on this project including the draft regulations, additional information, and public comments are available on nkapc.org.

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Market place analyst to assist with comprehensive plan

Posted on January 25, 2012

Direction 2030: Your Voice, Your Choice, the Kenton County Planning Commission’s effort to create a new countywide comprehensive plan is gaining momentum following completion of four first-round public meetings. Analysis of the public input and comparisons with national trends are now underway by staff with the assistance of a market place analyst.

“We’re committed to recommending policy in this plan that’s rooted in market reality,” said Keith Logsdon, AICP, NKAPC’s deputy director for long-range planning. “In order to do that and take the public’s desires into consideration, we’ve contracted with Michael Dinn, CRE, of Dinn Focused Marketing Inc. in Wilder.”

Dinn has over two decades of experience in residential and community development and has worked extensively with developers in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. He has also been a part of development projects all over the country, according to Logsdon.

Dinn has established himself as an expert in housing and community development with an emphasis on market performance, product positioning, and alignment. He was recognized in 2003 with an invitation and certification into the prestigious Counselors of Real Estate®. CRE is the widely-recognized organization of the finest real property advisors with only 1,100 members worldwide.

According to NKAPC’s executive director Dennis Gordon, FAICP, the Great Recession has made it more important than ever to analyze market conditions while crafting long-range comprehensive plans. Housing statistics such as foreclosures and vacancies, data on commercial real estate, and generational preferences are key factors in attracting growth and development. Gordon says that Dinn will assist in evaluating and understanding the dynamics of the local market and ensuring that the new comprehensive plan makes Kenton County economically competitive, affordable, and attractive.

National trends on generational preferences indicate that different generations desire different job types and housing. Those trends show that baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964), for example, are trending toward smaller lots, smaller homes, and less maintenance. This generation represents approximately 25 percent of Kenton County’s current population. This begs the obvious question of whether Kenton County’s housing market can provide the product that this generation desires.

Dinn’s market place assessment will provide planners an opportunity to understand the current housing market—including the products available—and to include in the comprehensive plan an indication of what products and amenities may be needed to retain and attract different generations to Kenton County.

“The last full housing cycle took 20 years, with the last ten seeing a wave of housing change, said Dinn. “The next 20 years will see a different, shifting marketplace. It’s critical now to measure our local market depth and chart its changing direction.”

“We’ll employ the best local datasets and collaborative professionals to trend our marketplace, striving to face forward and bring genuine forecasting to the Direction 2030 plan,” he said. “We believe our changing marketplace will demand a greater choice in neighborhoods and a better connection to their lifestyle and experiences. Without choice, many motivated householders will choose with their feet by relocating out of Northern Kentucky.”

Second-round public meetings for Direction 2030 will begin in March. Stay up to date on the progress of the comprehensive planning effort on NKAPC’s website, the Direction 2030 website, or Facebook.

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New GIS tool provides status of snowy roads

Posted on January 25, 2012

Though the weather outside is frightful, LINK-GIS users in Kenton County will soon have a tool that is so delightful! With the click of the mouse, they will be able to find the work status of snow and ice removal crews for roads they travel during a snow event.

Chris Warneford, Kenton County’s public works director, approached NKAPC staff last year about developing a website that would provide near-real-time status of snow crews on county-maintained roads. Warneford requested a website that would be easy to use while providing citizens with valuable information about street conditions.

“Kenton County citizens’ safety is our number one priority. Whether going to work, the grocery, or taking their children to school, they need to be able to plan their road trips safely,” Warneford says.

The County’s public works team will be able to update the status of roads as plow and truck operators complete sections that have been treated. The street status will be classified as plowed, treated, plowed and treated, and no activity. “It was important to the public works team that we could update the road status from anywhere in the field without having to go into the office.” said Warneford.

NKAPC staff created a data entry form that public works personnel can access from any computer with internet access. It not only records the status, but has a time stamp feature so citizens viewing the map know when the road was last treated. This feature is important especially during a snow event that may span several days. When fully operational, the website will be available to commuters on area roads through a mobile data client.

The website is currently being tested by Fiscal Court personnel and will be rolled out soon to the public. In addition to county-maintained roads, city streets that are maintained by the County under contract will be added to the website. The City of Crestview Hills has already been added to the snow tracker website. Other Kenton County cities will be added in the future.

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Independence seeks citizen feedback regarding zoning

Posted on November 17, 2011

The City of Independence is asking its citizens to examine proposed zoning changes for part of the city at a meeting scheduled for November 14 from 7 to 9 PM at the Simon Kenton High School cafeteria.

“The steering committee and the city council want feedback on these proposed new requirements," said Martin Scribner, AICP, deputy director for current planning. "This meeting will be an open house format, so people can come for 15 minutes or stay for the whole two hours,” Committee members and NKAPC staff will be on hand to answer questions.

A committee of Independence business operators and residents developed the requirements as a response to a small area study that was adopted by the city in 2007. Independence resident John Richardson chaired the Zoning Update Steering Committee. Independence City Administrator Dan Groth said the 2007 small area study led to recommended changes to zoning regulations in 2009.

“An important part of this process is to solicit input from residents and property owners prior to changes being made in the city’s zoning code,” Groth and Richards wrote in a letter to property owners within the study area.

The affected area includes both sides of Madison Pike from Independence Station Road south to Locust Lane, and along both sides of McCullum Pike from Madison Pike to KY 17. Maps will be available the evening of the public meeting.

To review the draft regulations, visit the NKAPC website.

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NKAPC expenditures for GIS pay off in a big way

Posted on November 17, 2011

NKAPC GIS staff worked hard to assist government entities in Kenton County in obtaining $1.7 million in grants and return on investments (ROI) during fiscal year 2011 (July 2010 through June 2011). This amounts to an almost three-fold return on investment when considering what it costs to fund NKAPC’s GIS department.

“Over the past few months, staff has answered numerous questions from elected officials about the cost and value of GIS,” said Trisha Brush, GISP, deputy director for GIS administration. “We were able to show how GIS data used by agencies throughout the region returned $2.9 million in grants, awards, and cost savings to local communities. Well over half of that amount was awarded to Kenton County jurisdictions.”

These monetary and non-monetary benefits include data quality projects, emergency communications money, a landslide project due to heavy spring rains that resulted in a FEMA grant for Kenton County, savings from a pavement coordination program, and a brownfields grant.

The Kentucky Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) Emergency Telecommunications Board distributes funds collected from mobile phone usage to member agencies, said Ms. Brush, and county emergency dispatch units must submit a survey and GIS data, including centerlines from the LINK-GIS master street address guide, zip codes included in dispatch areas, and cell tower locations when submitting grant applications. Covington obtained $164,750 from CMRS; Kenton County $177,998 in CMRS funds; and Erlanger, $247,672 for those same services. GIS data is a required submittal in order for the local Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to receive CMRS funding. These data submittals are an annual occurrence for all three dispatch centers.

GIS data was leveraged as an in-kind support which aided in the Covington City Center Action Plan proposal. The city was awarded $359,300 in grant monies to examine how the Covington city center will evolve over the next 20 years, Ms. Brush said. Covington’s center is generally described as the area south of the Ohio River to 12th Street, east to the Licking River and west to I-75.

Another $18,000 was attributed to Envista program savings for the city of Covington; Envista’s GIS-based pavement coordination software facilitated the savings for the city and Northern Kentucky Water District, Ms. Brush said.

The availability and existing Kenton County brownfield GIS database assisted the Northern Kentucky Area Development District to obtain a $100,000 for brownfield redevelopment. The funds are to be used in Kenton County focusing on the Licking River Greenway and will lead to more detailed identification of areas once used for industrial purposes that can be reused for a variety of purposes once cleaned up, Ms. Brush said.

So far this fiscal year, GIS maps were and data were required in gaining a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Roads/Clean-Up Grant: $251,042 to Kenton County; $93,633 to Covington; $10,548 to Crescent Springs; and $1,000 to Bromley.

“We have every reason to believe that this fiscal year will produce an equal return on investment to Kenton County,” concluded Brush.

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GIS staff earns awards at conference

Posted on November 17, 2011

NKAPC staff earned two awards at the 2011 annual conference of the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals (KAMP). One award was for website design and one was for service to the mapping community.

Christy Powell, GISP, senior GIS specialist, won the annual award for best GIS website application.

“Christy exhibited the special search capabilities for individual properties that she programmed into the My Community section of the LINK-GIS website,” said Trisha Brush, GISP, deputy director for GIS administration.

“The search method shows city, political and planning and zoning information,” said Brush. “The website work Christy did will aid all Kenton County residents.

The service award went to NKAPC and LINK-GIS for service to GIS and the mapping community. It honors the organization’s long and distinguished service to Kenton County, to northern Kentucky, and to GIS issues throughout the commonwealth.

Powell, Brush, and others from LINK-GIS participated in the conference held in Frankfort in September.

LINK-GIS is a collaborative electronic mapping partnership managed by NKAPC for Kenton and Campbell County Fiscal Courts, the Kenton and Campbell County PVAs, the Northern Kentucky Water District, and Sanitation District 1.

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‘Direction 2030’ public forums begin

Posted on November 17, 2011

Kenton County’s comprehensive plan is being rewritten completely for the first time since 1972. The project, expected to take up to two years to complete, is designed to provide guidance for the county’s growth over the next 20 years.

"Direction 2030: Your Voice, Your Choice" is a community planning initiative centered on public input – citizen ideas and citizen opinions. It will help create the new Kenton County comprehensive plan reflecting existing and anticipated trends in population, transportation, business, and education.

Kenton County citizens are urged to attend the ongoing series of public forums that will facilitate these discussions. Citizens are also encouraged to stay abreast of ongoing Direction 2030 progress by checking the project website: Direction2030.org.

“Since the county’s first comprehensive plan was completed in 1972, only updates have been made,” said Keith Logsdon, AICP, deputy director for long-range planning. “Over the past twenty years or so, new trends have developed in how people want to live and travel, how they want to spend their leisure time and make economic choices, and those trends make it important to take a new look at our community.”

Members of the Kenton County Planning Commission and NKAPC staff held the first of these public forums on October 26 at Dixie Heights High School. Approximately 60 citizens from across Kenton County attended and discussed how or if they believe these trends are having an impact on their lives.

The second of these initial meetings is set for November 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Kenton County Agricultural Extension Office. The third meeting will take place on November 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Calvary Baptist Church in Latonia; and, the fourth is set for December 6 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Piner Elementary School. The topic for these forums will be the same as for the first, giving citizens from across Kenton County an opportunity to express themselves.

The second round of four meetings will be held in January through March, 2012. The third round is projected from April through June; and, the fourth and final round in July and August. Each round will look at opinions and ideas expressed during earlier sessions and distill them to the point where public goals and objectives emerge.

“Strong public engagement will make the plan well-founded and prepare our community for the challenges of the next 20 years,” Logsdon said.

For a full description of each of the four rounds of meetings, check out the Direction 2030 website.

As for what the outcome of this process will be, Logsdon says, “I don’t know if that question can be answered yet because we are just beginning the public engagement process. Our current challenge is to encourage and attain sufficient public input.”

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Independence Public Meeting

Posted on October 27, 2011

On November 14, from 7-9 PM, the City of Independence is holding an open house to gather public input regarding changes to the Independence Zoning Ordinance.

In 2007, the Independence Community Small Area Study was approved by the city and adopted by the Kenton County Planning Commission as part of the Area-Wide Comprehensive Plan. Updating the zoning ordinance and map will support the city's effort to achieve the study's overall vision.

This meeting will be held in the Simon Kenton High School cafeteria, located at 11132 Madison Pike. Parking and school entrance is located near the gymnasium. Click here to review the draft regulations.

For more information about this event, contact Mr. Andy Videkovich at 859.331.8980 or IndependenceZoning@nkapc.org. View the printable flier.

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Kenton Mayors’ Group nears recommendation to planning commission on new subdivision regs

Posted on October 19, 2011

Kenton County’s draft subdivision regulations that staff completed late last year is nearing its first test as the document is scheduled to appear on this month’s agenda of the Kenton County Mayors’ Group. A committee of that group has worked with staff and members of the Homebuilders Association since February.

Action by the Mayors’ Group will take the form of a recommendation to the Kenton County Planning Commission. The planning commission has spent the last several months reviewing the document and the changes it includes from regulations that have been in place since the late 1970s.

The new draft regulations, which are a complete rewrite of the current document, were prepared by staff to accomplish four specific goals.

•   Greater User Friendliness: (1) create regulations in a digital format, one that is easy to use via hotlinks that allow for better continuity and cross-referencing; (2) illustrate the regulations liberally.

•   Greater Design Flexibility for Developers: provide for greater design flexibility so developers can create subdivisions with character, not just cookie cutter images of their most recent design efforts.

“In addition to more design flexibility, we also provided for different green infrastructure techniques,” said Scott Hiles, NKAPC’s deputy director for infrastructure engineering, who oversaw the staff effort. “Our 1978 regulations didn’t anticipate the need for green solutions and didn’t authorize them.”

•   Greater Intergovernmental Coordination: assure that the new regulations mesh and compliment those of other agencies that play a role with new development.

•   Greater Taxpayer Protection: guarantee that all requirements provide for developments that stand the test of time so that city and county taxpayers aren’t required to pay to fix infrastructure problems prematurely.

To meet the taxpayer protection goal, staff’s draft regulations call for an increase in pavement thickness and the addition of under-drains for all new subdivision streets. Prematurely-failing streets was one of the main issues that prompted the Mayors’ Group to get involved in this rewriting process.

Based on discussions to date, staff expects the Mayors’ Group’s recommendation to the Kenton County Planning Commission to take the form of an endorsement with a number of proposals for added taxpayer protection. Hiles says planning commission members “are at a point now to hear the Mayor’s Group’s recommendation.”

It will be the Kenton County Planning Commission’s responsibility to sort through the myriad recommendations from different groups and to adopt a set of replacement regulations to serve the community in the future. That action is expected to take place in early 2012.

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Use of GIS-based web tool provides opportunities for governments and utilities to save scarce funds

Posted on October 19, 2011

The online road construction coordination tool provided by the LINK-GIS partnerships is nearing the end of its second season in operation. The extent of its use by Kenton and Campbell County local governments has grown exponentially, as has the opportunities for rate- and tax-payer savings.

Over 30 public and private agencies are using the tool currently, including Kenton and Campbell County Fiscal Courts, a number of cities in each county, the water and sanitation districts, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Duke Energy, and Cincinnati Bell. Each uploads its street construction/maintenance projects to the GIS-based database called Envista.

“There are over 2,300 individual projects in Envista right now,” said Trisha Brush, GISP, deputy director for GIS administration. “It’s taken awhile for everyone to incorporate this step into their workflow, but it’s working very well now and we’re getting a lot of good feedback.”

A recently-formed user’s group of entities benefitting from the program is providing feedback to staff and each other. Members discuss their success stories, hurdles to using the software, and one-on-one training opportunities. “We’re reminding agencies if they don’t have their projects in there, they can’t coordinate and therefore, they won’t see any cost savings,” Brush said.

To date, cities have documented savings of at least $26,000 by coordinating in Envista. The City of Covington recently saved $18,000 by collaborating with the water district on several streets the city planned to repave and the water district planned to replace water mains.

“Envista had an immediate impact on our productivity and efficiency,” said Mike Yeager, PE, MPA, assistant Covington city engineer. “The city and the various utility companies are now able to coordinate and prioritize projects into the future based upon each other’s needs and budgets.”

The City of Covington will share its success story at the October 26 user’s group meeting. Brush, who recently attended an Envista conference to learn the software’s newest features and give feedback on behalf of the area’s users, will also share the software’s feature enhancements.

“This is just one more example of how GIS and NKAPC’s staff collaboration help to save local rate- and tax-payer dollars,” Brush concluded.

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New Plan Needs Public Input

Posted on August 10, 2011

The public is invited to participate in “Direction 2030: Your Voice, Your Choice,” the planning process that will craft a new comprehensive land-use plan for Kenton County.

This countywide 20-year plan begins with Phase 1 of the Concept Plan. This first phase develops the goals and objectives, which reflect the path the entire community wants to take regarding land use, housing, transportation. Because of the great amount of public input as its foundation, citizens will hold an important level of ownership in this plan.

To increase Phase 1 will involve two rounds of 4 meetings each. The first round of discussions is scheduled for October 26th, 5:30P - 7:30P, at Dixie Heights High School in Crestview Hills.

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Kenton County Planning Commission

Posted on July 07, 2011

Public hearings are held on the first Thursday of every month, beginning at 6:15 PM in the Commission Chambers of the NKAPC Building located in Fort Mitchell. View the legal notice. Calendar

Current agenda

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NKAPC on YouTube

Posted on March 02, 2011

An informative video has been developed and uploaded to our YouTube channel. Watch it to learn more about the history, values and services of NKAPC. Click here to view the script.

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