June 2020 – Mentelle Neighborhood Association

Free books — while they last

While waiting for the libraries to open, Becky Eblen has more advance reader copies of new books for you. Most are adult fiction, but there are some non-fiction and memoirs as well a box of books for ages 8 to young adult. They will be in boxes on the front porch at 52 Mentelle Park. Please help yourself and check back; as some books are taken, more will replace them. The boxes will be out from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each non-rainy day until all of the books are gone.

Blue Door rezoning compromise wins full Planning Commission approval.

706 Aurora Ave., behind Blue Door Smokehouse.

Good news.

The Planning Commission today approved the plan that the Mentelle Neighborhood Association negotiated with Schilling Properties for an expansion of the Blue Door Smokehouse.

The vote was unanimous.

Any lingering worries about our plan’s safety were dispelled by none other than the traffic engineer, who assured the commission, “It’s not going to be a safety issue one way or another.”

The original plan that we saw in January had two commercial driveways funneling traffic directly onto Aurora Avenue.

The main concession we won was to keep traffic entering and exiting on Walton Avenue with no intrusive commercial driveway on Aurora.

Mr. Schilling also agreed to a deed restriction protecting his house at 708 Aurora from rezoning for at least 20 years and to limit the use of vinyl siding on the expansion.

In exchange, we agreed to support the rezoning of 706 Aurora from residential to neighborhood business. We think the final design will buffer nearby residences and preserve Aurora’s residential character.

The plan will improve the looks and functionality of the Aurora-Walton corner. The parking in front of Blue Door will be replaced by landscaping. There will be a normal sidewalk and maybe some outdoor tables.

Blue Door will double in size with a larger kitchen taking up much of the addition. Blue Door proprietor Jeff Newman said this will enable the restaurant to expand its catering business.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in, including Chad Walker of The Warehouse Block who testified in support of the neighborhood’s plan, and our president Ann Olliges, who spent a lot of time on the phone with Schilling’s lawyer.

Thanks also to the Planning Commission, which overruled its staff on the traffic access question in order to unanimously support our plan.

Ginkgo Grill-Out at Thursday at Ashland

The Ginkgo Tree Café at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, will have a special grill-out day Thursday, with menus for lunch (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and dinner (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.). The Café, run by Mentelle Neighborhood resident Selma Owens, will give a portion of the proceeds to Ashland. Take a short walk for a great meal!

Schilling rezoning hearing is June 25

Schilling Properties is seeking to rezone 706 Aurora Ave., where it demolished a house last year, from residential to business for an expansion of Blue Door Smokehouse.

After months of delay caused by Covid-19, the Planning Commission on June 25 will hold a public hearing on the requested rezoning of 706 Aurora Avenue to accommodate an expansion of Blue Door Smokehouse.

The meeting, which begins at 1 p.m., will be held by video teleconference (Zoom).

You might recall that back in February the neighborhood and the owner/developer, Schilling Properties, reached an agreement that would keep Blue Door’s traffic entering and exiting on Walton Avenue.

Unfortunately, the planning staff opposed our compromise and is instead recommending that all Blue Door traffic exit onto Aurora.

We’re asking the Planning Commission to overrule its staff and approve our plan.

Thanks to all of you who already have written letters to the Planning Commission.

If, like me, you’ve been putting it off, now is the time. I suspect our letters will be more important than ever because of the limitations of the Zoom format. Members of the public will be recognized to speak on Zoom for 3 minutes each. (More about that and how the Zoom meeting will work are explained in links below.)

You can email your letters to the Planning Commission in care of senior planner Hal Baillie at hbaillie@lexingtonky.gov.

Here’s a link to an earlier post https://www.mentelle.org/2020/02/23/shilling-offers-concessions-on-rezoning/ to refresh your memory of the compromise design plan. Since that post went up, the plan has become even more compatible with nearby residences by eliminating the dumpster. You can see the design at lexingtonky.buildingeye.com.

Here’s the email we got from Hal Baillie on Tuesday:

The application PLN-MAR-20-00001: Schilling Properties for the property located at 706 Aurora Avenue is scheduled to be heard on June 25^th, 2020 at 1pm. You are receiving an email, as you had previously submitted comment regarding this application. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and State of Emergency, this meeting of the Planning Commission will be held via video teleconference because it is not feasible to offer a primary physical location for the meeting. Please see attached sheet regarding viewing and public comment. You may view the meeting on LexTV Spectrum channel 185, Metronet channel 3, Windstream channels 3 and 20, or via live stream at https://www.lexingtonky.gov/lextv.

The agenda for the above meeting will be posted to the www.lexingtonky.gov/calendar one week prior to the public hearing. The agenda will include specific information for this meeting necessary to join the video teleconference. For persons with a disability who need assistance to participate in the above meeting, for assistance navigating the website, or if you have any questions, please contact the Division of of Planning at planningmailbox@lexingtonky.gov or 258-3160.