Mentelle Neighborhood Association

There will be no July meeting of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association board. The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, at the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, 162 N. Ashland Ave. All MNA members are welcome to attend board meetings.

After four years of discussions, Lexington’s Urban County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved new regulations for short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs.

Here are the basics: Rentals must be registered with the city and pay a license fee within six months. People who operate a short-term rental on a residential property where they live will not need city approval.  Unhosted rentals must be approved by the city’s Board of Adjustment, which will give neighbors an opportunity to object for various reasons, such as the number of short-term rentals already in a neighborhood. Existing short-term rentals will be allowed to continue operating. The maximum number of occupants in a short-term rental in a residential neighborhood will be 12.

This Lexington Herald-Leader article has more details. For further information about short-term rentals and related issues, see this resource page on the Mentelle Neighborhood Association website.

The Urban County Council tonight gave first reading to an ordinance regulating short-term rentals in Lexington. The Mentelle Neighborhood Association board hasn’t taken a position on this evolving legislation, but it wants residents to be informed about the subject so they can express their opinions to our elected representatives. The website has a new page with information on this issue, which you can access by clicking here.  If you have questions or concerns, feel free to email MNA President Tom Eblen here.

What a wonderful day it turned out to be! Thanks to Shelby Reynolds and David Bartley; Esther Hurlburt; and Katie Mueller-White and Chet White for hosting us. Thanks to everyone who came out this afternoon. We received $90 in donations to the Mentelle Neighborhood Association and got one new member.

 

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association invites all neighborhood residents to a Strolling Sunday Social on June 25 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  You will enjoy strolling between three lovely gardens and porches for summery drinks and snacks while meeting your neighbors, old and new.

The stroll begins at 3 p.m. on the porch of Shelby Reynolds and David Bartley at 710 Aurora Ave.  It will continue to the garden of Esther Hurlburt at 309 Given Ave. and end on the porch of Katie Mueller-White and Chet White at 823 Aurora Ave. Each stop will last about 45 minutes.

This is an especially good opportunity for newcomers to get acquainted with your neighbors and join the Mentelle Neighborhood Association. There is no admission charge, but donations to the association are encouraged. Suggested donation is $5 per person or $10 per family.

Our neighborhood, which is more than a century old, was built to accommodate one vehicle per residence, at the most. Now the majority of homes have two, if not more, vehicles. Commercial businesses have contributed to the congestion. Parking is now very crowded, resulting in unsafe conditions for traffic and damage to parked cars.  Crowded parking also makes it hard for emergency vehicles and sanitation trucks to maneuver down a street.

We want to keep our neighborhood user-friendly and safe.  It would be helpful if all neighbors and visitors respected the following regulations, copied below from Lexington’s parking ordinances. Please be mindful of how you park in order to keep our streets and your vehicles safe.

Do not park:  

• In front of a public or private driveway.
• On a sidewalk. The term “sidewalk” means that portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines intended for the use of pedestrians, including any strip of ground between curb and paved sidewalk.
• Near water meter lids,  which are not easily seen.  Kentucky American Water Co. advises: “Water meter lids are not constructed to withstand the weight of vehicles parking on them. Vehicles doing so can not only crush the lids themselves but also interfere with and/or damage the electronic equipment attached to the underside of the lids, which can impact our ability to read meters through our radio-read technology.”
• Within an intersection.
• On a crosswalk.
• Within twenty 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection.
• In any park area in any street, or in any parkway dividing two (2) streets. So, please don’t park on the Mentelle Park median, which is an official city park.
• Beside another vehicle (double parking).
• At any place where the curb is painted yellow.
• Going the opposite direction of traffic. Parking against the flow of traffic is especially dangerous on busy and narrow streets.
• In a front yard, side yard or back yard except upon an approved residential driveway.

Oversized vehicles — exceeding 7 feet in overall width or 20 feet in overall length or 7½ feet in overall height — should not park in the street.

It’s good to turn in your side mirrors when parked on narrow streets.  Several vehicle mirrors have been damaged by sideswipes.

The Director of Traffic Engineering advises that it is acceptable to report parking and traffic concerns.  If a vehicle is illegally parked and is a safety concern, please call Lexington Police non-emergency line (859-258-3600) to report it. The LDP Traffic Enforcement unit is primarily a first shift.

If you have difficulty accessing your driveway because vehicles are parked too close, you may request that the curbs by your driveway be painted yellow.  Each homeowner must make a separate request to Clay at chelvey@lexingtonky.gov.   It would also be helpful to report curbs at corners where yellow paint is faint or missing.

Thanks for helping to keep our neighborhood safe.

The regular monthly meeting of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association board will be Wednesday, June 21, at 7 p.m. in the meeting room around back of the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, 162 N. Ashland Ave. Any MNA member is welcome to attend.

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association invites all neighborhood residents to a Strolling Sunday Social on June 25 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  You will enjoy strolling between three lovely gardens and porches for summery drinks and snacks while meeting your neighbors, old and new.

The stroll begins at 3 p.m. on the porch of Shelby Reynolds and David Bartley at 710 Aurora Ave.  It will continue to the garden of Esther Hurlburt at 309 Given Ave. and end on the porch of Katie Mueller-White and Chet White at 823 Aurora Ave. Each stop will last about 45 minutes.

This is an especially good opportunity for newcomers to get acquainted with your neighbors and join the Mentelle Neighborhood Association. There is no admission charge, but donations to the association are encouraged.

At the Warehouse Block Advisory Board meeting May 24, owner Chad Walker discussed his plans to seek a new city tourist designation that would allow alcoholic beverages purchased at Warehouse Block food and drink establishments to be carried outside in a restricted zone within the development under certain circumstances.  Click here to download Walker’s letter explaining his plans. Walker will have a neighborhood meeting to take  questions and discuss any concerns you might have at 5:30 p.m. on June 21 at Myriad Meadery, 732 National Ave. You also may email Walker here.

From Kenzie Gleason at the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization:

The Lexington Area MPO and LFUCG’s Division of Planning are exploring options to better connect downtown to the Brighton Trail. Please check out www.connecteastlex.com/ to learn more.

There are a few different ideas for how we can create a future connection between East Lexington and downtown. To view these ideas, please check out this survey. This survey is a great way to provide your feedback.

In addition to the survey, city staff and the study team are hosting a public open house on Wednesday June 7, from 5 – 7 p.m. at the Kenwick Community Center. This is an informal gathering so please come and go as you are able. The team will be available to listen and answer questions during the two hour open house – join us!

More info: https://www.connecteastlex.com/publicinput