Louisville leaders discussing long-term plan to spread mixed-use development around city

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A recent study showed ways Louisville could increase its diverse and affordable housing options, placing more mixed-use developments in parts of town that currently lack them.

Planning firm Opticos presented findings of the study at a community open house Wednesday at the Western Library in the Russell neighborhood. The presentation focused on ways to increase diverse and affordable housing options, an initiative that would address the drastic changes in Louisville's housing market since zoning began in 1931.

"The biggest issue we're facing here in Louisville Metro is that 75% of our land is zoned single family. That means one home on one lot," said Joel Dock with the Louisville Metro Office of Planning. "Fifty-five percent of that is R4 Single Family. That means one home on one lot, and that one lot is 9,000 square feet."

The study will help guide land use decisions moving forward based on anchor locations such as shopping, major campuses, town centers and village centers. The goal would be to add more middle and mixed-use housing — duplexes and triplexes — and to understand what can be built within existing neighborhoods. One example would be residential units built on part of a parking lot that is now way too big for the business it serves.

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The study is another step to address a housing shortage in Jefferson County.

"What I want to see is equal access to resources and not just be identified for one group versus another," said Victor Williams, a Louisville resident who attended Wednesday's meeting. "Because it just puts one group against the other, and we are fighting over a small piece of the pie."

The city has been listening to zoning reform suggestions for the last couple years. It clearly won't be an issue that is solved quickly, rather a decades-long approach to reimagining Louisville's housing landscape. But the city would like to have a tentative plan on new housing possibilities by the end of the year.

There are 12 more community public open houses in several parts of the city between now and September. They're listed below: