Rezoning at 3042 Hikes Lane. At Least It is Better Than another Storage Locker Facility or Car Wash

 I must applaud Susan Thurston Bennett and her leadership in the efforts to fight the rezoning of the St Barnabas property for redevelopment into upscale apartments.  That being said, this blog post is my opinion and not that of the Bon Air Neighborhood Association, which voted not to take an official stand one way or the other.   Let me go further with two stories.

My grandparents and parents were residents of Boynton Beach Florida for the better part of four decades. When my grandparents became snowbirds Boynton Beach was pretty much a small town in Palm Beach County squeezed between the coast and Interstate 95.  When my dad passed and my mother made good on her word to go back to four seasons, it had sprawled all the way out to the Florida Turnpike.  I can only imagine what it is today.  But specifically, I want to talk about the northwest corner of the intersection of "Federal Highway and Woolbright Road." From 1977 through 2003 I remember it being a Lumberyard. 

When I came back in 2008 it had been converted into densely packed condos. 

I was shocked at such high-density development because I was used to Boynton Beach having more trees and this really ruined the asethetic.  But my father had told me that real estate developers controlled the politics of Palm Beach County, and this development made sense to me in light of that. 

Bringing it back to Hikes Point.  I had wished I still had the aerial photograph of Hikes Lane circa 1940.  It was a rural road.  The peach orchard (where Orchard Manor apartments sit) and farmland had been converted into post-war suburbia. The Arch Diocese of Louisville appeared to be aggressive in its mission efforts to have three parishes and schools close to each other: St Pius on Goldsmith, St Barnabas on Hikes Lane and St. Martha on Klondike Lane.  I was quite impressed with the quality of the St Barnabas facility when I had been in there and been there for the picnics.  To a guy not from Louisville, that really speaks volumes to the presence of the Catholic Church in this area of Louisville. 

I can only theorize what the numbers said to the Diocese, but it appeared to be a good decision to merge St Barnabas and St Pius into John Paul and move ministry operations to Goldsmith.  Furthermore, it appeared to be good stewardship to part with the St Barnabas property of 9.63 acres. 

LDG, a real estate developer has seen-value in redeveloping the St Barnabas site at 3042 Hikes Lane. Their plan is "Go big or go home."  It is going to be a four-story property with a four-story parking garage. It requires a rezoning from single-family housing to R-8A (58 housing units per acre).  This is where it is drawing opposition.  

Here is a link to the petition: Stop DRASTIC Rezoning.   There are some big negatives to this idea like it will stick out like a sore thumb.  It could add a lot of stress on the road, cause traffic jams, and affect the drainage in the area. 

On the other hand,, it is an upscale apartment complex, and neither a storage locker facility nor a car wash, two kinds of establishments that have popped up over the past several years in abundance. I would rather have had such an upscale apartment complex at 3304 Bardstown Rd or at 2200 Goldsmith Lane, but I am not sure the people of the Bashford Manor neighborhood would agree. 

My gut is that it will pass the Planning Commission.  Actually, the research is in its favor. This is not some, "alternative lifestyle" club that tried to set up shop in Buechel nor a Methadone clinic that tried to take over the old post office in Bardstown Square.  This is a legitimate, local (and national) developer with clout and the odds are for it to pass. This would bring some population density back to the area (which spread out with urban sprawl) and could help create development momentum in the neighborhood. 

On the other hand, if my gut is wrong, I would challenge the community to come forward and organize to redevelop the property in a way that is going to lead to a momentum of healthy redevelopment in the area. 

I have been pushing an Arts Development strategy in the Bon Air neighborhood. It is somewhat of a smart development in which we are trying to shape what happens.  It aims to link Bon Air with the robust artistic community in the Louisville area.  The current project is to build a stage in Farnsley Park, which is progressing. I would think such conversion of the property into such artistic use would be fantastic. 

 Again, kudos to Susan Thurston Bennett, she is definitely approaching this with passion. 

Bon Air Crime Analysis for September 2020 Up Some from August

This is an analysis for September,2020 based on data posted by the Louisville Metro Police Department  at  https://data.louisvilleky.gov/dataset/crime-reports

It is a Microsoft Excel CSV file that required some manipulation and sorting and beginning this year it was loaded into JASP, which is an open source statistical package.  This analysis does include events that happen on the edge of the neighborhood.



As usual it includes the crimes reported within the boundaries of the historical Bon Air Neighborhood as defined:
1) Bardstown Road on the West  
2) Hikes Lane on the South
3) Furman Blvd on the East and
4) Taylorsville Rd and the Watterson Expressway on the North. 

The Analysis reflects events that happen on the lines and so some of the reports reflect what has happened just on the line and outside the geopolitical boundary of the neighborhood.  

There were 49 total reports within the boundaries, but sis of them were runaways from 2300 Goldsmith Lane.  Removing those meant 43 relevant police reports.  This was a 26 percent over reports from August. 

As usual, the 40218 section had more reports with almost 70 percent.

Reports by Zip Code
Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
40218		30		43		0.698		0.014
40220		13		43		0.302		0.014

The reports by zone reflected the zip codes. 

Reports by Zone
Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
Neighborhood		Bon Air		34		43		0.791		< .001
		Highgate Springs		9		43		0.209		< .001

The following table in a slightly different format shows the reports by blocks. 

The following table ranks the most occurring crime reports. 

Type of Crime Reports
Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
CRIME_TYPE		ASSAULT		10		43		0.233		< .001
		BURGLARY		4		43		0.093		< .001
		DRUGS/ALCOHOL VIOLATIONS		1		43		0.023		< .001
		MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT		2		43		0.047		< .001
		OTHER		6		43		0.140		< .001
		ROBBERY		1		43		0.023		< .001
		THEFT/LARCENY		5		43		0.116		< .001
		VANDALISM		2		43		0.047		< .001
		VEHICLE BREAK-IN/THEFT		10		43		0.233		< .001
		WEAPONS		2		43		0.047		< .001

The assaults happened in the following locations:

Location of Assaults Variable Level Counts Total Proportion p BLOCK_ADDRESS 2200 BLOCK HIKES LN 1 10 0.100 0.021   2800 BLOCK DEL RIO PL 2 10 0.200 0.109   2900 BLOCK HIKES LN 3 10 0.300 0.344   3300 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD 2 10 0.200 0.109   3600 BLOCK GREEN MEADOWS DR 1 10 0.100 0.021   3700 BLOCK TAYLORSVILLE RD 1 10 0.100 0.021    The following were where the Car break-ins were:  Variable Level Counts Total Proportion p BLOCK_ADDRESS 2200 BLOCK HIKES LN 1 10 0.100 0.021   300 BLOCK CHANEL CT 1 10 0.100 0.021   3200 BLOCK AINSLIE WAY 1 10 0.100 0.021   3400 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD 1 10 0.100 0.021   3500 BLOCK TERRIER LN 2 10 0.200 0.109   3600 BLOCK ARGYLE LN 1 10 0.100 0.021   3600 BLOCK JOHNSTON WAY 1 10 0.100 0.021   BARDSTOWN RD / I 264 RAMP 2 10 0.200 0.109 Here was when they happened: Dates of Car Break-Ins Variable Level Counts  Total  Proportion  p DATE_REPORTED  9/11/2020 12:17  1 10 0.100 0.021    9/12/2020 3:26 1 10 0.100 0.021    9/12/2020 7:38 2 10 0.200 0.109    9/15/2020 12:10  1 10 0.100 0.021    9/17/2020 13:46  1 10 0.100 0.021    9/17/2020 16:12  1 10 0.100 0.021    9/17/2020 5:40 1 10 0.100 0.021    9/21/2020 15:22  1 10 0.100 0.021    9/23/2020 2:02 1 10 0.100 0.021  I will note that two reports on 9/17/2020 were in two different places (2200 Hikes and 3400 Ainslie Way).  There did not appear to be a hard and fast pattern.  Going back to locations, the following are the crime reports as to what happened at 2200 Hikes Lane: Crime reports at 2200 Hikes Lane Variable Level Counts Total Proportion p CRIME_TYPE ASSAULT 1 5 0.200 0.375   BURGLARY 1 5 0.200 0.375   MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT 1 5 0.200 0.375   VANDALISM 1 5 0.200 0.375   VEHICLE BREAK-IN/THEFT 1 5 0.200 0.375  Then at 2900 Hikes Lane:   Crime Reports at 2900 Hikes Lane Level Counts Total Proportion ASSAULT 3 5 0.600 BURGLARY 2 5 0.400 Note.  Proportions tested against value: 0.5.  Then at 3300 Bardstown Rd:  Crime Reports at 3300 Bardstown Rd Variable Level Counts Total Proportion p CRIME_TYPE ASSAULT 2 4 0.500 1.000   OTHER 1 4 0.250 0.625   ROBBERY 1 4 0.250 0.625    Then at 3500 Terrier Lane Variable Level Counts Total Proportion p CRIME_TYPE THEFT/LARCENY 2 4 0.500 1.000   VEHICLE BREAK-IN/THEFT 2 4 0.500 1.000 Note.  Proportions tested against value: 0.5.  These four reports were all at the same time.   Comments: I have had my questions about the increase of car break-ins.  They were spread out through the neighborhood and happened at different times.  They continued to be seen as crimes of opportunity.  If you leave your car unlocked and you leave stuff in it, it increases your likelihood of being a victim.  I am thankful that it was not worse.  The homeless have persisted in the neighborhood panhandling. As noted in a previous post, we have had a homeless individual sleeping in front of a neighborhood business.  They appeared to have found it to be economically sufficient given that COVID-19 has thinned out downtown traffic and the lockdown measures have further discouraged the from. With many homeless individuals there is a prevalence of trespassing offenses, and we have not seen that.  I also think that blockwatches are of continued effectiveness. There were no reports in Brookhaven manor and Bon Air Estates.  The efforts on Lisbon are also of lasting effectiveness.  I hope that you continue to lock your cars and make sure your Ring or other doorbell  cameras are in operation.  Security devices discourage deviancy.   Last, but not least, if you have not become a member of the Bon Air Neighborhood Association, we could really use your support.  Membership is $20.00 per household per year.  You can mail your membership fee to  BANA  PO Box 34262  Louisville KY 40201.  Thanks.

It Appears to Be a New Game with Regard to the Homeless

 

On Saturday, September 26, 2020, as I was getting my Starbucks fix, I happened to encounter a scene that I have not seen in Bon Air in my nearly 20 years here. A homeless individual sleeping out in the open outside one of the businesses at Bardstown and Heather.

My first thought was that it was a whole new game when it came to the homeless and the Bon Air Neighborhood. Panhandlers have been staying out later in the evening at the Bardstown Rd intersections. I noticed that a few of them were disregarding the curfew at the Bardstown/Goldsmith intersection Thursday night when I was coming home from work.  We have been aware of somewhat secluded homeless campsites at certain points whether on one of the islands at Bardstown and the Watterson and behind the Thorntons.  

It appears that the factors are the effects of COVID19 upon the central business district and possibly the barricading of the downtown streets in response to the protests. There are fewer commuters going downtown and less "opportunity for panhandling."  

It is hard to say whether they appreciate how low the crime rate is in this area.  Some of my homeless clients have talked about how the homeless steal from each other and attack each other.  

Time will tell what kind of effects they have upon this neighborhood.   

Bon Air History, Annexation, Metropolitan Consolidation and Why Bon Air Cannot Become a City.

The following is an excerpt from an email from Jeff Noble, Legislative Aide to Brent Ackerson.  I thought that it was highly eloquent and informative on Bon Air History and the current regulatory state of things.   

The question was put to Jeff about whether or not the Bon Air Neighborhood could succeed from the Consolidated City of Louisville-Jefferson County Kentucky. 

Jeff's short answer was that Bon Air can't succeed as an independent municipality, but then he made a significant elaboration that I thought should be published.  

 I will make apologies because I did not ask first, but again because it is so good and show's Jeff's adeptness,  I also thought it important to put such a historical perspective into the record.  I also think that it is important to see what a smart man Brent has working for him. I have set off his comments in a different font.  

 Bon Air is partially in the former City of Louisville, since January 3, 2003 known as the Urban Services District (USD), and partially in unincorporated Jefferson County.  USD property owners pay two sets of personal property taxes while unincorporated Jefferson County property owners pay one, in addition to state, school board, and other jurisdictional taxes.   

 The area of the Bon Air neighborhood which falls within the Urban Services District was annexed into the former City of Louisville in a piecemeal fashion beginning in 1951.  As new subdivisions (and parts of subdivisions) were being built, both developers and residents wanted the more secure services the City of Louisville offered, such as sidewalks, streetlights, City garbage pickup, City fire, and City police, and they often petitioned to be annexed into the City.  The first annexation in the area occurred April 26, 1951 as Ordinance 124, Series 1951.  There were a total of eighteen annexations which eventually comprised the area generally known as the Bon Air neighborhood.  As best I can tell, Mr.-----, your neighborhood was annexed on July 14, 1960 as Ordinance 140, Series 1960.  In some cases, the homes which were annexed were done so by a block-by-block petition, with some blocks drawn in and some drawn out, based on the will of the majority of a block on a street.  Meadow Drive is one great example of this type of annexation.  Hikes Lane itself has eighteen crossings (nine in, nine out) of the former City/unincorporated boundary.  Those changes in jurisdiction remain to this day.  The last of the eighteen annexations for Bon Air occurred on September 15, 1964 as Ordinance #189, Series 1964.  A final attempt to annex the balance of the Bon Air neighborhood was made in 1979 but failed. 

 This piecemeal annexation has left portions of Bon Air with USD services and portions without.  Within the Bon Air neighborhood, some parcels on Goldsmith, Terrier, Maxon, Stratford, and Bon Air have land in both jurisdictions, the USD and unincorporated Jefferson County . . .

 All of Louisville/Jefferson County Metro is governed by a series of statutes passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in March 2000, statutes which included the opportunity for the voters of all of Jefferson County to adopt a Merger of the two governments’ legislative and executive branches at the ballot box on November 7, 2000 and, if passed, a Merger Commission to draft how the new government would operate, and for that new government to commence business on January 3, 2003.  The ballot initiative was approved, the Merger Commission did the nitty-gritty of combining the wheels and gears of the government, elections for a new legislative council of 26 members and a new Metro Mayor were held in November 2002, and the new government did, in fact, commence its life on January 3, 2003.

 The new laws passed by the General Assembly are codified as KRS Chapter 67C.  Our entire existence is reliant upon Chapter 67C of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, which have, from time-to-time, been revised by the legislature with no direct vote of either the council members of Louisville/Jefferson County nor the people of Louisville/Jefferson County.  We live at the whims of the General Assembly.

One of the whims of the General Assembly, and the one directly on point with regard to your question, is 67C.111 (2) which reads: “Upon the adoption of a consolidated local government in a county containing a city of the first class, there shall be no further incorporations of cities within the county.”  No new cities, no new incorporations, period.  Until and unless Chapter 67C is amended in Frankfort by the General Assembly, what you have asked about is a legal impossibility.  We have had a few cities “go out of business” since Merger began and we have had some annexations here and there of unincorporated areas of Jefferson County by some of the smaller cities.  Jeffersontown, St. Matthews, and Indian Hills have all annexed previously unincorporated areas.  But since 2003, there have been no new cities established nor will there be unless the law is amended.  A notable single exception is the City of Heritage Creek in southern Jefferson County, which was formerly known as the City of Minor Lane Heights, and was formerly located about five miles northwest of its current location.  A special set of statutes were passed for this particular city which was totally enveloped by the expansion of the industrial areas affiliated with the airport expansion. 

Thanks for Your Service Officer McMillian.

Officer George McMillian has announced that he is taking a position with the Middletown Police Department and thus leaving the Louisville Metro Police Department. He has been the resource officer for the 6th Division and has been in attendance at Bon Air General Membership meetings.  He also has fielded questions from the community. 

LMPD's loss is Middletown's gain.  Thank you for your service. 

Bon Air Crime Analysis for August 2020, with Qualification, there was a Decrease by 55.7 Percent from July!

  This is an analysis for August,2020 based on data posted by the Louisville Metro Police Department  at  https://data.louisvilleky.gov/dataset/crime-reports

It is a Microsoft Excel CSV file that required some manipulation and sorting and beginning this year it was loaded into JASP, which is an open source statistical package.  This analysis does include events that happen on the edge of the neighborhood.



As usual it includes the crimes reported within the boundaries of the historical Bon Air Neighborhood as defined:
1) Bardstown Road on the West  
2) Hikes Lane on the South
3) Furman Blvd on the East and
4) Taylorsville Rd and the Watterson Expressway on the North. 

The Analysis reflects events that happen on the lines and so some of the reports reflect what has happened just on the line and outside the geopolitical boundary of the neighborhood.  

There were 34 total reports within the boundaries which was a 55.7 percent decrease from July, which had 61 reports. The qualification is that the LMPD's database only had reports through August 25.  This could mean there were no reports for one week or the clerk in charge of compilation was behind. 

As has been typical, the 40218 zip code portion had the most reports:

Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
ZIP_CODE		40218		27		34		0.794		< .001
		40220		7		34		0.206		< .001

The Bon Air portion had an overwhelming number of the police reports.

Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
ZONE		Bon Air		30		34		0.882		< .001
		Highgate Springs		4		34		0.118		< .001

As usual, the 3300 block of Bardstown Rd was the site of most of the reports.with seven or 20 percent.

It had three (3) other types of crimes that were not particularly distinguishable.  

Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
CRIME_TYPE		ASSAULT		1		7		0.143		0.125
		FRAUD		1		7		0.143		0.125
		OTHER		3		7		0.429		1.000
		THEFT/LARCENY		2		7		0.286		0.453

 

Two of the crimes happened at the "Bank"

Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
PREMISE_TYPE		BANK / SAVINGS & LOAN		2		7		0.286		0.453
		OTHER / UNKNOWN		1		7		0.143		0.125
		OTHER RESIDENCE (APARTMENT/CONDO)		2		7		0.286		0.453
		PARKING LOT / GARAGE		1		7		0.143		0.125
		RESIDENCE / HOME		1		7		0.143		0.125

Most of the reports were at residences with 14. These were the types of incidents at residences. 

Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
CRIME_TYPE		ASSAULT		3		14		0.214		0.057
		BURGLARY		1		14		0.071		0.002
		MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT		1		14		0.071		0.002
		OTHER		5		14		0.357		0.424
		THEFT/LARCENY		2		14		0.143		0.013
		VANDALISM		2		14		0.143		0.013

The most occurring crime report categories were 1)larceny/thefts and 2) other.  Here is where the larceny/thefts were

Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
BLOCK_ADDRESS		3100 BLOCK RADIANCE RD		1		8		0.125		0.070
		3300 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD		2		8		0.250		0.289
		3500 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD		2		8		0.250		0.289
		3500 BLOCK BROCKTON LN		1		8		0.125		0.070
		3700 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD		2		8		0.250		0.289

The other incidents included an overdose, a harassing communication, a runaway from the residential facility, one domestic violence event, and two other undescribed incidents. 

Otherwise, the second occurring crime report in the neighborhood was assault.  Here is where they were

Variable		Level		Counts		Total		Proportion		p
BLOCK_ADDRESS		2800 BLOCK DELL BROOKE AVE		1		6		0.167		0.219
		3000 BLOCK RADIANCE RD		1		6		0.167		0.219
		3100 BLOCK RADIANCE RD		1		6		0.167		0.219
		3300 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD		1		6		0.167		0.219
		3600 BLOCK BARDSTOWN RD		2		6		0.333		0.687

Comments:

Assuming nothing happened the last week of the month, this is excellent news.  Credit is due to homeowners who are investing in doorbell cameras, locking their cars, involved in neighborhood watches and taking other crime prevention measures.  Good crime prevention empowers Louisville's finest in the LMPD to address more serious issues in other areas of the sixth district and metroplex. 

Coming up on September 14, at the Bon Air General Membership meeting via Zoom we will get a report from a representative of LMPD as to what is happening in the area and who can take your questions.  Stay tuned for more information in the next few days.