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Hello neighbors and friends,
Most of you have heard me use the phrase Smart Growth. But you may not know how that phrase developed. In the mid-1990s, the Sierra Club led a fight to save a forest named Chapman's Forest, a 2,000-acre, high-sensitive forest near Washington, D.C. Chapman's Forest became the prime example of what was considered "dumb growth." The Sierra Club lodged a campaign that generated tons of public support. It encouraged former Maryland Governor Glendening to preserve all 2,000 acres of the forest, and he then instituted "Smart Growth" as state policy and law. Now the term Smart Growth is the cornerstone of responsible growth management nationwide. I support Smart Growth, and developments that are less than smart receive lots of scrutiny from me.
I mention the phrase Smart Growth because of the growth occurring in District 7 --- the VA Medical Center, the Hagan Properties 520-unit apartment project and townhouses on Herr Lane, and the Hagan Properties storage unit project on Westport Rd. – and the concerns of District 7 residents. How can so many projects be approved in such a dense area as District 7, and what can the Metro Council (and namely, me) do to stop development from occurring in the District?
For the last four years, I have spent countless hours in Planning Commission meetings, neighborhood development meetings, zoning meetings, and hosting District 7 informational meetings about development in District 7. If I miss one of these meetings, it's because of another meeting that conflicts with them. I rarely miss them. During these meetings, I am responsible for listening to the development proposal and residents' voices. Ethically, I am prohibited from voicing my support or opposition to a development project because, ultimately, I may be responsible for voting on the project when the Planning Commission approves or denies and forwards it to the Metro Council. Therefore, I need to serve as a watchdog and look for solutions that safeguard the constituents of District 7 and are fair to the developer.
Support or opposition must come from residents directly affected by the proposals.
(The rest of this message can be found at the bottom of the eNewsletter. See below.)
According to the Jefferson County Clerk, In-Person No-Excuse Absentee Voting (AKA: Early Voting), attracted almost 12,000 people to the polls to cast their votes on the first day. Early voting began on Thursday, November 3rd and ended Saturday (today) at 6 p.m.
Please click here VOTING INFORMATION to access more voting information and a list of the voting locations.
TARC is offering fare-free service this Election Day. All routes on TARC will be fare-free on Tuesday, November 8 to provide convenient, free access to and from General Election polling places in Louisville and Southern Indiana.
TARC will operate its normal service on all fixed routes on Election Day. Passengers can skip the fare box and take the route to the stop nearest their polling place or any other destination. Service will also be fare-free for TARC3 paratransit customers on Election Day.
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Published by the Louisville Courier-Journal
The Courier Journal, together with the League of Women Voters of Louisville and the Louisville Bar Association identified court-specific questions for the candidates seeking election in District Court, Circuit Court and Court of Appeals. We asked for responses in 200 words or fewer.
Use candidate responses to our questions as your guide to make a list of your choices. You can take your list with you to the polls, according to the election board. However, you cannot discuss candidates with others who are present and be sure to not leave your notes behind in the voting booth.
This article may be updated with more candidate responses.
District Court Candidates
Watch: Judicial Forum for District Court Candidates
Circuit Court Candidates
Watch: Judicial Forum for Circuit, Appeals and Kentucky Supreme Courts
Court of Appeals Candidates
Kentucky Supreme Court Candidates
Since they affect the lives of people, why aren’t all cases published, including those of the Court of Appeals?
Most of us will vote at our assigned polling place on Election Day. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. If you are in line at 6 p.m. when the polls close, you will be allowed to cast your vote.
For further information about mail-in absentee ballots and other Election Day issues, please contact the Clerk's Office here:
Elections – Jefferson County Elections Center (jeffersoncountyclerk.org)
Jefferson County Clerk’s Office Election Center
1000 East Liberty Street
Louisville, KY 40204-1029
Phone: (502) 574-6100
Fax: (502) 574-5014
Email: Absentee@JeffersonCountyClerk.org
 Here is a recap and resolution of select agenda items presented during the October 27th Council meeting.
1. A resolution to approve the plan for use of bond funds for a community grocery. Louisville Association for Community Economics, Inc. and Louisville Community Grocery will construct a community grocery in Smoketown. This underserved area is considered a “food desert” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency due to a significant number of residents live more than one mile from the nearest supermarket.
2. A resolution that requests Louisville Metro Housing Authority terminate its current contract for services with The CT Group, LLC or CT Associates, Inc., or any subsidiaries currently responsible for managing and maintaining LMHA properties due to consistent management and maintenance failures.
3. An ordinance that prohibits vehicle speed contests or reckless driving exhibitions, such as street racing, burnouts, doughnuts, etc., on the streets of Louisville Metro. Violation of the ordinance comes with a fine and allows Louisville Metro Police officers to impound cars. (I am a co-sponsor on this ordinance.)
4. A resolution changing the date of the first regular organizational Metro Council meeting for 2023 from January 2, 2023 to January 3, 2023 due to the observance of New Year’s Day.
5. An ordinance to continue efforts to prevent and eliminate issues with properties where criminal activity has caused a property to become a danger to surrounding areas, resulting in blight and threatening the health and safety of area residents, and where criminal and illegal activity has become persistent, unmanageable and negatively impacts the surrounding area, allows code enforcement to physically arrest an individual; issue a criminal or administrative citation or an official incident report for a violation of law; or a referral of charges by law enforcement to counsel or other appropriate authority for prosecution.
6. An ordinance appropriating funds to Jewish Community of Louisville, Inc. to build a public playground at the Trager Family Jewish Community Center. (I contributed to this initiative.)
7. An ordinance approving funds towards addressing the critical need to bolster the health care work force in Metro Louisville due to the continued impact of Covid-19 on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals and business.
8. A resolution authorizing premium pay for suburban Fire and EMS employees who were considered essential staff and/or front-line employees unable to regularly telework; who had regular interaction with the public and/or peers in an office setting; worked directly with the public dealing with Covid-related interactions; and handled items also handled by others. I am a co-sponsor on this ordinance. (I am one of the Sponsors of this resolution.)
If you would like to see the agenda for any of the Metro Council’s Committee meetings click HERE.
To watch the Council meeting and access the agenda and related attachments, click here: Metro Council Meetings
Meeting Type: PLANNING COMMISSION
Meeting Date: WEDNESDAY, November 9, 2022
Time: Meeting will begin at 6:30 PM
Location: Walden School – Tucker Hall – 4238 Westport Road, 40207
Meeting Type: PLANNING COMMISSION
Meeting Date: THURSDAY, November 17, 2022
Time: Meeting will begin at 1:00 PM
Location: 514 W. Liberty Street, 40202
Learn how to watch and participate online at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/upcoming-public-meetings
To view documents related to this proposal, please visit
https://aca-prod.accela.com/LJCMG
Or Louisville Metro Planning and Design Services (Hours: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.) 444 S. 5th St., 3rd Floor, Louisville, KY 40202, (502) 574-6230
Or visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/planning-design for:
• More information on zoning processes
• Public comment opportunities
• Applications for a petition for a night hearing, including procedures to change the time and/or location of a public hearing to 6:00 pm or later downtown, or to a convenient location.
Visit https://louisville.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx for meeting agenda and staff report
To read about the most recent VA Medical Center construction events, go to:
https://www.va.gov/louisville-health-care/programs/new-robley-rex-va-medical-center
To request weekly updates about the construction events, send an email requesting updates to: LOUVAMCCONSTRUCTION@USACE.ARMY.MIL
For ALL construction-related inquiries, please email:
LOUVAMCCONSTRUCTION@USACE.ARMY.MIL
Check us out on social media:
All Metro Public Works free leaf drop-off sites will be open Tuesday-Saturdays, November 8 through December 10. Drop-off will not be available on November 24 and 25 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Only leaves will be accepted, and they must be loose or in paper/compostable bags or reusable containers. Containers used to bring leaves to the drop-off sites must be taken back by residents.
Starting Tuesday, November 8:
Public Works Yard, 10500 Lower River Road (enter from Bethany Lane)
Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Public Works East District Operations Center, 595 North Hubbards Lane
Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Shawnee Park, 230 Southwestern Parkway (Athletic Complex)
Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
This is the last Pop-Up Drop-Off event for the year!
Named one of the Best Places to See Fall Colors in the U.S. by Lonely Planet, Louisville has a variety of destinations to visit when in town during the colorful fall months. Bernheim Forest will show off the region's famous foliage with two days of activities during this annual Fall Festival. A corn pit, mud pie kitchen, pumpkin rolling, giant launch, nature games, and giant slides will be some of the available activities in addition to a hillside grass maze that has been added for 2022. ColorFest will take place on Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on both days.
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The Louisville Zoo is excited to announce its NEW School’s Out Safari discount to help provide our community with fun, safe and educational experiences at the Zoo this fall and winter.
Guests can receive one free child admission (ages 3-11) when they buy one adult general admission ticket. Tickets must be purchased at the admission window on the day of your visit. The offer cannot be redeemed for more than one child admission per single adult admission. This discount cannot be combined with any other offer. Children 2 and under do not require a ticket.
This discount is available on the following days:
- Tuesday, November 8
- Wednesday, November 23
- Friday, November 25
- December 19 – 23
- December 26 – 30
- Monday, January 2
- Tuesday, January 3
- Monday, January 16
More information at louisvillezoo.org/schools-out-safari.
Answers to the puzzle are listed at the bottom of this newsletter.
Metro Louisville now has an interactive map that will allow you to see what is happening in your neighborhood as well as others across the city. The map updates daily and if you choose you can receive alerts for your area by subscribing using the red receive alerts button on the page. Click here to try it out: Interactive Map to Track Crime.
Message from the LMPD 8th Division
Please make note of the below tips to help make sure theft doesn't happen to you.
- Never leave anything of value in your vehicle; this includes laptops, purses, GPS devices and even loose change.
- Do not leave your vehicle running while unattended.
- Always lock your vehicle doors.
- Remove garage door openers from vehicles when parked outside.
- Do not leave your keys in your vehicle, this includes key-fobs.
- Do not leave the windows of your vehicle open, or partially open.
- Try to park your vehicle in a well-lit area.
- Never leave a firearm unprotected in your vehicle.
- Immediately report any suspicious person, or vehicle to (502) 574-7111.
Louisville COVID-19 case counts are holding steady at the red-alert level. Health experts recommend people living in high community-level counties to wear a mask indoors in public, stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines and get tested if experiencing symptoms. Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness
Here are the key COVID-19 data metrics for this week:
- Daily average incidence rate of 56.1 cases per 100,000 population
- Weekly incidence rate of 376.79 cases per 100,000 population
- 3,013 new cases reported over the previous week
- 1 newly reported death
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4.4% staffed inpatient beds in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19
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5.9% staffed ICU beds are in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19
- 47.6 of those fully vaccinated have received a booster dose
- Wastewater testing data shows the BA.5 variant to be the dominant variant.
Need help finding a COVID test or vaccination location? Have you tested positive for COVID, but aren't sure what to do? Call the LOU Health COVID-19 Helpline, 502-912-8598, available Monday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Language translation services are available.
Subscribe to Louisville Metro's Covid-19 e-newsletter for the latest news!
Monkeypox tends to spread through close contact with someone who is infected with the virus. It can spread through prolonged face-to-face contact and intimate physical contact such as kissing, cuddling or sex. The virus can also be spread through materials, like bedding, that has previously touched an infectious rash or bodily fluids. Click here for more information: monkeypox
Louisville Metro Council livestreams all of its regular meetings and committee meetings on Facebook Live.
To see all meetings on Facebook Live, go to the Metro Council Facebook page by clicking here.
The public can also view all council and committee meetings on Metro TV, Spectrum Cable Channel 184 or on UVERSE at Channel 99. Proceedings are live streamed from the Metro Council Clerk’s Archived Media page here.
If you would like to see the agenda for any of the Metro Council’s Committee meetings click here.
To watch the Council meeting and access the agenda and related attachments, click HERE.
Click Here to: View All Agencies
Click Here to Visit Website for Laws, State Legislators, Watch Bills, etc
Click here for more info.
District 7 Disclaimer: By taking part in District 7 events, you grant Councilwoman Paula McCraney full rights to use the images resulting from photograph/video filming. Councilwoman McCraney will have the right to any reproductions or adaptations of the images for inclusion in her e-Newsletter or other Council publications. This might include, but is not limited to, the right to use them in printed and online materials, social media and news releases.
If you do not wish to be photographed, please email the District 7 office at paula.mccraney@louisvilleky.gov prior to event attendance.
Once the public has weighed in on development proposals by attending the various meetings (Planning Commission, zoning, and neighborhood meetings) and getting their comments on the record during these meetings or by writing to the case manager on the project, I must allow the staff case manager to do the job of evaluating every phase of the project to ensure it adheres to the comprehensive plan (Cornerstone 2020 | Plan 2040). Then, when the case manager completed the due diligence on the project, I read the report in detail to see where the development plan fell short or if it met all the requirements of the comprehensive plan. Then, based on a series of standards I use, I also determine if I need to step in to offer "binding elements" to the report. I always use the following questions as guidelines:
- Will the project divert runoff from existing impervious areas to more effective stormwater management facilities?
- Will the project be compatible with other neighborhood structure sites within the impact zone?
- Will nearby residents likely suffer glare from lights or lose their night sky view?
- Has the project been designed to prevent an undue amount of noise at nearby homes, schools, and other sensitive sites?
- Do plans show that the project will not intrude onto property owned by others or easements?
- Is the project free of use likely to have an adverse effect on the value of nearby homes?
- Will the degree of traffic congestion (level of service) remain within the acceptable range?
- If the project is in an area served by a single road, will the road be adequate to allow evacuation during an emergency with the traffic added by the project?
- Has the project been designed to prevent an undue increase in traffic, especially trucks, on residential streets? (In my mind, all new development in District 7 fails this test, so I generally require the developer to pay for a traffic study. However, sometimes the developer has already provided a study, and sometimes they expect residents to pay for a traffic study if they want to review the findings.)
- Will the project reduce through traffic on an existing residential street or make the road safer with traffic calming measures?
The Metro Planning Commission is the first line of defense for all development proposals. The purpose of the Planning Commission "shall be to direct the economic growth and physical development of Jefferson County and the communities therein, and to guide such development in such a manner as to assure the prosperity, health, safety, morals and general welfare of the county and its communities." One of the Commission's objectives is developing, reviewing, and maintaining the Cornerstone 2020 Comprehensive Plan, including the recommendation of implementing the plan to the appropriate legislative bodies. They also follow the findings of Plan 2040.
If you are concerned about a threat to your neighborhood or environment, please sign up for development notifications. Click here: Louisville Metro Government (govdelivery.com). The next step is to attend the meetings about the development to learn the details. Then, contact the case manager assigned to the project to ask questions and make comments. It's essential to understand the rules of engagement for handling development projects.
Your voice is important, although sometimes you may feel unheard during development meetings. Trust me; I'm listening, and so are the members of the Planning Commission. As I've said on many occasions, it is difficult to defeat a development project if the only defense you have is, "Not in my backyard." Please familiarize yourself with Plan 2040, the goals and objectives of the Planning Commission, and the limitations of the Metro Council member.
Here are some links that will assist you in becoming an expert on land development and citizen involvement.
I always welcome any questions you might have about the neighborhood development process. But, again, I am not anti-development. I am pro-Smart Growth. Anything less than smart and does not meet the requirements of a comprehensive plan meets my scrutiny and binding elements.
Upcoming Planning Commission and Zoning Meetings: Upcoming Public Meetings | LouisvilleKY.gov
About Planning and Design Services: About Planning & Design Services | LouisvilleKY.gov
Public Notices and Neighborhood Meetings: Public Notices and Neighborhood Meetings | LouisvilleKY.gov
Land Development Code: Land Development Code | LouisvilleKY.gov
Louisville Development Code Reform: Land Development Code Reform | LouisvilleKY.gov
User Guides: User Guides | LouisvilleKY.gov
Search Case Information: Accela Citizen Access
Sign Up for Development Notifications: Notifications | LouisvilleKY.gov
Wuzzle Answer Key
1. Play on Words
2. Get in Shape
3. Monkey on Your Back
4. Dr. Dolittle
5. Fooling Around
6. A Kick in the Butt
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