Fayette Alliance and concerned citizens sue Urban City Council

LEXINGTON, Ky (WTVQ) — Concerned citizens, in real estate and the equine industry, and Fayette Alliance have joined together to sue the city of Lexington and the city’s council members individually.

The lawsuit was filed in June 2023.

They are suing to immediately stop the expansion of the urban service boundary, saying that the expansion will lower property values and hurt the horse industry.

Fayette alliance, executive director Brittany Roethemeier, says the council members went against certain statutes to okay the expansion of the boundary.

“It’s our belief that the council violated these statutes in mandating the expansion of the urban services boundary,” said Roethemeier. “And that decision was not made on the necessary analysis, research and projections as required by the statute.”

“I think there are a couple different aspects of this. Number one, it’s our belief that the council both disregarded historical and legal precedence.”

The second aspect relates to the Kentucky revised statute, that governs how different bodies make the comprehensive plans.

The lawsuits main argument is  council members did not do enough research and acted against the advise of their own counsel.

The city’s planning commission advised councilmembers to not expand the boundary, after two years of extensive research.

Roethemeier has gone on the record saying the expansion won’t lower the housing rates, but according to the documents that is exactly what they are arguing.

She says the only study she is aware of that says housing rates would lower is from 2017. She also says that this study claims the rates would only lower for a short period of time.

Council members have given no statements on the case, as they have been advised to not comment on active lawsuits.

The city declined to comment on Commissioner Susan Speckert’s conflict of interest in this case. Speckert was the former executive director for Fayette Alliance.