# Council hearing minutes released for contested Maxwell Street zone change  
**Published:** 2025-11-19T10:00:00.000Z  
**Source:** [LFUCG Meeting Minutes](https://lfucg.granicus.com/MinutesViewer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=6629)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/council-hearing-minutes-released-for-contested-maxwell-street-zone-change

LEXINGTON, Ky. — [Official minutes from an Urban County Council meeting held Nov. 19](https://lfucg.granicus.com/MinutesViewer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=6629) document an extended public hearing on a proposed zone change that would have allowed [construction of an eight-story student housing complex in the Aylesford neighborhood](https://www.wkyt.com/2025/11/20/lexington-council-rejects-downtown-zone-change-student-housing/).

The proposal involved [rezoning 2 acres at Maxwell Street and Kalmia Avenue from medium-density residential to Downtown Frame Business](https://lexingtonky.news/2025/11/17/council-to-hold-public-hearing-on-maxwell-street-apartment-complex/) to permit development by Core Spaces. At the November meeting, [more than 50 people signed up to speak, with residents voicing both opposition and support](https://news.civiclex.org/council-votes-to-block-maxwell-street-student-housing-development/).

The minutes show 21 residents spoke in opposition to the project, citing concerns about [displacement, neighborhood character, and the demolition of 12 buildings classified as historic by the National Register of Historic Places](https://news.civiclex.org/council-votes-to-block-maxwell-street-student-housing-development/). Fifteen residents spoke in support, citing Lexington's [severe housing shortage, with a study showing the city is 22,000 housing units short across all incomes](https://www.weku.org/lexington-richmond/2025-11-20/lexington-city-council-narrowly-reverses-course-on-rezoning-proposal-to-student-apartments).

Council members posed detailed questions about traffic impacts, parking, affordable housing levels, and relocation assistance. [Councilmember Sheehan noted that true affordability would require rent closer to $600 per month to align with average city salaries, while the proposed development was not classified as affordable housing](https://news.civiclex.org/council-votes-to-block-maxwell-street-student-housing-development/).

The minutes document the procedural elements of the hearing but do not contain the final council vote. [According to subsequent reporting, the Urban County Council voted 8-7 against the zone change](https://news.civiclex.org/council-votes-to-block-maxwell-street-student-housing-development/).

## Sources

- [LFUCG Meeting Minutes](https://lfucg.granicus.com/MinutesViewer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=6629)
- [Civic Lexington coverage of the council vote and project details](https://news.civiclex.org/council-votes-to-block-maxwell-street-student-housing-development/)
- [WKYT reporting on the zone change and building demolitions](https://www.wkyt.com/2025/11/20/lexington-council-rejects-downtown-zone-change-student-housing/)
- [WEKU coverage of council reversal on rezoning proposal](https://www.weku.org/lexington-richmond/2025-11-20/lexington-city-council-narrowly-reverses-course-on-rezoning-proposal-to-student-apartments)
- [Lexington Times advance notice of November 19 hearing](https://lexingtonky.news/2025/11/17/council-to-hold-public-hearing-on-maxwell-street-apartment-complex/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from LFUCG Meeting Minutes, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://lfucg.granicus.com/MinutesViewer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=6629.