Over the summer starting on May 2 through July 11, 2023, The Development Interest Group (DIG) asked several developers to discuss their in-fill projects currently under development throughout Downtown Frankfort. DIG has recapped the learnings, issues, barriers, and suggested solutions from these development projects to share with its members and the appropriate community stakeholders. Our vision is to help improve the business environment for builders and entrepreneurs to invest in Frankfort by informing the appropriate entity or agency about what actions might help to mitigate issues to further growth.
The goals of the “Downtown Development Series” meetings follow:
Share where development and renovations are taking place in Downtown Frankfort
Provide developers a forum to speak freely with their peers about their experiences with renovating in Frankfort.
Learn the pros and cons of their projects and how building in Frankfort compares to other cities.
Learn what the developers and the community stakeholders can do to work collaboratively to remove barriers to developing and renovating buildings downtown.
Celebrate the progress being made by those who are taking on the investment risk to improve Downtown Frankfort.
The issues and recommendations follow:
1. The Building Inspector does not make a list of items to correct in writing when doing inspections. Then during the next meeting, the developer who took the notes during the first inspection reviews all the corrections made, the inspector finds new things to be corrected and continues not to write anything down himself. This creates a cycle of delays and delays cost money.
Recommendation: The building inspector needs to submit the action items in writing to the developer as is done in other cities and to be more conscientious and accountable for the delays caused for not covering all the issues during the initial site inspection.
2. The Health Inspector is unaware or unwilling to provide alternative solutions. For example, the health inspector claimed that air curtains were required by the health department in several food & beverage establishments when that was not the only solution that met the current code, much less a requirement. Developers had to point out alternatives that met code to avoid the onerous purchase and installation of an air curtain.
3. The Health Inspector requires developers to install large grease traps far larger than the restaurants and bars need without considering the developer’s plan submitted for their operation. This is required so that if later a restaurant wants to expand, it will have a large enough grease trap. Even if the developer submits a speculative plan (tenant TBD), the inspector requires a larger grease trap. The issue is that the developer must bear the cost of the purchase and installation for the tenant that may never expand its menu to warrant a larger grease trap or for another potential non-food related tenant that may never need a grease trap in this space.
4. The perception is that there is no consistent leadership among inspectors and some inspectors appear to overstep the boundaries of their jobs. It was said, “The right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing.” The permitting process is already taxing and is aggravated by the fact that one inspector approves the initial plan only to find out that another inspector tells the developer that the construction plan violates the code. For example, the developer learned that to comply with the electrical inspector’s requirement, it meant that 4 other building codes were violated. This costs the developer more time and money. The perceptions are that some inspectors are unprepared for inspections, act unprofessionally if questioned, take joy in “holding developers hostage” and “make up codes when there is none just to serve their purpose” and knowingly delay projects.
Recommendations: Inspectors need to know the options available to remedy an issue and offer advice on cost-effective solutions. All inspectors should be on the same page and have the same goal, which is to determine the best way to make a project safe and viable. When there is gridlock or unsure how to help the project move forward, inspectors should use examples from other cities to make progress. For food & beverage establishments, allow the developer to install the grease trap required by code and if later, the need for a larger grease trap occurs, then the property owner or tenant can expand and meet the code.
To preserve the charm of the old buildings, the planning directors need to get together with the inspectors to provide guidance on how to reach code compliance. The developers cited other communities that were able to extend some latitude on how to overcome code issues when rehabilitating old historic buildings. Developers also noted that other communities had professional staff who provided written reports with the building codes listed. They recommend that our planning department leaders meet with their counterparts in other cities to learn how they manage code issues for historic renovations. Frankfort and Franklin County should seriously consider merging the 2 planning departments to improve communications and effectiveness to mitigate contradictory mandates. If correction action is not taken, these types of issues will discourage in-fill development.
5. Parking permits for the subcontractors were cited as an issue. Developers are issued a limited number of parking permits from the start, and they need many more to get the project completed over several months. Developers hire different subs as the project continues and find the parking permit process frustrating. Developers feel they are not informed up-front on how to purchase parking permits and find out the problem once the subs who come from other cities to work in Frankfort are cited with parking violations.
Recommendation: A developer should be able to obtain additional parking permits as needed for construction vehicles to complete a project, at the beginning of the project. If developers are willing to invest millions of dollars in our community, we should find a way to make them feel welcome and thank them for their investment – not write their employees numerous parking tickets. As a development incentive, the city could provide at no cost all the parking permits requested by the developer. Limiting a contractor’s use of his vehicle is like asking a doctor to work without access to medicine. The job cannot be done effectively or efficiently without more parking permits so we should not have restrictions that limit the number of permits or the development of additional parking areas.
6. The perception of the Planning & Zoning Commission (PC) is that it is confrontational and undermines the subject matter expert’s advice. On numerous occasions, the PC does not listen to the recommendations of the City/County Planners who have the education, knowledge and expertise regarding proposed properties submitted for rezone, map amendments, etc. Applicants find they need to hire legal counsel to sort through the feedback and directives, which are often not grounded in fact. This causes delays, which costs the developers money and affects our community’s tax receipts because we could be reaping the benefits of incremental taxes sooner without the unnecessary delays. Rezone requests drag on for months, sometime years. For example, it took Duncan Rd years to pass its rezoning request.
Recommendation: Planning & Zoning Board members need to have a clear directive regarding their responsibilities as a board member. They should be trained and then held accountable to know the policies, how to apply them, to review projects fairly and consistently without overstepping their boundaries and without their personal agenda. When the Mayor and Judge Executive are considering new board members, they should appoint experienced people who have knowledge of business, real estate, development, and construction issues. The board members are vital to the future of this community; therefore, the positions should be filled with those who are willing to spend the time preparing for meetings and making effective and timely decisions.
7. Common experience among many developers who stated that quite often, NO one answers the phone at City Hall or the Fiscal Court, so they leave messages and staff still don’t return calls OR it takes days before they hear from anyone. Also, when developers try to make an appointment for an inspection, they are told to call back in the morning to see if an inspector can schedule an appointment. Developers feel time is wasted trying to move their project forward.
Recommendation: The City and County leaders should insist that all incoming phone calls are covered throughout the day to ensure excellent service. Developers need to be able to make appointments and inspectors need to keep them. These positions should be adequately and competently staffed so that no developer is waiting more than 24 hours to receive a response.
8. There is a perception that some elected leaders are not open to the idea of change, growth or embracing the importance of having a business-friendly reputation. Developers do not see the elected leaders establishing a pro-growth culture based on their appointment of board members nor do they feel that anyone is conveying to the inspectors and staff the importance of providing excellent service. Also, they feel that the elected leaders are busy trying to satisfy anti-growth representatives instead of declaring strategic growth as a priority. Also, they also cite the need for leaders to understand their preference to go through a 3rd party or business advocate to discuss and mitigate issues and not have to fear retaliation for expressing their concerns. They would like to see more support for their advocates such as the Planning Directors, KCDC, DFI, and the Chamber of Commerce.
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Recommendation: The Mayor and Judge Executive should have oversight with the inspectors by working with their Planning Department Directors. They should challenge them to recruit inspectors who are qualified, experienced and can work with developers in a constructive, responsive way. Explain the need to help developers from permitting to granting the final approvals and eliminating gridlock. Elected officials should convey their POV on the importance of working collaboratively by listening to those well connected to developers such as the Planning staff, KCDC, DFI and the Chamber of Commerce.
9. Developers state that Downtown Frankfort is on the cusp of becoming a great place for visitors to enjoy. With the additional hotel and short-term rental accommodations, bar and entertainment venues, Frankfort developers identified the need for the City, Tourism Department and DFI to promote Frankfort as a great place to spend a few days.
Recommendations: With over 15 active development projects recently completed or in development in Downtown Frankfort, the Tourism department will have lots of new venues to interest visitors to check us out. Now when Tourism advertises Downtown Frankfort’s unique assets such as its historical beauty, 2 Riverfronts, Railroad on Broadway Ave., Old State Capitol Bldg, proximity to Buffalo Trace, the KY History Center & the City Museum, the messaging should also highlight our new hotels, new upscale short term rental accommodations, new coffee shop and bourbon bars. The City still needs signage directing visitors from the Buffalo Trace Distillery to downtown on Wilkinson Blvd. Need to improve the street appearances of all routes leading to downtown (currently unattractive). Need to incentivize and support more restaurants and retail in the downtown area that can accommodate visitors looking to enrich their vacation experience. There is a need for DFI to market to the State Gov’t personnel and establish an on-going program to invite employees to visit downtown for lunch, after work and to support special events. With all the development in downtown Frankfort, the marketing needs to be effective in driving traffic to support these new and existing businesses. Once the current apartments, hotels, short term rental and business development projects are done, our downtown will have the opportunity to welcome visitors by the thousands who can enjoy our city throughout the year.
10. Many developers said that the people of Frankfort are well-meaning, kind, and hospitable. Local citizens walk by the projects and thank the developers for investing in Downtown Frankfort because they love their city and want to see Frankfort reach its potential with a vibrant and robust downtown. They express amazement and excitement to see buildings that they have only known to be vacant for decades now being renovated and turned into highlights for so many people to enjoy. Developers appreciate the good sentiments from the community but want us to recognize that there is much work needed to be done to make Frankfort a business-friendly place to invest money when compared to other cities. Some developers said that they would invest again if the opportunity made financial sense and others said that they would never rehab another building in Frankfort again because of the perceived difficulties in getting inspections that caused delays, extra expense, red tape, apathetic attitudes, and unwillingness to be flexible and work collaboratively. Some also state that the roads and sidewalks are in bad repair and need to be fixed without delay because they pose a safety hazard. Also, some developers state the need for the Frankfort Plant Board to become more engaged in Economic Development, as is done in many cities.
Recommendations: One suggestion is to merge the city and county planning departments. Also, elected leaders should request monthly updates from Robert Hewitt and Eric Cockley about the status of construction projects to identify issues and mitigation plans. Make sure inspectors are returning calls promptly and keeping appointments. Provide inspection notes in writing rather than continue citing violations that delay projects. Staff and elected officials should work hard to convey that they want these investments in our community and look for ways to make each project viable. The FPB should seriously consider working as a more engaged partner in Economic Development by identifying areas of growth, working more closely with KCDC, making site visits with prospects, and providing data on the electrical capabilities on a proactive basis. It is good business for them as they get more ratepayers, and the community can build its tax base. In summary, entities across the city/county should support the businesses that have a legitimate opportunity to start, grow or expand in our community.
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