The building at 319 Duke Road was originally built as an assisted living facility, but since then has housed a behavioral health center. Another group specializing in mental health is seeking a conditional use permit for the site.
Linda Blackford
A month after Lexington’s Board of Adjustment voted 4-2 to approve a mental health clinic in Chevy Chase, neighbors have filed an appeal with the Fayette County Circuit Court to overturn the decision.
Eight nearby property owners and B&F Realty Company, which owns multiple properties on Duke Road, filed the appeal on May 12. Judge Julie Goodman, who faced a controversial impeachment trial during this year’s legislative session, will preside over the case.
Real estate company ZLD Partners and Roaring Brook, a mental health and substance abuse treatment provider, sought approval for a conditional use permit from the Board of Adjustment to operate an in-patient mental health clinic at 319 Duke Road. The clinic would treat patients suffering from a mental health crisis, with several beds reserved specifically for patients with eating disorders.
The proposal was an immediate controversy. A website, now taken down, and an online ad declared “Chevy Chase Deserves Better.” Hundreds of residents showed up to the contentious April 13 board meeting to voice their opposition to the proposal, citing fears that patients at the clinic would pose a safety threat to the neighborhood’s residences and nearby schools.
Board of Adjustment member Ross Boggess told the Herald-Leader he was consistently harassed in person and online after voting to support the project.
Representatives from ZLD Partners and Roaring Brook have assured neighbors that patients treated at the clinic will be psychologically stable and will be under regular supervision, posing no harm to the surrounding area.
The plaintiffs in the appeal allege, in addition to safety concerns, the board’s approval of the clinic violated local zoning laws.
The plaintiffs argue Lexington’s zoning code does not allow rehabilitation homes — the classification of treatment center the Duke Road clinic falls under — to be operated within 500 feet of any other type of building in an R-3 zone. The Duke Road clinic, and much of the Chevy Chase neighborhood, are zoned R-3.
However, staff with the city’s division of planning rebutted that argument in the April 13 meeting. Staff said the 500-feet buffer only applies to other rehabilitation homes zoned R-3 rather than applying to all other R-3 uses, including standard homes.
The plaintiffs also cite several failures of the board with regard to how they conducted the April 13 meeting, including granting more speaking time to Roaring Brook’s attorneys than Chevy Chase’s attorneys and not having a public deliberation amongst board members before voting on the permit.
Representatives from ZLD Partners and Roaring Brook did not immediately respond to the Herald-Leader’s request for comment.
Plaintiffs in the appeal are B&F Realty Company, Jacquelyn and Benton Campbell, Erin Cornett, Karl Gustafson, Whitney Lawson, Abigail McKay, Deborah Orr, Jonathan Pliszka and Robin Russell.
Lexington Herald-Leader
Adrian Paul Bryant is the Lexington Government Reporter for the Herald-Leader. He joined the paper in November 2025 after four years of covering Lexington’s local government for CivicLex. Adrian is a Jackson County native, lifelong Kentuckian, and proud Lexingtonian.