Historical Land Use 
While no longer present (and few, if any, clues visible), the historical industrial uses of the corridor lend insight into the creek’s present form and condition.  Over the past two hundred years the following industries were in operation along the Town Branch within the short segment between present day Cox Street and South Forbes Road:
- Ashland Distillery (William Tarr Co.)
- D.M. Dodge Lumber Yard
- Standard Oil Co.
- Hodges & Campbell Planing Mill
- Fayette Brick and Supply Co.
- Comb’s Lumber Co. Planing Mill and Factory
- Munn’s Bros. Meat Whse.
- Texas Oil Co.
- Liggette and Myers Tobacco Co. Whse and Slaughter House
- Kentucky Highway Dept. Repair Shops
- James E. Pepper Co. Distillery (still standing)
- Swift and Co. Stock Pens
- Central Rock Co. Quarry (still in operation)
- Gulf Oil Refining Co. Storage Site
- Superior Tobacco Whse.
- Farmer’s Tobacco Whse.
- Square D Finished Product Whse.
- Armour and Co. Packing and Slaughterhouse
- Chesapeake and Ohio Rail Road
- Louisville and Nashville Rail Road

Although the present and historic industrial land uses have contributed to the neglect and abuse of the Town Branch, these industries also provide an opportunity as an educational resource in the form of potential nodes of interest and points of access.  Industries such as the dormant city incinerator, closed landfill, quarry, and the sewage treatment plant can be integrated into the trail as educational nodes. 

While currently incompatible with recreational uses and needs, a portion of these industrial properties can be set aside and specifically redesigned for such activities.   In addition to the greenway case studies cited earlier, there are many nationally and internationally recognized examples of  “manufactured sites,” or reengineered/redesigned industrial landscapes for recreational uses.  While it is beyond the scope of this study, a few are mentioned here for reference as can serve as excellent case-study examples of successful reuse and redevelopment projects (see editor for more information on these):

- The Renton East Division Treatment Plant/Waterworks Garden; Renton, WA (public park integrating sewage treatment plant)
- The Westpoint Treatment Plant/Discovery Park Shoreline Path; Seattle, WA (public park integrating sewage treatment plant)
- Gasworks Park; Seattle, WA (public park that incorporates an abandoned industrial plant and contaminated land)
- Northern Water Feature, Sydney Olympics 2000; New South Wales, Austrailia (Olympic park built on the site of former quarry/brickpit)
- Renaissance Park Golf Course; Charlotte, NC (public golf course built on the site of a closed city landfill)
- Danehy Park; Cambridge, MA (public park built on the site of a closed city landfill)

Even though unsightly and noisy, the interconnection of roads and railroad lines adjacent to the Town Branch also provide the opportunity for points of access from outlying communities to trails that lead to downtown Lexington.  See maps on following pages for identification of significant land uses.

Demographics
Once established, the Town Branch Greenway will connect many different neighborhoods, both black and white, rich and poor.  As an urban industrial corridor, the land adjacent to the Town Branch became a settlement area for poor whites and freed slaves after the civil war (Speigle Heights, Irishtown, etc.)  Bracktown, located on Leestown Pike near Masterson Station became a hamlet for rural African-Americans settlement after the Civil War. The urban neighborhoods were isolated tracts of land, literally located on the “other side of the tracks,” and to this day remain surrounded by industrial land uses (such as tobacco warehouses, lumber yards, junkyards, stockyards, bourbon distilleries, landfills, and oil storage facilities).  In the case of Bracktown, a once isolated rural hamlet is becoming surrounded by new suburban residential development as the city expands westward. 

The Town Branch Greenway will not only reunite people with a natural resource—but it will also connect neighborhoods of varying socio-economic conditions, and establish links that never before existed.  These are sensitive issues and must be considered in the planning process to make sure that all voices are represented.

Property Ownership 
Lexington is fortunate to have relatively large tracts of land adjacent to the Town Branch in public ownership and/or used for institutional purposes.  This property includes the Lexington Convention Center complex and its adjacent parking area, the Town Branch Sewage Treatment Plant complex, the closed city landfill and incinerator site, the fire training station area across from McConnell Springs, the Veteran’s Hospital and nearby Kentucky Tech, the new correctional institution, as well as the Player’s Club of Lexington (a private golf course which is soon to become the property of the University of Kentucky).  While not adjacent to the creek, Masterson Station Park is only 1000 feet away at its nearest point. 

Once outside the urban service area the Town Branch passes by many horse farms.   Because of the private nature of this property, pedestrian access beyond Masterson Station Park and the urban service area is not under serious consideration.   At the very least, it is recommended that at least the riparian zone be conserved, vegetated, and maintained as a resource protection area for ecological benefit. Public-through boat access is an alternative, but requires further study.

One other point to note is that the CSX railroad line (formerly the Chesapeake and Ohio line) follows the general alignment of the Town Branch from its beginning near Cox Street.  The tracks weave toward and away from the creek, and in many areas, these linear elements form isolated areas of land that may be of little use or value to the owner (and which could be of great value to greenway development and natural conservation interests).  Further investigation of these parcels is needed to determine the possibility of acquisition or easement rights. 

Legislation
The following land use legislation and guidelines from both the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and the KRS 100 state statutes has been compiled here for their specific relevance to the design and development of greenways, as well as future urban infill along the corridor: 

KRS 100:  The following Kentucky Revised Statutes have been highlighted for possible relevance to greenway design and development.  Further investigation is recommended. 
65.420    Acquisition of easements, purposes
97.040    Gifts for recreation facilities
97.050    Appropriations for recreation facilities
97.055    Revenue bonds for recreation facilities
97.257    Power of condemnation for park purposes
97.425    “Park property” defined
146.230  Criteria for streams in Wild Rivers System
148.630  Classes of trails established
148.650  Establishment and designation of trails
148.670  Process of locating routes of trails
411.190  Obligations of owner to persons using land for recreation