LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A planning board is recommending a temporary ban on new data center projects in Oldham County, where opposition has mounted to a $6 billion tech campus envisioned north of La Grange.
The Oldham County Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to urge fiscal court and the La Grange City Council to approve a moratorium that, if enacted, would prohibit new applications for 150 days.
The pause would give planners time to craft regulations for the fast-growing industry, which isn’t mentioned in local land-use rules.
“What they're trying to do is get it right,” La Grange resident Rob Houchens told the commission. “And so a moratorium will allow us to get it right and get things in place so that we can properly regulate what's coming before us -- because it's something new.”
A freeze would not affect the “Project Lincoln” plan on Ky. 53, where a developer is seeking a conditional use permit to allow a data center on 267 acres now zoned for agriculture and conservation uses. That application, which seeks to define the data center as a “private utility,” is pending before the county’s board of adjustments.
Other applications also could be considered until the local legislative bodies act to start the ban. Berry Baxter, the Oldham County Attorney, said elected officials can’t put a moratorium in place right away; instead, they have to follow a process similar to a zoning change that begins with the planning commission.
Eight people spoke during a 10-minute public comment period. Among them was Barry Laws, who noted that Louisville Gas & Electric Co. has publicly disclosed it is working on 16 data center projects.
(The utility is in discussions with about 16-20 data center proposals at any given time, a top official told WDRB News in January.)
“This isn't a one off,” Laws said. “This is -- it's all coming. If we don't have regulations in place quickly, we're going to be in a lot of trouble in the future.”
A local committee studying new rules for data centers has met twice and needs one more meeting before it can propose its regulations, said Ryan Fischer, director of Oldham County planning and development.
Under that schedule, Fischer said he expects the planning commission could take up the regulations in July, with the fiscal court and La Grange city council following as early as August.
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