Overview
- The Louisville Metro Planning Commission held its final public hearing Monday night and is now folding thousands of public comments into a revised recommendation that commissioners will finalize at an Aug. 20 meeting.
- The draft proposal would ban future data centers larger than 500,000 square feet and require developers to pay for any necessary utility or road upgrades so existing customers do not shoulder those costs.
- Planners added rules to limit centers to industrial zones, enforce separation from homes and schools, set noise and buffering standards for generators, require conditional use hearings for exceptions, and demand disclosure of owner and user identities.
- West Louisville residents raised strong health, pollution and trust concerns tied to a nearby Campground Road project in Rubbertown, with speakers urging stricter oversight and independent review during the hearings.
- Public engagement was extensive: planners say roughly 3,600 comments came in during the 30‑day formal window and about 7,000 comments were recorded over the yearlong process, with the final decision now slated for Metro Council after the commission’s recommendation.