Bourbon County commissioners say zoning is coming; invite advisory panel and public hearings

A Bourbon County commissioner told the commission and the public on April 7 that enacting zoning regulations in unincorporated parts of the county is a matter of “how” not “if,” and invited residents to apply to a new zoning advisory panel and attend upcoming public hearings.

The commissioner said the three commissioners who took office Jan. 13 made zoning part of their campaigns and that earlier efforts by prior commissioners left unresolved questions, especially after several large solar lease agreements were signed without public notice. “It is not a matter of if we zone, rather what will zoning look like,” the commissioner said, adding that zoning is a tool to regulate land uses and protect health, safety and welfare.

Why it matters: the speaker framed zoning as a policy tool intended to give the county a formal process to review industrial projects — including large renewable-energy sites — and to set standards for placement, setbacks and reviews. The commissioner noted past controversy in the county over industrial sites placed near residences and said zoning would be used to balance landowner interests with neighboring property rights.

Commissioners said an advisory panel made up of citizens will gather information and advise the commission on proposed zoning. The commission encouraged residents to apply; the panel will be limited to one representative per district if possible, but commissioners said they will fill the panel as applications allow. The speaker asked residents to submit letters of interest by April 14, the deadline the commission discussed during the meeting.

What was said and next steps: the commissioner described prior work, including a preliminary map that would designate unincorporated areas as agricultural by default and require county approval for other industrial uses. He said prior advisory committee recommendations had supported zoning but that those recommendations were not effectively conveyed to later decision-makers. He urged residents to attend the forthcoming public hearing to discuss zoning details and to provide input to the advisory panel.

The commission did not adopt a zoning ordinance at this meeting and did not set a final zoning map; commissioners said the advisory panel and public hearings would inform any ordinance the commission might adopt later. The county also acknowledged that neighboring counties use different zoning approaches: some contiguous counties have zoning in some areas and not in others, and commissioners said they were reviewing surrounding county practices as part of their work.