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Logan County approves rewritten nuisance ordinance after extended public comment
Summary
After extensive public comment both opposing and supporting changes, Logan County Fiscal Court held a second reading and approved an updated nuisance ordinance that restructures enforcement and adds a code enforcement element.
Logan County Fiscal Court held a second reading of a rewritten nuisance ordinance – proposed as ordinance 25-830-01 to replace ordinance 90-839-3A – after a long public-comment period and debate, and approved the measure by roll-call vote.
The public-comment period drew multiple speakers from across the county. Eddie Starnater urged the magistrates to delay passage and said the rewrite “places too much power inappropriately in the hands of too few people with inadequate checks and balances,” arguing for more public outreach and, if necessary, a referendum. Greg Moore and other residents urged the court to adopt stronger enforcement, describing long-running problems with neighboring properties that they said the existing rules had failed to resolve.
Several speakers focused on the ordinance’s change to enforcement procedures. Julie Martin and other residents told the court they were concerned about moving enforcement authority to an appointed code-enforcement officer and a judge-executive-appointed board without local elected oversight or an intermediate appeal back to fiscal court. Martin said she supported updates to align with current Kentucky Revised Statutes but opposed placing the code-enforcement officer and board solely in the judge-executive’s appointment power.
Judge Baker and magistrates responded to questions during the meeting and explained changes from the earlier draft. Commissioners noted they had held multiple public readings since February and that the draft had been revised in response to comments. At the meeting the court completed a second reading of ordinance 25-830-01 and voted to approve the updated nuisance ordinance.
Why it matters: The rewritten ordinance changes the county’s procedures for nuisance complaints, enforcement and remedies. Citizens and magistrates debated trade-offs between stronger enforcement tools and the risk of concentrating enforcement power in appointed officials. The ordinance’s passage alters local enforcement options and processes for property-related code violations.
Next steps: County staff and the judge executive will implement the new enforcement structure and the court has authority to appoint and confirm the new code-enforcement officer and board under the ordinance text.
