Applicants seek conditional-use permit to reopen Harmony Hills swim club; parking, events and code history raised

Oldham County property owners Beth and Chris McBride asked the Oldham County Board of Adjustments on March 20 for a conditional‑use permit to operate a private swim club on a 4.27‑acre parcel at 1222 Cliffwood Drive in the Harmony Hills subdivision in Goshen.

The request covers reopening and renovating the former Harmony Hills swim and racket club, which applicants say has been vacant for about eight to 10 years. Staff said the parcel was previously the subject of multiple code‑enforcement complaints and a county health department case related to untreated pool water that could breed mosquitoes.

Why it matters: The board must decide whether the proposed private club is “essential or desirable to the community and not in conflict with the elements of the comprehensive plan,” language cited by the applicants' attorney as part of the legal standard. If the board grants the conditional use, the applicants still must obtain two waivers from the Planning Commission before construction and site work proceed.

Anna Barge, senior planner for Oldham County, said the property is zoned R‑2 and that, under the Oldham County Zoning Ordinance (identified in the staff report as Section 060‑040), private clubs and swimming pools are conditional uses in that district. Barge summarized staff’s case history and noted “the pool gates were open” in past inspections and that an August/September…