Planning director defends private-utility classification; staff begins zoning text-amendment work on data centers

Planning Director Ryan Fisher told the Oldham County Board of Adjustments and Appeals that his decision to categorize the proposed Project Lincoln data center under the countys "private utility" definition grew from research, peer outreach and the absence of a specific data-center use in the zoning code. Fisher described consults with other planners and national reference sources, and said he chose a private-utility classification because it would require a conditional-use permit rather than permitting the use by right.

Fisher said he began researching the issue after being asked about a potential data center in late 2023 and early 2024, and that he discussed the matter with prospective applicants and outside counsel in January and February 2025. He described sending inquiries to planning colleagues around the state and consulting the APA planners dictionary; those contacts reported mixed approaches elsewhere (telecom hotel, warehousing, industrial), but Fisher said no Kentucky jurisdiction had a clearly analogous "data center" category in place. "My determination at that point was that it fit closest with the private utility designation," Fisher said, adding that classifying the use as a private utility ensured a conditional-use path "which would come before you all as the Board of Adjustments." (direct quote attributed to planning director Ryan Fisher in transcript)

Staffs procedural and policy response: Anna Barge, senior planner, told the board that county staff has opened a zoning text-amendment process to consider how data centers should be handled going forward. Fisher outlined the normal zoning-text amendment path: Study Review Committee (a planning-commission subcommittee) meets to craft provisions; next the Planning Commission considers a recommendation; then the county fiscal court and affected municipal legislative bodies (LaGrange, Crestwood, Pewee Valley) must act for countywide changes.

Why staff favored private-utility classification now: Fisher said his intent in selecting a private-utility classification was to avoid leaving the proposal as a use permitted by right (which would bypass public hearings) and instead route it into a conditional-use process so agencies and the public could review impacts such as power demand. He told the board he required the applicant to go through TRC (Technical Review Committee) in addition to the Board of Adjustments so that technical agencies would have a public venue to weigh in.

Board and public reaction: Board members asked whether the planning office could instead create a new use and definition immediately; Fisher described the zoning-text amendment workflow that typically takes two to three months through SRC and the Planning Commission before reaching the fiscal court and municipalities. Residents and appellants pressed the board that a legislative definition should be in place before administrative acceptance of applications; planning staff said they were pursuing precisely that text-amendment track.

Next steps: Planning staff will continue SRC meetings to draft data-center regulations, then route recommended language through Planning Commission and the countys governing bodies. Meanwhile, applicants may continue to submit TRC/CUP applications; staff and counsel said those filings will follow the ordinary notice and hearing process and can be conditioned if approved.