Oldham County board denies three appeals of planning directors private-utility ruling as moot

The Oldham County Board of Adjustments and Appeals on a voice vote denied three separate appeals that challenged the planning directors classification of a proposed data center as a "private utility," concluding the application those appeals targeted had been withdrawn and therefore the appeals were moot.

The appeals concerned a proposed hyperscale data center originally linked to 3557 North Highway 53 in LaGrange. Anna Barge, senior planner, told the board the appeals filed by Robert Houchins, Nana (Nana/Nate) Lampton, and Nathan and David Oberg (We Are Oldham County) all referenced the Highway 53 location and AG-1 zoning; staff later noted Western Hospitality Partners had withdrawn the 53 application and filed a new Technical Review and conditional-use application for a different parcel (DW Griffith Lane). Barge summarized staffs position that the withdrawal left the three appeals untimely or irrelevant to a live application.

Why it matters: The planning directors classification would determine whether a proposed data center is processed as a conditional use (requiring public hearings and conditions)…