Planners review Griffith Event Center; traffic mitigation and stormwater permits remain unresolved

The Oldham County Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 25 considered a development plan for the proposed Griffith Event Center, a 22,400-square-foot venue on a 7.033-acre lot along Commerce Parkway in LaGrange. Staff said the plan conforms to Industrial Park District (IPD) standards but noted several permitting and off-site mitigation issues that must be resolved before construction.

Anna Barge, Senior Planner, told the commission the site is undeveloped, sits adjacent to the drive-in theatre and that event venues are a permitted use in IPD zoning. She said the applicant proposes 184 parking spaces (180 required) and that their materials show a proposed detention basin near Commerce Parkway and a blue-line stream along the east property edge that the plan does not propose to disturb.

Oldham County engineer Ryan Silliman told commissioners the project will disturb more than one acre and therefore requires a county stormwater quality management and erosion control permit and an application to the Kentucky Division of Water for a KYR-10 permit. Silliman also summarized the county’s review expectation that curbing will be required around the parking area to correctly route runoff to the detention basin.

A traffic study provided by the applicant’s consultant, Diane Zimmerman, concluded that the venue’s peak-hour generation (an estimated 150 trips during an event peak) would warrant a left-turn lane on Commerce Parkway at the site's entrance during the modeled conditions. Zimmerman said the county’s road-capacity standards require mitigation when level-of-service D is exceeded; she noted that the left-turn-warrant analysis is used to assess turn-lane needs for new access. County staff and the applicant’s engineer discussed whether the appropriate remedy is immediate construction of a turn lane or a financial contribution toward a future, coordinated Commerce Parkway improvement.

Silliman estimated the construction cost for a standalone left-turn lane and associated work — including relocation of a multiuse trail — at roughly $50,000 (approximate). The applicant, represented by attorney Kyle Galloway and owner Lakshmi Adala, proposed a contribution of approximately $20,000 and said the owner is willing to negotiate an equitable share toward future improvements. Galloway and the applicant said they prefer contributing funds for a future coordinated improvement rather than building a turn lane that might later be rebuilt as part of a larger Commerce Parkway project.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant for clarity about timing and responsibilities. Several commissioners and staff noted Oldham County is conducting a broader traffic study of Commerce Parkway in coordination with the city of LaGrange; staff said that ongoing study could change the scope or alignment of any improvements. Because the parties had not reached agreement on a mitigation amount or mechanism, the commission took no formal vote on the development plan and recessed to allow the applicant, engineers and county staff to discuss an acceptable traffic-mitigation arrangement.

Staff also advised that construction-plan review will verify compliance with stormwater and erosion-control requirements, with the KYR-10 permit from the Kentucky Division of Water and with any Army Corps of Engineers permitting if later found necessary. If the commission approves the development plan after the mitigation question is settled, binding elements or conditions would likely require either construction of necessary turn-lane improvements or an agreed monetary contribution held for future roadway work, and the parking curbing and stormwater controls described by staff would be included in construction plans.

Next steps: the commission recessed to permit on-the-record negotiations between the applicant and county staff and engineers about the traffic-mitigation contribution; staff will return to the commission with recommended binding language or a construction-plan approval that reflects final agreements.