Mason County hearing on data‑center zoning draws developers, utilities and anxious residents

The Maysville–Mason County Joint Planning Commission opened a public hearing on a proposed data‑center zoning text amendment after a unanimous voice motion to adjourn the regular meeting and convene the hearing.

The hearing featured presentations from a representative for the prospective developer, state economic development officials, and an East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) official, followed by lengthy public comment. Developer counsel said the text amendment is an initial step and that any building proposal would later require site‑specific plan and zoning approvals. The company declined to disclose the client, saying that the global site‑selection process requires confidentiality.

Jeff Noll, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, told commissioners that state criteria guide data‑center projects and stressed the fiscal test: “Families can’t see their power bills go up as a result of this project,” he said, urging transparency and fair tax treatment.

An EKPC representative explained a new data‑center rate schedule approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission that, the cooperative said, is intended to keep costs and risks with the data center. The official said the tariff requires special contracts and collateral when needed and that “if EKPC must build a new transmission wire or a new substation to serve the data center, the data center bears that cost.”

Project representatives and the Maysville–Mason County Industrial Development Authority described planned investments: dry closed‑loop cooling to reduce operational water use, modeling and upgrades paid by the developer, and multimillion‑dollar water and wastewater improvements they said would be donated to the local utility.

Community members, environmental groups and local officials pressed the commission for clearer, enforceable protections. Residents raised concerns about potential eminent‑domain pressure on landowners, contamination risks to aquifers, low‑frequency and generator noise, and the conversion of agricultural acreage. The Kentucky Conservation Committee urged more specific environmental and environmental‑justice assessments and stronger restrictions on diesel backup generators.

Local attorney Hank Graddy, representing a citizens’ group, recommended zoning features to preserve public participation and farmland, including conditional‑use permitting, overlay districts, 500‑ to 1,500‑foot setbacks from sensitive uses, limits on how much county land can be covered by a critical‑infrastructure overlay, and binding community benefit agreements.

Commissioners paused the hearing for the night and asked for a motion to recess the public hearing until 5:30 p.m. the following day; the transcript ends as that motion was requested.

The planning commission will continue hearing testimony and is expected to deliberate the text amendment after the close of public comment.