Elizabethtown Planning Commission Meeting - July 28, 2026
Elizabethtown Planning Commission Meeting - July 28, 2026
The Elizabethtown Planning Commission held its regular meeting on July 28, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. at the Pritcher Community Center. The meeting included three public hearings: a withdrawn area-wide zone change for downtown, a cell tower application with three waivers, and a zoning text amendment to regulate data centers as accessory uses. The commission also discussed enforcement of a previously denied VA clinic access. All votes were unanimous (3-0).
Consent Calendar
- Approval of minutes from July 14, 2026, was moved, seconded, and passed 3-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Downtown Zone Change Withdrawal: Multiple residents asked questions about future meetings and the status of previously submitted petitions. Staff explained the application was withdrawn and two public input sessions will be held: August 18, 2026 (5-7 p.m., Pritcher Community Center) and September 29, 2026 (5-7 p.m., State Theater Magnolia Room).
- Jose Torres (313 Nicholas Rich Drive) noted that despite a 3-2 vote against a VA clinic rezoning on July 8, 2025, the clinic is being built, warning residents to stay engaged.
- Cell Tower Hearing: Myra Dalwood (202 Sunset Road) asked if the tower would provide 5G and expressed opposition based on potential public health risks. Legal counsel advised that federal law preempts local health-based decisions on cell towers. Alison Miller (505 Village Drive) questioned why the tower would not be lit given its proximity to the airport; the applicant stated the FAA determined lighting was not required.
- Data Center Text Amendment: Several residents spoke:
- Kate N. Murray (Hart County, moving to Elizabethtown) thanked the commission for being proactive.
- Chad Underdunk (661 Myers Lane) supported the regulations but recommended clarifying language on water discharge (points 8 and 9) and ensuring the data center is responsible for monitoring and pretreatment.
- Brittany Ballard (418 North Mantle) offered recommendations based on industry experience: suggested measuring by megawatts instead of square footage, stricter water usage standards (closed-loop only), and ensuring ratepayers are not burdened by utility upgrades.
- TJ Kane (81 Old Youngers Creek Road) called the ordinance "weak" and argued it goes against the will of the people, citing concerns about water contamination and the example of a recent Ford SK battery plant.
- John Whipple (Breckenridge County) asked who would own any upgraded public utilities; staff clarified the public utility retains ownership.
- Christopher Gaytross (500 Kimball Drive) urged the commission to wait for federal and state regulations rather than acting locally.
- Jose Torres spoke again, questioning the effectiveness of a 50,000 square foot cap and referencing the VA clinic as an example of city council overriding commission decisions.
- Janie Marksbury (Daviess County Commissioner) described her county's one-year moratorium on data centers, warning that leases are already being filed. She suggested a moratorium would buy time for more research.
- Emily Thomas (404 South Maple) questioned whether a 10,000 square foot data center could still be considered hyperscale if it contains 5,000 servers and 40 megawatts of power, urging more specific language.
- Emma Coakley (325 Park Avenue) applauded efforts but requested economic and environmental impact studies and a decommissioning plan. She listed multiple Kentucky counties that have passed moratoriums.
Discussion Items
- Public Hearing 2026 PC 12 – Downtown Area Wide Zone Change (R4, R5, C1, I1 to C5): Staff announced the application had been withdrawn after receiving substantial public input. The commission will hold two public meetings (August 18 and September 29) to gather more community direction. No testimony was taken on the withdrawn item.
- Public Hearing 2026 PC 13 – Cell Antenna Tower, 204 Ring Road: Staff presented the request for a 130-foot monopole tower with three waivers: reduction of northern setback from 130 to 60 feet, waiver of landscaping on the west side, and use of gravel drive instead of hard surface. Applicant Russell Brown explained the tower will support Verizon 4G and 5G coverage, is not lit (FAA determination), and no co-location alternatives were available. After public testimony, the commission approved the uniform application and the amended development plan, both 3-0.
- Public Hearing 2026 PC 14 – Text Amendment for Data Centers: Staff presented a proposal to replace the outdated "data processing facility" definition with a new "data center" definition, allowing data centers only as accessory uses in commercial and industrial zones, capped by square footage (5,000 sq ft in C2, 10,000 in C3/C4/MAZ, and 50,000 in I1/I2). Eleven use-specific standards were introduced, including minimum setbacks, noise limits, utility upgrade costs, cooling system requirements, and generator testing hours. Commissioner Steve Rice highlighted provisions 5 and 6, which require data centers to pay for utility upgrades and provide documentation that their usage will not negatively impact the existing customer base. After extensive public comment, the commission voted 3-0 to recommend the text amendment to city council, with an expression that council consider clarifying language on water discharge and decommissioning.
- Commission Member Items: A commissioner raised the issue of the VA clinic on Orchard Road having a unauthorized access point off Pair Orchard Road. Staff reported the city engineer is working with the contractor to remove that access and will follow up. No other items.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes of July 14, 2026 approved 3-0.
- Cell tower application (PC 2026-13) approved – uniform application with three waivers, and amended development plan for Modern Plating, both 3-0.
- Data center text amendment (PC 2026-14) recommended to city council 3-0, with direction for council to consider tightening language on water discharge pretreatment and decommissioning responsibilities.
- Future meetings: No meeting on August 11, 2026. Next scheduled meeting likely August 25 or September 1, depending on city council schedule.
- Enforcement action: Staff will continue working with the city engineer to address the VA clinic's unauthorized access off Pair Orchard Road.
- Public input sessions for downtown master plan: August 18 (Pritcher Community Center) and September 29 (State Theater Magnolia Room), both 5-7 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Meeting for July twenty-eighth. My name is Steve Rice. I'm the chairman of the planning commission. Appreciate all of you showing up. Sorry, there's not enough chairs for you this evening. Before we get into the agenda, I'll introduce the folks that are in front of you so you know who's who. First, if you'll look up here at the panel to your far left, is Aaron Hawkins, he's the head of our planning commission for the city. Next is Matt Hess, our legal counsel. Then you have Corey Blunt, myself, and Kyle Silarep, who are all voting members for the Planning Commission. The other two are not here this evening. And then lastly, we have Marty Fulkerson, our representative from the city council. He is a non-voting member. Also down at this table down here, uh short table down there to your left. Um the one with the darker hair is Nikki Fox and also Madeline Drake, their planners. And I think you mess met Ashley Smallwood down when you came in. So again, welcome this evening. We do have an agenda to follow. Uh the first order of a business is approval of minutes for July 14th, 2026. Commissioners, you've had a chance to get those in advance. I'll entertain a motion for any corrections or approval therein. I move we approve as presented. I hear a motion to hear second. Second. We have a motion made in a second. There's any question on the motion. Seeing none, I'll now call for the vote. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed. Let the record show the vote was 3-0. The next item of business is public hearing number 2026 PC 12 for area wide zone change compromise of R4, R5, C1, I1 to C5, Downtown District Area Wide Zone Change. And I'm going to turn that over to Mr. Hawkins, the head of our planning area. He's going to make an announcement. Yeah, so that um so I do not have a formal presentation tonight because that application has been withdrawn. Um I know we've had a um we attended a public meeting at the revival uh bar in Helm Street with uh quite a few residents that were concerned. Um and um, you know, I just wanted to point out that there's often a lot of talk um specifically about this body, but you know, uh planning and development and then Elizabeth Town, Elizabeth Town government in general, that there's a lot of preconceived or preconceived determinations and decisions, and we don't listen to what the public wants. But uh I just I I want to say this on behalf of the planning commission that this is a prime example of how we do listen and and the process is you have these public meetings and you have these public hearings, and we we consider that input, and then they make decisions um before they make a decision. Staff does an analysis on whatever the application is, and staff makes a recommendation. But um when we started the master plan process about a year and a half ago, um our consultants did a public meeting, they had uh an online survey trying to get as much input as possible from the public. Um and you know, with the input that we did receive during those during that process, they formulated the downtown master plan, which was um in April this year adopted as an addendum to the comprehensive plan. Um so that is what staff used to create this application to do the area wide zone change to bring the downtown zoning in compliance and conformance with the recommended core downtown boundaries of downtown of the downtown master plan. Um so when we filed that application, the intention of that is to get public input, which is why we scheduled this public hearing tonight. Um it just so happens that we received a lot of input prior to tonight, and like I said earlier, we did have uh or there was a neighborhood meeting that we attended, and we got a lot of good information, we got a lot of good feedback. Um so clearly there was a need for more input and more public um information from this process. So we we decided um instead of trying to force the only tool that we have, which is our downtown zoning district and classification, uh, we were gonna withdraw and cancel this application so we could hold two additional public meetings, uh, one in August, one in September, to give people as much opportunity as possible to come and give us the input that we need to give us a direction on how downtown will go over the next 20 plus years. So I just I just wanted to say that, and that um, you know, we're the the process obviously it worked because um we knew that the the recommendation that we were making is not what's in the best interest of not not just the city but the residents in this area as a total um because they have a lot of valid concerns. So um the hope is that throughout the public input process in August, September, and whatever happens after that point, um, we'll have a clear direction of not only what the downtown master plan says we should do, but also what the residents in the area say we should do. So um we really do obviously we would like every single person in the city to come to these public meetings. That's not how this works.
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