Planning and Zoning Committee Meeting — November 3, 2026

The Louisville Metro Planning and Zoning Committee met on November 3, 2026, at 1:00 PM in Council Chambers and virtually, chaired by Andrew Owen. The committee considered a Bolling Avenue rezoning, a neighborhood-housing Land Development Code amendment, and a special data-center discussion. O-251-26, the pending data-center ordinance, was listed on the agenda but no formal vote on it was recorded. No live public testimony appears in the transcript.

Pending Legislation

• O-311-26 — 1715 Bolling Avenue (Case 26ZONE0079): Julia Williams of the Office of Planning presented a request to rezone approximately 0.07 acres in Council District 6 from R6 to R8A in the traditional neighborhood form district, converting an existing one-story nonresidential structure into a four-unit multiplex: three first-floor units (two one-bedroom and one two-bedroom) and one second-floor four-bedroom unit. Councilwoman Ruhe asked about unit sizes; Councilman Benson raised parking concerns. Staff said parking would mainly be on the street and no rear parking was shown. Staff noted the two no votes were understood to reflect concerns that the site should remain R6/single-family because it is mid-block. Action required by December 30, 2026.
• O-301-26 — Neighborhood Housing Amendment (Case 26-LDC-0001): Joel Dock of the Office of Planning presented a text amendment to increase housing choice, prioritize areas with infrastructure and transit, and streamline review. The proposal has three main parts: neighborhood housing building types (duplex through walking court, plus a traditional corner mixed-use type), housing and mixed-use corridor changes, and a new urban center neighborhood form district. Neighborhood housing would be permitted in all traditional form districts, within quarter-mile buffers of certain form districts, and in new major preliminary subdivisions of 3 acres or more, subject to special standards such as compatibility with adjacent single-family homes, limits on clustering, no blank walls, required sidewalks, restrictions on single-family demolition, no short-term rental or group housing use, and no automatic conformance for illegal dwellings. Corridor changes include measuring height in stories rather than feet, eliminating floor area ratio, reducing minimum lot sizes, eliminating infill except in traditional neighborhoods, and allowing administrative approval when a proposal is 100% compliant with no waivers or variances. The urban center neighborhood form district would create a transition between downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, with buildings at the street, 3-8 stories, no minimum lot size, required sidewalks, and no surface parking lots. Planning Commission recommended approval 8-1 after a September 3 public hearing and September 17 deliberation. Chair Owen thanked staff and called it a step in the right direction. Councilman Piagentini said the overall intent was good but raised concerns about new subdivisions outside corridors, compatibility with small existing homes, administrative approval and reduced public process, appeals, and infrastructure capacity; he encouraged tabling the item. Vice Chair Reed also praised the revised proposal but said more time was needed to review details. Action required by April 29, 2027.

Special Discussion — Data Centers

• Internet Exchange Points: Tom Ferree, chairman and CEO of Connected Nation and co-CEO of IXP.us, presented a narrow request to amend the data-center ordinance’s telecommunications data center category. He said Louisville is the largest city on IXP.us’s list of 135 targeted locations without a dedicated hardened carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point. He described latency as the next digital divide, saying every 62 miles of fiber adds about a millisecond to a round trip and that “tromboning” traffic through Chicago or Atlanta can add 40 milliseconds or more. He described IXPs as neutral facilities where networks interconnect directly; the Wichita State University facility is about 2,000 square feet on 1.3 acres and is hardened to 175 mph wind ratings, not built for large-scale computing. He said the draft ordinance requires a telecommunications data center to exclusively serve FCC-regulated providers, which disqualifies an IXP because it also serves cloud, content, research, education, and business networks.
• Proposed IXP amendments: Ferree proposed three changes: define Internet Exchange Point as a second path into the telecommunications data center category; replace the pre-application LG&E transmission study with a will-serve letter for IXPs capped at 5 MW, with an executed service agreement required before operation; and require disclosure of the facility operator rather than the user. He said safeguards would include a maximum of 25,000 square feet, a maximum of 5 MW, at least three independent networks with their own ASN, and open, non-discriminatory access. All other standards would still apply. Chair Owen said the public process had allowed this issue to surface and supported staff and county attorney review. Councilman Piagentini called the proposal low-risk and high-upside and wanted the county attorney to review it. Councilwoman Parrish-Wright asked about Spectrum and community benefits; Ferree said the facility is carrier-neutral, Spectrum is a tenant in Wichita, and Connected Nation provided 200 laptops and digital literacy sessions in Sedgwick County as part of its nonprofit mission.
• Accessory data centers: Brian Davis of the Office of Planning said accessory data centers are internal data facilities used by existing businesses for websites, apps, and data storage. The proposed definition would limit them to the lesser of 25,000 square feet or 49% of the building; exceeding that would trigger regular data center regulations. Because they are within existing buildings, they would not have the same noise, environmental, and study requirements as standalone data centers. Chair Owen asked about expansion at Appliance Park; Davis said a larger white-space area would require a conversation about regular data-center rules. Councilwoman Parrish-Wright said the city should be able to inventory and classify existing accessory and larger data centers; staff said registration or licensing for accessory data centers was not in the Planning Commission recommendation but could be explored.
• Telecommunication hotels: Davis said the draft carves out existing telecommunications hotels used by local internet and phone providers so they are not swept into the general data-center definition. They would be allowed in more zoning districts and permitted with special standards rather than requiring a conditional use permit if they comply. The definition relies on FCC-regulated telecommunications providers, and registration would let staff know where they are. Chair Owen cited the ATT building across from WHS-TV as likely the largest telecommunications hotel in Jefferson County and said existing facilities like the one on Bauer Avenue had not created issues and were not the target of the ordinance.
• Decommissioning: Davis said decommissioning plans respond to the risk that a data center operator walks away and leaves equipment or hazardous materials for the community to handle. He cited the Kentucky Resources Council model ordinance, Lexington’s adoption, Mason County’s approach, and Bowling Green’s requirement to restore and reclaim the site to a pre-development state ready for farming. Some communities require bonds. Planning staff typically does not require decommissioning plans for other uses, though Chair Owen noted the Topgolf lights and poles are bonded. Chair Owen supported decommissioning plans and bonding, comparing the issue to abandoned mine lands. A county attorney representative said decommissioning requirements are most defensible for data centers, especially if the city creates data-center-specific zoning where reuse is difficult, while noting other industries may already be regulated by EPA or state agencies. Chair Owen said if the policy is good for data centers it may be good across the board. Councilwoman Parrish-Wright supported decommissioning and health impact review, citing environmental justice concerns and the Philip Morris site, and said the city should go the extra mile while it can.

Key Outcomes

• O-311-26: Properly moved and seconded; roll call reported six yes votes, and the ordinance was announced as unanimously approved and sent to old business on the next council agenda.
• O-301-26: Vice Chair Reed moved to table for future discussion; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote, with the chair stating the ayes had it. The item was tabled to the next committee meeting.
• O-251-26: No formal vote or action on the pending data-center ordinance was recorded; the data-center presentation and discussion were informational.
• Data-center amendments: Staff and county attorney review of Ferree’s proposed IXP amendments was discussed, but no formal motion, vote, or referral was recorded.