Latest / Kentucky Business News / 7.2.26

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7.2.26 · Kentucky Business News

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  Speaker 1: Hello. Today, I'll be reading from business sources in Kentucky,
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  Speaker 1: including from Business Lexington, the Lexington Herald Leader, and the
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  Speaker 1: Louisville Courier Journal, among other things. Your reader today is
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  Speaker 1: Bill Sally. As a reminder, Radio Eyes a reading service
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  Speaker 1: intended for people who are blind or who have other
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  Speaker 1: disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material. Today,
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  Speaker 1: I'll begin with an article recent article from the Lexington
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  Speaker 1: Herald Leader. It is entitled Proposed rules would put major
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  Speaker 1: limits on data centers in Lexington. Here's what's in them.
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  Speaker 1: This article is written by Piper Hanson of the Lexington
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  Speaker 1: Herald Leader. Lexington's planning staff released a draft of changes
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  Speaker 1: it thinks the Lexington Fayet Urban County government should adopt.
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  Speaker 1: The twenty page draft zoning text amendment prohibits any data
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  Speaker 1: center from operating in agricultural zones and does not allow
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  Speaker 1: major data centers those it defines as any larger than
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  Speaker 1: fifty thousand square feet to locate anywhere in Fayette County.
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  Speaker 1: The amendment also outlines conditional use related to data centers,
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  Speaker 1: or the specific requirements a developer must meet to bend
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  Speaker 1: regular rules of the zone a property might be in.
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  Speaker 1: The Zoning Ordnance text amendment process was initiated by the
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  Speaker 1: Urban County Council on June ninth, when it unanimously voted
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  Speaker 1: to have Planning staff draft these rules. At the same time,
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  Speaker 1: Council passed a moratorium on data center development in Lexington,
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  Speaker 1: which paused permits, development plans and zone change requests until
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  Speaker 1: at least October thirty first. Those votes came days after
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  Speaker 1: The Herald Leader reported a data center developer had purchased
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  Speaker 1: a former Lexmark property on New Circle Road and planned
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  Speaker 1: a long term power capacity expansion and turning what was
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  Speaker 1: an IBM data center into one that good support artificial
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  Speaker 1: intelligence demand. Last week, Council launched engage Lexington, an online
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  Speaker 1: platform to collect feedback from residents on data centers. When
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  Speaker 1: it launched the platform, the draft amendment was not yet available.
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  Speaker 1: On July thirtieth, The Planning Commission will hold a public
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  Speaker 1: hearing on any proposed updates to the Zoning Ordinance text
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  Speaker 1: amendment before sending it to the Council for its final review.
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  Speaker 1: Next What's in Lexington's proposed data center regulations. The draft
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  Speaker 1: amendment defines the data center as all or portions of
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  Speaker 1: a building being used to store, manage, process, and transmit
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  Speaker 1: digital data. They may also house computers and network equipment, servers, appliances,
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  Speaker 1: and other components related to digital data, regardless of whether
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  Speaker 1: the facility serves on or off site users. The definition
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  Speaker 1: also says data centers may include airhand handlers, power generators,
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  Speaker 1: water cooling and storage facilities, power substations, and other associated
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  Speaker 1: utility infrastructure to support operations. Major data centers are those
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  Speaker 1: with more than fifty thousand square feet of total floor
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  Speaker 1: area and may include one or more electrical substations. A
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  Speaker 1: minor data center is up to fifty thousand square feet.
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  Speaker 1: Server rooms are not part of the amendments definition of
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  Speaker 1: data centers. Instead, they are defined as one or more
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  Speaker 1: designated areas that house computer and network equipment, servers, appliances,
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  Speaker 1: and other hardware related to digital data that do not
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  Speaker 1: exceed two thousand square feet or ten percent of the
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  Speaker 1: principal use, whichever is more. According to the draft amendment,
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  Speaker 1: major and minor data centers would be prohibited in the
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  Speaker 1: county's agricultural area, buffer and natural area zones, or those
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  Speaker 1: areas used for farming, some tourism, and single family detached housing.
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  Speaker 1: The amendment proposes major data centers those more than fifty
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  Speaker 1: thousand square feet be prohibited in every zone from the
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  Speaker 1: county's agricultural and equine areas all the way to its
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  Speaker 1: downtown business quarter. In warehouse business and light industrial zones
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  Speaker 1: where wholesaling, storage, and some manufacturing can take place. Minor
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  Speaker 1: data centers are only permitted if their applications include first,
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  Speaker 1: a water consumption plan that outlines the water requirements of
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  Speaker 1: the data center, including for cooling, and strategies that will
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  Speaker 1: be used to reduce or mitigate excessive water use. The
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  Speaker 1: water plan should also demonstrate the data center will not
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  Speaker 1: strain the county's water supply. Next, an energy consumption plan
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  Speaker 1: that estimates peak electricity demand and strategies that will be
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  Speaker 1: used to mitigate strain on local power infrastructure, including proposed
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  Speaker 1: improvements or alternative to reduce the need for additional transmission lines.
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  Speaker 1: And a transmission line impact assessment that identifies any need
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  Speaker 1: for new or upgraded transmission lines to meet the data
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  Speaker 1: center's electricity requirements. The assessment should also include environmental impacts,
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  Speaker 1: include any possible needed tree removal from public land. Next,
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  Speaker 1: a noise plan that complies with existing noise standards that
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  Speaker 1: requires generators, substations, and other power equipment to be fully enclosed.
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  Speaker 1: Those standards also say there can be no continuous sound
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  Speaker 1: above an average of sixty five decibels over any thirty
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  Speaker 1: minute period between eight am and six pm, or above
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  Speaker 1: an average of fifty five dicipels over any thirty minute
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  Speaker 1: period between six pm and eight am. The amendment also
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  Speaker 1: proposes no data center buildings nor its air handlers, power generators,
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  Speaker 1: water cooling and storage facilities, utility substations, or other associated
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  Speaker 1: infrastructure be located within one thousand feet of a residential
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  Speaker 1: zone or an agricultural zone outside the urban service boundary.
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  Speaker 1: Data centers, according to the amendment, could not locate within
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  Speaker 1: one thousand feet of a school, daycare center, or other
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  Speaker 1: childcare service location. The amendment also requires landscaping around the
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  Speaker 1: perimeter of a data center meet existing standards of fifty
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  Speaker 1: feet along all common boundaries. Generator use at a data center,
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  Speaker 1: according to the amendment, should be limited to back up
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  Speaker 1: an emergency use only when the primary source of electricity
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  Speaker 1: is interrupted or unavailable. Continuous generator use outside of power
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  Speaker 1: outages would be prohibited. External ventilation ought to be designed
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  Speaker 1: in a way that does not result in heat generation
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  Speaker 1: or in a way that adversely impacts adjacent properties. The
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  Speaker 1: amendment says server rooms are allowed as an accessoruse and
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  Speaker 1: almost all but agricultural areas across the county, including professional office, downtown, business, light,
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  Speaker 1: industrial and economic development zones. The next article comes from
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  Speaker 1: Business Lexington, most notably the May twenty twenty six issue,
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  Speaker 1: and it's entitled data Center Demand Surges. A partnership between
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  Speaker 1: two Lexington based companies highlights growing concerns over power use,
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  Speaker 1: cost and infrastructure. This article again appears in Business Lexington
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  Speaker 1: and it's written by Liz Kerrey. As the push to
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  Speaker 1: build data centers accelerates, Central Kentucky, companies and utilities are
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  Speaker 1: working to adapt. Recently, Gray Construction and Valvelene Global announced
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  Speaker 1: a partnership to develop methods for managing the excessive heat
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  Speaker 1: generated by computer systems and related components through liquid cooling.
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  Speaker 1: By combining Gray's experience in integrated design, build and facility
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  Speaker 1: delivery with Valvelene's expertise and coolants and thermal management fluids,
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  Speaker 1: the companies aim to help owners plan for the increasingly
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  Speaker 1: complex cooling demands of data centers large hyper scale data
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  Speaker 1: centers handling advanced functions such as cloud computing, cryptocurrency mining,
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  Speaker 1: and a I content generation can house between two thousand
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  Speaker 1: and five thousand servers row after row of high performance
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  Speaker 1: machines that generate significant heat and must be kept within
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  Speaker 1: strict operating thresholds to avoid overheating. In many cases, that
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  Speaker 1: demand exceeds what traditional air cooling systems can efficiently support,
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  Speaker 1: pushing operators toward liquid based cooling solutions. Quote because chip
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  Speaker 1: thermal design power has increased so significantly, you have to
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  Speaker 1: use liquid cooling. George Zang, vice president of research and
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  Speaker 1: design at Valweling Global set, you need a way to
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  Speaker 1: remove heat to protect chip integrity and prevent thermal throttling,
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  Speaker 1: and the right fluid strategy is central to making that
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  Speaker 1: work really reliably long term. Enter Gray and Valveling, which
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  Speaker 1: together are making the case for incorporating liquid cooling from
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  Speaker 1: the outset rather than retrofitting later. In their white paper
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  Speaker 1: quote building and Designing data centers for the shift to
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  Speaker 1: liquid cooling, the companies emphasize the need to plan now
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  Speaker 1: for a hybrid future in which air cooled and liquid
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  Speaker 1: cooled systems operate side by side, aligning design procurement and
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  Speaker 1: fluid strategy early, they argue, can reduce long term risk. Quote,
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  Speaker 1: the shift to liquid cooling isn't a future consideration, It's
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  Speaker 1: happening now. The owners who move with intention and urgency
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  Speaker 1: will be the ones with the most options tomorrow. Ben Burgett,
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  Speaker 1: vice president of Data Centers for Gray said, our focus
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  Speaker 1: is on making sure our customers don't have to choose
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  Speaker 1: between speed and flexibility. We bring the delivery capability to
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  Speaker 1: move fast and the integrated expertise to make sure the
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  Speaker 1: decisions made early hold up over the life of the facility.
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  Speaker 1: That technological shift is unfolding against a backdrop of rapid
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  Speaker 1: growth in data center development across Kentucky, where demand for
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  Speaker 1: processing power and the energy required to sustain it is
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  Speaker 1: rising just as quickly. The state is seeing a surge
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  Speaker 1: in proposed projects, particularly near Louisville and in northern Kentucky,
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  Speaker 1: driven by cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The expansion has
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  Speaker 1: raised concerns among consu coomers about potential increases in energy
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  Speaker 1: costs and water usage. Kentucky currently has thirty six data centers,
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  Speaker 1: including three in Lexington and twenty two in Louisville. According
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  Speaker 1: to datacenters dot com. As of April, at least three
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  Speaker 1: additional projects are planned statewide, with total capacity exceeding eight
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  Speaker 1: hundred eighty megawatts. Some of these developments are expected to
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  Speaker 1: strain the power grid, with Louisville Gas and Electric projecting
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  Speaker 1: a twenty to thirty percent increase in demand. That growth
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  Speaker 1: could have downstream effects on utility bills, according to the
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky League of Cities, Recent studies suggest data centers can
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  Speaker 1: drive higher electricity costs. A May twenty twenty five report
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  Speaker 1: from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis found
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  Speaker 1: that utility bills in Ohio would increase by an average
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  Speaker 1: of sixteen dollars per month due to capacity demands from
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  Speaker 1: data centers. Dan Mosier, president and CEO of the Eastern
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  Speaker 1: Kentucky Power Cooperative, said data centers are becoming as essential
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  Speaker 1: to communities as hospitals and manufacturers because of their role
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  Speaker 1: in digital computing. Data centers are as vital to our
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  Speaker 1: nation's economy as factories, stores, and office buildings, he said
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  Speaker 1: in a statement. They will create new jobs, provide new
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  Speaker 1: investment in Kentucky communities, and generate tax revenue to support schools, roads,
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  Speaker 1: and other basic services. They will provide opportunities for Kentucky communities,
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  Speaker 1: many of which need a boost. Mosier said data centers
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  Speaker 1: could strengthen electric cooperative's financial position, potentially easing pressure to
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  Speaker 1: raise rates. A recent study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
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  Speaker 1: he said, found that large entery energy users, such as
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  Speaker 1: data centers, can help lower electricity prices for residents and businesses.
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  Speaker 1: Electric cooperatives are prepared not only to supply power to
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  Speaker 1: data centers, he said, but also to ensure those costs
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  Speaker 1: are not passed on to other customers. Quote any new
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  Speaker 1: data center cited in territory served by ekpc's owner member
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  Speaker 1: cooperatives will pay their own way. They will not pass
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  Speaker 1: along their costs to or raise the rates paid by
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  Speaker 1: our owner members, he said. EKPC has established rules that
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  Speaker 1: required data centers to pay for any new needed power
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  Speaker 1: plants and transmission infrastructure. These additional facilities will help build
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  Speaker 1: a stronger electric grid. Efforts to formalize those protections in
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  Speaker 1: state law, however, fell short this year. Legislation aimed at
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  Speaker 1: shielding Kentucky ratepayers from data center driven cost increases was
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  Speaker 1: expected to pass the General Assembly in April, but failed
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  Speaker 1: in the final days of the session, a bill sponsored
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  Speaker 1: by State Representative Josh Bray, Republican from Mount Vernon, would
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  Speaker 1: have established guardrails regarding large data centers to cover infrastructure
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  Speaker 1: costs tied to their energy needs. The House passed the
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  Speaker 1: bill in February on a ninety to eight vote, but
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  Speaker 1: it stalled in the Senate. The bill's provisions were added
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  Speaker 1: as an amendment to Senate Bill one ninety seven. The
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  Speaker 1: measure was later sent back to the House Budget Committee
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  Speaker 1: without the data center language. On the last day of
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  Speaker 1: the session, Senate Bill one ninety seven cleared the House
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  Speaker 1: without those provisions and returned to the Senate, where it
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  Speaker 1: passed and was sent to Governor Andy Basheer for his signature.
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  Speaker 1: The next article is entitled Greater Lexington climbs to number
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  Speaker 1: four in Site Selection rankings. This article appears in Business
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  Speaker 1: Lexington in the May twenty twenty six edition. The Greater
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  Speaker 1: Lexington region moved up to fourth in Site Selection magazine's
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five Governor's Cup rankings for Tier two metros,
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  Speaker 1: marking its third consecutive top ten finish. The region recorded
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  Speaker 1: twenty seven new and expanded corporate facility projects, ranking sixth
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  Speaker 1: nationally in projects per capita. Statewide, Kentucky placed fish fifth
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  Speaker 1: nationally in projects per capita for the second straight year,
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  Speaker 1: logging one hundred eighty two total projects, ranking third in
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  Speaker 1: the South Central region fifteen quote. Micropolitan areas were also recognized,
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  Speaker 1: including Richmond, Buria, Frankfort, and Mount Sterling Quote Lexington Faett
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  Speaker 1: County has long been recognized as a regional leader across
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  Speaker 1: the board, and this ranking certainly reaffirms our commitment to
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  Speaker 1: building a strong, thriving economy, said Mayor Linda Gordon. We've
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  Speaker 1: made significant progress toward regionalism by developing strong relationships with
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  Speaker 1: our neighbors and initiating the creation of Central Kentucky's first
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  Speaker 1: regional business park, an investment that will create quality, good
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  Speaker 1: paying jobs for our people and generate new revenue for
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  Speaker 1: our communities. Quote. The credit for these numbers and rankings
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  Speaker 1: goes to all of our regional partners who've made a
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  Speaker 1: strong commitment to regionalism by working together on the Regional
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  Speaker 1: Competitiveness Plan, said Gina Greathhouse, Executive vice president of Economic
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  Speaker 1: Development at Commerce Lexington. Leaders from both the private and
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  Speaker 1: public sections across the nine county area have collaborated to
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  Speaker 1: implement action items outlined in the plan that are aimed
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  Speaker 1: at enhancing our ability to detract jobs and talent while
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  Speaker 1: fostering a vibrant economic environment. Since the plans launch in
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, the region has seen gains in GDP
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  Speaker 1: plus six point seven percent, employment plus twenty thousand, nine
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  Speaker 1: hundred ninety nine jobs, and wages plus twenty eight point
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  Speaker 1: one percent. Officials also point to new site development, including
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  Speaker 1: the two hundred acre Legacy Business Park and a multi
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  Speaker 1: county regional Business Park. Initiative is key to sustaining growth.
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  Speaker 1: Quote is very apparent by the numbers we're seeing that
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  Speaker 1: regionalism works, said Maria Mayor Bruce Freeley. We must be
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  Speaker 1: able to work together as a region because so many
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  Speaker 1: of our competitor metro areas are already doing it. By
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  Speaker 1: collaborating with each other, we can be more innovative when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to finding solution us to our biggest challenges.
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  Speaker 1: All of our regional partners have something beneficial that they
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  Speaker 1: bring to the table, and we can learn from each
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  Speaker 1: other as well. That's why it's important for me and
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  Speaker 1: my city to be part of this regional plan. The
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  Speaker 1: next article is entitled Shifts in commercial development. Retail, industrial,
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  Speaker 1: and healthcare projects gain momentum as multifamily and office developments slow.
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  Speaker 1: This article appears in the June twenty twenty six edition
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  Speaker 1: of Business Lexington, and it's written by Liz Carey. Commercial
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  Speaker 1: real estate lending rebounded sharply in twenty twenty five, and
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  Speaker 1: in Central Kentucky the growth is increasingly being driven by retail, industrial,
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  Speaker 1: and health care projects. Multifamily lending, however, has seen limited
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  Speaker 1: growth in the region as compared to national benchmarks. According
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: to the Mortgage Bankers Association, commercial real estate borrowing and
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: landing nationwide reach seven hundred and six billion dollars in
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five, up forty percent from twenty twenty four
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  Speaker 1: and sixty five percent from twenty twenty three. Multifamily lending
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  Speaker 1: accounted for roughly four hundred and thirteen billion dollars of
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  Speaker 1: the total quote. As capital markets condition stabilized in twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty five, there was a meaningful rebound in commercial real
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  Speaker 1: estate lending activity, said Reggie Booker, the NBA's Associate vice
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: president of Commercial Research. The strength in multifamily originations, combined
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  Speaker 1: with increased lending from depositories and a return of capital
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: from other lender groups reflects growing confidence across the commercial
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  Speaker 1: real estate finance market. While multifamily lending remains a major
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  Speaker 1: driver nationally, accounting for about sixty percent of total lending,
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  Speaker 1: Central Kentucky's market is shifted in a different direction, said
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  Speaker 1: Jason Hefflin, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Kentucky. Quote,
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  Speaker 1: we've seen an increase certainly when it came it comes
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  Speaker 1: to retail and business. Heflin said, Publics is a great example.
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  Speaker 1: I think they've opened their third store in the Lexington area.
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  Speaker 1: Now it's been a lot of multi family, but that
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  Speaker 1: is seen to shift now towards retail and shopping centers.
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  Speaker 1: Retail expansion is especially visible in Lexington development, such as
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  Speaker 1: the Summit at Fritz Farm, where Hendrick's Commercial Properties recently
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  Speaker 1: announced a fourteen point one million dollar expansion that will
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  Speaker 1: add three new buildings ranging from eight thousand square feet
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  Speaker 1: to more than twelve thousand square feet. Hefflin said the
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  Speaker 1: shift toward retail development marks a dramatic change from just
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  Speaker 1: a few years ago. Quote The landscape, especially around Lexington,
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  Speaker 1: is really shifting towards commercial retail development and that is
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  Speaker 1: a complete oneint eighty from where we were two or
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  Speaker 1: three years ago, he said. My understanding is it's probably
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  Speaker 1: due to a lot of the regional and local mid
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  Speaker 1: sized banks pulling back on commercial lending due to the
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  Speaker 1: regulatory constraints. That pullback has created opportunities for larger institutional investors,
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  Speaker 1: including hedge funds and insurance companies, which tend to focus
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  Speaker 1: on larger commercial projects. Heflin said commercial lending activity is
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  Speaker 1: also expanding in the healthcare sector, particularly for medical offices
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  Speaker 1: and hospital related development. Despite the recent slow down in
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  Speaker 1: multi family projects, Heflin said he expects housing development to
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: eventually rebound as population growth increases and continues to create
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  Speaker 1: pressure across the region. Quote it's great that this commercial
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: development is coming in, he said. It's opening up some areas,
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  Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, we still need
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  Speaker 1: more residential. Industrial real estate remains another bright spot for
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: the Lexington market. According to a recent report from tenant Base,
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Lexington's industrial sector is operating near maximum capacity, with vacancy
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: rates around six point eight percent. Demand for large warehouse
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: space remains especially tight, with limited speculative construction over the
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: past two years, creating intense competition for properties larger than
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  Speaker 1: fifty thousand square feet. The report also noted continued demand
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  Speaker 1: for Class A office and research space near the University
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: of Kentucky from biotech and fintech companies. While industrial and
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  Speaker 1: retail properties remain strong, traditional office space could face increasing
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  Speaker 1: pressure in the coming years as remote and hybrid work
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  Speaker 1: continue to reshape the market. Matt Stone, managing director with
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  Speaker 1: SVN Stone Commercial real Estate, said he's also seeing lending
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  Speaker 1: to build retail development outpace lending for office space in
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  Speaker 1: the area. Lenders like to be involved with grocery anchored
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  Speaker 1: developments that generate high traffic. He said. Demand for office
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  Speaker 1: space has been flat or slightly decreased, a trend that
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  Speaker 1: had been in process but accelerated during the COVID pandemic.
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  Speaker 1: Quote in Lexington, what we've seen is very little new
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  Speaker 1: product in terms of office space coming on the market
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  Speaker 1: that isn't specific to its use, Stone said, and lenders
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  Speaker 1: are giving preference to owner occupied projects because of their stability.
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  Speaker 1: We haven't had much office space built because there's enough
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: current inventory for the demand. A lender is going to
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  Speaker 1: struggle to finance a speculative office building given current occupancy rates,
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  Speaker 1: and Stone said he expects to see some office space
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  Speaker 1: converted to other uses. Quote. I think you will see
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  Speaker 1: some conversion of office space to multi unit housing or
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: mixed use downtown, he said. We're already seeing it in
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  Speaker 1: a few projects, but it won't be quite as prevalent
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  Speaker 1: as it will be in larger metropolitan markets across the country.
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  Speaker 1: Heflin said broader economic and geopolitical uncertainty could eventually slow
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: commercial lending nationwide, but he believes Central Kentucky is better
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  Speaker 1: positioned than many markets because of its employment base and
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  Speaker 1: population growth. Quote as far as commercial lending, I think
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  Speaker 1: if things don't turn around quickly with certain things going
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: on in the world by twenty twenty seven, we're going
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: to hit a slow down, he said. But Central Kentucky
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: has always been somewhat insolt related, somewhat from what the
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: national scene looks like as far as real estate goes.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Because of the demographics and the employment base here, this
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: area always seems to hold steady. The next article in
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: today's recording is entitled Developer sues Metro Council over Taylorsville
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Road grocery denial. This article is written by Matthew Giliwicki,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: and it appears in the Louisville Courier Journal. As of
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: July second, a Texas based developer is suing the Louisville
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: Metro Council after the legislative body denied its plan to
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: build a grocery store in far southeastern Louisville. Developer Buttery
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: and Brown Development sought a zoning change from residential to
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: commercial to build a fifty eight thousand square foot grocery
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: store in the twelve thousand, three hundred and twelve four
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: hundred blocks of Taylorsville Road near Interstate two sixty five.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: Plans for the site, which spanned nearly twenty three acres,
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: also included areas for future commercial development. While the proposal
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: narrowly secured the Planning Commission's four to three recommendation to
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: approve the rezoning, the project drew much public opposition, largely
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: focused on concerns over traffic and pedestrian safety. At the
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Metro Council's April twenty third meeting, members voted twenty three
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: to two to overturn the Commission's recommendation denying the rezoning.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: In the suit filed in Jefferson Circuit Court on May
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: twenty second, the developer alleges the Metro Council didn't follow
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: proper procedure for overturning the Planning Commission's recommendation and based
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: its decision on flawed information. Quote Metro Council's rejection of
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: the Planning Commission's recommendation was based on inaccuracies, a lack
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: of substantial evidence, and matters which are routinely permitted by
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: the Metro Council, such as Kentucky Transportation Cabinet of pros,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: making its rejection of the Planning Commission's recommendation arbitrary and capricious.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: Reads the lawsuit, the developers said it spent one point
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: four to five million dollars on buying portions of the
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: development site and one hundred fifty thousand dollars for experts
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: and professionals needed to move the case through the rezoning process.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: The developers asking the court to void the Council's April
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: vote and send the case back to the Planning Commission
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: for another review of the project's plans concerning traffic, and
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: to send the case back to the Council with orders
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: to approve the rezoning. A June eighth agreed order between
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: the city and the developer gives Louisville Metro Government an
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: indefinite amount of time to reply to the lawsuit in
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: order to allow the parties to discuss potential resolution of
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: this action. Louisville attorney Nicholas Pregliosco with Barden, Warper, Talbot
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: and Roberts, who is representing the developer, did not respond
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: to a re for comment. Josh Abner, spokesman for the
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: Jefferson County Attorney's Office, declined comment on the suit's claims
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: and on a potential resolution, saying only the case was ongoing.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: A group of neighbors to the proposed development filed emotion
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: June twenty ninth to intervene in the case, saying they'll
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: be negatively affected by their project and expressing concern about
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: the potential resolution being worked between the developer and the city.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: Quote the intervening parties fear that the discussion will be
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: done without their knowledge, participation, or input, and could result
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: in a conclusion detrimental to their interests, reads the motion,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: set to be heard in court on July twentieth. Any
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: disposition agreed to by those two parties may impair the
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: intervening party's ability to protect their interests. Louisville attorney Steve Porter,
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: who filed the suit on behalf of the residents, said
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: in an email that residents also have concerns about noise, lighting,
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: and sight drainage. This property is surrounded on three sides
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: by peaceful, low intensity residential uses, He said, it does
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: not belong here. Next suit alleges council denied plan using
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: quote factual factual inaccuracies. In the suit, the developer alleges
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: the council made its decision based on quote factual inaccuracies,
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: such as by saying Taylorsville Road traffic was at a
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: quote failing level of service, despite a traffic study commissioned
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: by the developer that showed current and future projected service
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: levels were quote actually very good. The suits read council
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: members who based their vote on the idea that Taylorsville
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: Road would remain a two laid road instead of the
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: three lane road that shown on the grocery's development plan.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: According to the suit, the council, in its ordinance denying
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: the rezoning, pointed to nine elements of the Louisville Metro
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: Conference of Plan, with which the project didn't comply. Those
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: stated reasons for denial included negative impacts on the movement
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: of surrounding neighbors, the lack of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: of approval for a proposed roadway signal on Taylorsville Road,
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: and lingering concerns from the state's Transportation Cabinet over side access. Quote.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: While the development is not causing the direct residential access
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: to Taylorsville Road, it will make the existing direct access
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: significantly more difficult and dangerous, a situation that has not
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: been addressed or adequately mitigated, reads the ordinance in part.
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: Councilman Kevin Kramer, whose district abuts the development site, said
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: at an April fourteenth Council committee meeting that multiple homes
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: driveways backed up to an already busy Taylorsville Road, which
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: would see increased traffic due to the development. Quote. There
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: are a number of reasons that this particular development in
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: this particular location just doesn't make sense, he said. This
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: concludes the reading of the most recent articles related to
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: Kentucky Business News. Your reader today has been Bill Sally.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening, and now we ask you to
• 28:58
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• 29:02
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