Land Development Code amendments regarding data centers
Description
The proposed zoning rules for data centers (Case No. 25-LDC-0014) stayed held in committee while the committee took educational testimony from experts.
Impact summary
Will determine how, where, and under what noise, water, and power protections future data centers can be built across Louisville.
At a glance
- Hearings
- 3
- Public comments
- 0
- Total mentions
- 2
Last vote · Planning & Zoning Commission
Discussed at 2 meetings in the last 60 days; most recently Oct 6, 2026.
Meeting timeline (2)
Planning and Zoning Committee — October 6, 2026
Citywide text amendments setting rules for data centers — size thresholds, noise standards, decommissioning plans — remain in committee pending further expert input and amendments.
Metro Council — September 10, 2026
The Council took up the long-debated data center zoning rules on first reading, sending the ordinance to the Planning and Zoning Committee with the Planning Commission's conceptual approval in hand.
Related issues (4)
Temporary moratorium on data center approvals
An architect with the Renewable Energy Alliance urged the council to extend its data center moratorium and study the Campground Road project, handing over a checklist of alleged legal loopholes in the current ordinance.
Data center zoning regulations (Case No. 25-LDC-0014)
Louisville is writing its first real rules for data centers after a nearly million-square-foot facility slipped in before any regulation existed. Experts warned about low-frequency noise that can pierce walls and triggered a federal class action against Microsoft in Wisconsin, plus rising power demand and water use. The committee is weighing whether to apply uniform performance standards, keep the 500,000-square-foot ban, and require a new dedicated zoning district with rezoning and a conditional use permit.
Data center regulations (LDC Text Amendment 25-LDC-0014)
Rules for the booming data center industry were formally introduced and sent to the Planning and Zoning Committee. Speakers want strong protections on electric rates, water use, noise, and renewable energy.
Data center regulations and development moratorium
Louisville is still deciding how strictly to regulate data centers — who pays for new power plants and water infrastructure, how waste heat and noise are handled, and what generators are allowed. The ordinance remains held in committee while members weigh cost-shifting to ratepayers against growth and tax revenue.
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