Planning Commission Will Hold Another Data Center Meeting In June
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Robert Moore
Herald Staff
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The Harrodsburg-Mercer County Joint Planning and Zoning Commission will hold another public hearing on a proposed data center ordinance in June. While no date had been set for the meeting by presstime, Chairman Bobby Upchurch said they would like to hold the meeting again at Campbellsville University Gymnasium.
That’s where the planning and zoning commission held their last public meeting in April. And the community’s input, at least those who spoke at that meeting, was that Mercer County needed a moratorium on data centers.
Upchurch said the commissioners have modified the ordinance since then. It will be made available to the public before the meeting.
The ordinance would have to be passed by both the Harrodsburg City Commission and the Mercer County Fiscal Court.
“I’d like to get it done so we can move it up the ladder to the fiscal court and the city commission and see what they would like to do,” Upchurch said at the planning and zoning commission’s regular meeting on Thursday, June 4.
The commission also created a committee to begin work on the comprehensive plan. Commissioners Connie Allen and Jonathan Elliott volunteered to serve on the committee along with Upchurch.
While many speakers at April’s data center hearing asked the planning and zoning commission to revise the plan, state law requires the commission to amend or readopt elements of the comprehensive plan at least once every five years. The current plan was adopted in 2022.
Kylie Donnally, the director of planning and zoning, said she had reached out to firms about the comp plan. Donnally said they will need to create a request for proposals.
“Lord knows I don’t want to volunteer any more free time,” Commissioner Connie Allen said. Allen said they couldn’t find a firm with more experience than they’ve acquired in the last few months.
Upchurch said creating a request for proposals was part of the process of determining whether they wanted to do it in house or not.
Staff have looked at comp plans for Danville and Anderson County.
“We can check and see what the concerns are for other people,” Upchurch said.
Once the commission has received a quote, they will need to request funding from the county and city before moving forward.
