Mercer County Residents Express Frustration Over Proposed Data Center Ordinance

The Mercer County Joint Planning and Zoning Commission convened a special meeting to address community concerns about a proposed ordinance related to data center development. Residents voiced considerable frustration and opposition, with attorney Hank Radeas, representing the "We Are In Mercer County" coalition, advocating for a moratorium on new data center projects. Radeas criticized the ordinance for not comprehensively planning for data center locations and failing to protect valuable farmland. The proposed ordinance seeks to confine data center facilities to the county's designated IT zoning district, limit the total development area to 1,500 acres, and enforce a minimum 750-foot buffer from residential areas. Henry Smith, legal counsel for the Planning Commission, acknowledged the challenge of balancing the industry's need for proximity to power with community concerns regarding potential irreversible impacts such as increased traffic noise and the preservation of significant historical, geological, agricultural, and biological land along the Kentucky River. Residents urged the commission to consider the long-term consequences of their decisions for future generations.