Mercer County rejects proposed data center ordinance
The Mercer County Fiscal Court in Kentucky rejected proposed zoning regulations for large-scale data centers, following months of strong resident opposition. Locals were concerned about the impact on farmland and historic sites such as Shaker Village. The Harrodsburg, Mercer County Joint Planning and Zoning Commission will now revisit and potentially amend the ordinance.
The Mercer County Fiscal Court convened on Monday night and voted to deny a proposed ordinance that would have created a new zoning district specifically for large-scale data centers. The decision was met with a standing ovation and loud cheers from a packed crowd of residents who had been actively opposing the plan for months.
The proposed ordinance aimed to establish specific requirements for where data centers could be built and how they would operate within Mercer County, Kentucky. Residents expressed significant concerns about the potential threat these developments would pose to local farmland and significant landmarks, including the historic Shaker Village.
Following the rejection, the Harrodsburg, Mercer County Joint Planning and Zoning Commission is now tasked with re-evaluating and potentially amending the denied ordinance. Billy Rankin, representing Shaker Village, stated that this is anticipated to be a multi-year process and urged the state legislature and the Governor to implement substantial protective buffers around national historic landmarks, state parks, and forests.