Louisville councilwoman reintroduces ordinance to pause new data centers

Louisville Metro Councilwoman Jennifer Chappell has reintroduced legislation to enact a temporary 180-day moratorium on new data center developments, including rezoning, conditional use permits, and plan applications for telecommunication hotels and data centers. The proposed pause is intended to last while the city's Planning Commission finalizes its long-awaited recommendations for updating the Land Development Code related to data centers. Chappell stated that the Planning Commission has missed its expected January deadline for initial recommendations, which were requested by a Metro Council resolution in September 2025. She expressed concerns that this delay has "eroded the community's trust" in the city's commitment to protecting residents from potentially "harmful and exploitive data centers." The councilwoman emphasized that the ordinance aims to ensure future proposals are evaluated under updated, community-vetted standards adopted by the Metro Council. Despite the missed deadline, the Planning Commission approved a new site plan for a proposed data center on Camp Ground Road in March. The reintroduced ordinance will be reviewed at the Planning & Zoning Committee meeting on Tuesday, June 2.