Overview
- Metro Council voted 24–1 to adopt a 180‑day moratorium that bars the Louisville Metro Office of Planning from accepting or processing new data‑center proposals and sent the ordinance to Mayor Craig Greenberg.
- The ordinance closes a conversion loophole that would have allowed data centers to move into existing buildings and could end sooner if Council approves permanent regulations before the 180 days expire.
- City planners and the Planning Commission have drafted strict options that would ban hyperscale centers larger than 500,000 square feet, restrict new facilities to industrial zones, require developer‑funded infrastructure upgrades, and set noise and generator buffering standards.
- The high‑profile 1.6 million‑square‑foot Camp Ground Road proposal is not covered by the moratorium and remains the focal point of resident protests, while a proposed conversion on Kramers Lane by Dermody Properties faces uncertainty over immediate applicability.
- Officials say the pause follows thousands of public comments and public meetings and will give city leaders time to adopt siting rules such as a 500‑foot buffer from homes, schools and medical facilities that aim to reduce local health, infrastructure and environmental impacts.