Composite story

Louisville Metro Council pauses new data centers for six months

A 24-1 vote after packed protests freezes new hyperscale plans while the city writes zoning rules. Activists wanted a year; one amendment to stretch the pause failed.

Louisville Metro Council voted 24-1 on Aug. 13 to freeze new data-center applications for 180 days, or until it adopts new zoning rules. Mayor Craig Greenberg signed the ordinance the next afternoon. An amendment to stretch the pause to a year failed. The freeze covers converting existing buildings after a last-minute loophole fix, and it will hit a new warehouse-conversion proposal in Rubbertown, but not the already-approved Camp Ground Road hyperscale campus. No Data Center 502 packed the chamber; Councilman Anthony Piagentini refused to 'negotiate with a Marxist mob,' and Councilman Stuart Benson cast the only no vote.

Shared facts

The Planning and Zoning Committee voted 7-1 Tuesday for a 180-day hyperscale pause.

Mayor Greenberg signed it into law Friday afternoon.

On Aug. 13 Metro Council overwhelmingly passed a six-month construction pause.

The ordinance passed 24-1.

The firm wants to convert a 350,000-square-foot warehouse.

The pause on new proposals runs until February 2027.

The city cannot approve new plans during that window or until new zoning rules are adopted.

The proposal now moves to the full Metro Council.

An amendment to stretch the pause to one year failed.

No Data Center 502 filled chambers urging a 12-month pause over environment and rates.

The year amendment failed 15-10.

Benson was the lone no vote on the ordinance.

The freeze now also applies to applications to repurpose existing structures.

Dermody Properties wants to turn a Rubbertown warehouse into a data center.

Hawkins offered an amendment to extend the moratorium to a year.

The freeze will not apply to the 1.6 million-square-foot Camp Ground Road project.

The meeting included several outbursts from the gallery.

Draft city rules would ban data centers larger than 500,000 square feet.

The Planning Commission will look at data-center rules and zoning tweaks during the pause.

Greenberg endorsed the moratorium that same day as public pressure mounted.

The moratorium will affect plans for that proposal.

Draft rules include a 500-foot setback from houses.

Permanent regulations have been in the works for months.

The Kramers Lane proposal and the Camp Ground Road campus are in Hawkins's district.

The project has put Greenberg under pressure from opposed residents.

Disputed facts

Manual RedEye identified Benson as a Republican who voted no.

Manual RedEye identified Piagentini as Republican caucus chair.

Spectrum News said the commission received more than 4,000 comments.

Spectrum News said the commission wrapped up five public comment meetings.

Shared opinions

Piagentini said he will not negotiate with the Marxist mob.

Benson said Louisville could tap that supply for cheaper electricity.

Hawkins said District 1 has become a target.

Chappell said this is the start of a long fight against hyperscale data centers.

Louisville Courier Journal

Louisville Metro Council approves data center moratorium

Killian Baarlaer

13 Aug 2026

Facts

Chappell, Parrish-Wright and Hawkins sponsored the ordinance.

The ordinance ‒ sponsored by District 15 Councilwoman Jennifer Chappell, District 3 Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright and District 1 Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins ‒ was approved with 24 votes in favor and one in opposition and now heads to Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg's desk.

fact

Spokesman Matt Mudd said Greenberg will sign as soon as he receives it.

The ordinance now heads to Mayor Greenberg's desk.

It sat in committee until Aug. 4, when members advanced it hours after Greenberg urged a yes vote.

Council members had been reluctant to legislatively halt proposals during that process.

Fayette, Daviess, Bell, Oldham and Bullitt counties have also enacted data-center pauses.

Winkler first introduced a pause in September, and it expired without moving.

Chappell reintroduced the legislation in May.

Committee chair Andrew Owen has said he favors an administrative moratorium.

District 9 Councilman Andrew Owen, the chair of the Planning and Zoning Committee, has said he favors an "administrative moratorium," with Greenberg administration officials advising prospective developers of intent for future data center projects to adhere to the upcoming regulations while having the legislative moratorium readily available if needed.

attribution · Andrew Owen

AI and computing demand have led to larger, more resource-intensive data-center projects.

Greenberg's stance was unclear until he publicly encouraged passage.

Owen said colleagues asked him before Aug. 4 to take a different approach.

Draft rules drew thousands of online comments and large crowds at feedback meetings.

Opinion

Mudd said the mayor has called the matter urgent.

Greenberg said the moratorium was always viewed as a temporary fix.

"The data center moratorium was always viewed as a temporary fix. We were focused on permanent fixes, which our proposed regulations will be," Greenberg said. "I want to make sure that during this interim period before those regulations pass that we do enact a data center moratorium so there is no confusion to the public that there will not be any new data centers approved while we're waiting on these regulations to be finalized."

attribution · Craig Greenberg

In May Greenberg listed questions on power, environment, water and union labor rather than backing a pause.

When asked by The Courier Journal in May whether he supported the proposal, Greenberg said he'd want a developer to be able to answer questions related to electricity costs, environmental impacts, water supply and use of union construction workers, but he did not directly voice support or opposition to a moratorium.

"These are all the questions that I believe have to be asked before our city would even consider any other future data centers," he said.

attribution · Craig Greenberg

Owen said colleagues requested that the council vote on it.

WDRB

Louisville mayor signs 6-month moratorium on new data center projects

Richard Essex and Reyna Katko

14 Aug 2026

Facts

One person was kicked out for lewd remarks after Ackerson threatened removal.

A new data center is proposed on Kramers Lane.

Draft rules would limit future data centers to industrial areas.

Hawkins said she learned of the plans shortly before the vote.

The building was approved as a distribution center in 2024.

Camp Ground Road is expected to use about 400 megawatts, enough for about 400,000 homes.

That project is proposed at about 1.6 million square feet.

Neighbors said warehouse construction recently wrapped up.

Protesters interrupted Greenberg's news conference with a STOP Steve Poe's Data Center banner.

Gov. Beshear drew a state-level line on Kentucky's data-center boom.

Companies must prove projects will not impact utility costs.

Residents could speak for three minutes at those sessions.

Companies still need zoning and other approvals before they are built.

Opinion

Piagentini objected to how close the filing came to the council vote.

Hawkins said the timing was very disheartening.

The group yelled that Greenberg cannot hide and must pick a side.

Beshear said the executive order is fully enforceable and dared skeptics to watch agencies act.

"The executive is fully enforceable," Beshear said Thursday. "And if you don't believe it, watch me. Watch what happens when we move forward. Watch how these companies present these plans as they have to, and watch the actions of the various agencies."

attribution · Andy Beshear

Louisville Public Media

Louisville Metro Council approves data center moratorium as new proposal sparks controversy

Roberto Roldan

13 Aug 2026

Facts

They held yellow signs calling for a full-year moratorium.

The group has raised environmental and utility-rate concerns.

The final ordinance did not include the changes the group demanded.

Leaders held the moratorium in committee as a threat to developers.

Council members have been discussing a moratorium since last September.

Some members worried a pause would signal Louisville is closed for business.

Winkler had previously wanted to hold the proposal in committee.

Sponsor Jennifer Chappell said the vote is part of a larger conversation.

Smaller centers would face distance rules from homes and schools.

The draft tries to keep the projects from raising homeowners' utility rates.

The Planning Commission recently wrapped up public hearings on draft data-center rules.

Hawkins said she shares the view that siting centers in Rubbertown exacerbates environmental racism.

Hawkins told reporters Thursday she shares the concerns of some residents who have argued that the placement of data centers in an area known as Rubbertown, where industrial plants operate adjacent to homes, only exacerbates environmental racism.

She said she had reached out to the Greenberg administration to ask questions about where data centers would be allowed under the proposed regulations and raised concerns about equity.

"We're asking if the regulations will result in a disproportionate concentration of facilities in south and in west Louisville, and what opportunities will residents have to provide input before final decisions are made regarding both this proposal and future regulations," she said.

attribution · Tammy Hawkins

Hawkins said Dermody Properties did not contact her before filing this week.

Hawkins held a press conference that day urging constituents to speak out.

Earlier in the day, District 1 Democrat Tammy Hawkins held a press conference calling on her constituents to stand up and speak out about data center development.

In addition to encouraging her constituents to get involved in the process, she also asked her fellow Metro Council members and residents across Jefferson County to stay engaged.

fact

LPM reached out to Dermody's Neal Driscoll and did not hear back.

Opinion

Brown accused the council of trying to make Louisville a tech oligarch's playground.

"The people's cries for a one-year moratorium are being drowned out by the clinking of coins and the ever-widening pockets of corrupt officials," Brown said, accusing Metro Council members of trying to turn Louisville into "a tech oligarch's playground."

attribution · Sauda Brown

Organizer Sauda Brown addressed the council in public comment.

Sauda Brown, an organizer with the group, addressed the council during public comment.

"The people's cries for a one-year moratorium are being drowned out by the clinking of coins and the ever-widening pockets of corrupt officials," Brown said, accusing Metro Council members of trying to turn Louisville into "a tech oligarch's playground."

fact

Winkler said the council must be the voice of the people it represents.

Winkler said the public response is what changed for him.

Asked what had changed, Winkler said, for him, it was the response from the public as city leaders consider how to deal with the growing demand for large data centers.

"When you just look at public opposition to data centers, I think you know that has become more entrenched over the past six months," he said.

attribution · Markus Winkler

Hawkins accused the developer of trying to backdoor the proposal ahead of the freeze.

Hawkins said District 1 development must come through the front door and align with residents.

Hawkins warned others that if they stay silent, data centers will come.

Spectrum News 1

Louisville Metro Council approves six-month data center moratorium

Eran Hami

14 Aug 2026

Facts

It pauses new plans, rezoning and conditional-use permits for data centers or telecommunications hotels.

Benson was also the only no vote in committee.

Chappell brought the moratorium to committee at the start of June.

The Planning Commission was tasked last September with Land Development Code amendments on data centers.

Those recommendations never came and are still being worked on.

Opinion

Sauda Brown said residents were frustrated with the process.

Sauda Brown, who opposes data centers, said residents were frustrated with the process.

"But we are so very tired of the lies and deception, the shady partnerships and deals we have no say in," Brown said. "Deals that destroy this cherished beautiful place we call home together."

attribution · Sauda Brown

Piagentini said he respected colleagues' concerns but that progress cannot be halted altogether.

Councilman Anthony Piagentini, District 19, said he respected his colleagues thoughts and concerns over data centers, but said you can't halt progress all together.

"What I'm not going to do is negotiate with a Marxist mob," Piagentini said. "Why would I bother listening to somebody who's starting at the premise of, 'I don't want this, period, full stop,' when we're trying to find that balance?"

attribution · Anthony Piagentini

Councilwoman Donna Purvis said members and residents need more information.

Councilwoman Donna Purvis, District 5, said council members and residents need more information about the issue.

"Council Members and the broader community need a fuller understanding of the benefits, the potential consequences of data centers," Purvis said. "And we need to understand the impact."

attribution · Donna Purvis

Some attendees chanted all the power to the people.

Manual RedEye

Louisville Metro Council passes data center moratorium

Eli Wright and Lucy Palmer

22 Aug 2026

Facts

In March a 150-acre Camp Ground Road hyperscale project was approved as a telecommunications hotel.

Greenberg put the new proposal on hold pending the council vote.

That campus was described as 150 acres.

Both proposed centers would sit in Rubbertown.

Three Democrats joined 12 Republicans to vote no on the extension.

A 2000s Air Toxics Study found high air-pollutant levels in Rubbertown.

The group formed in October 2025 to oppose the Camp Ground Road project.

Parrish-Wright is challenging Greenberg for mayor.

She joined No Data Center 502 at a July rally.

New York adopted a one-year moratorium in July.

Clark County, Indiana, passed a moratorium the Wednesday before.

Opinion

Chappell said it is important to put on the brakes while writing land-development rules.

Danielle Ray said a six-month pause is a step but her group wants no data centers at all.

Manual RedEye called Rubbertown historically a victim of environmental discrimination.

Parrish-Wright said she would prefer a five-year moratorium.

Chappell said colleagues were asked to trust an administration that has bought out the council.

Marilyn Parker said the city can do six months and then another six if needed.

Some councilors wanted to go even further than a year.

He likened anti-data-center protest rhetoric to class warfare.

Ackerson and others condemned Chappell's claim; Lyninger defended her.

While many councilors, including fellow Democratic Council President Brent Ackerson, jumped to condemn Chappell's claims, Lyninger defended her.

"I think everyone in the chamber took that as a personal insult about a check being deposited into their personal bank accounts. As Councilwoman Chappell pointed out, there are lots of ways that you can influence the opinion of an elected official," Lyninger said.

fact

McCraney said Louisville should embrace tech and development, but not at residents' expense.

Leaving activists chanted liar, liar, mayor for hire.

The activists have been very critical of Greenberg's response to Camp Ground Road.

Manual RedEye tied Louisville's pause to a broader national movement.

WAVE 3

Louisville Metro Committee approves 180-day moratorium on new data centers

Erica Rucker

4 Aug 2026

Facts

Officials say the pause is to study energy, water, infrastructure, tax, economic and noise impacts.

Officials say the six-month pause will allow council members to study the complex impacts of hyperscale data centers, including their high energy and water demands, infrastructure needs, economic potential, tax implications, and noise impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.

fact

The move followed growing community concern over data-center rules and local impacts.

Council plans to work with utilities, environmental experts and residents on zoning updates.

Opinion

McCraney said the moratorium is not about opposing technology or innovation.

"This moratorium is not about opposing technology or innovation," said Councilwoman Dr. Paula McCraney, who applauded the vote. "It is about responsible governance. It provides the Metro Council with an opportunity to carefully review and ultimately update Louisville's Land Development Code."

attribution · Paula McCraney

She said it is about responsible governance and updating the land-development code.

"This moratorium is not about opposing technology or innovation," said Councilwoman Dr. Paula McCraney, who applauded the vote. "It is about responsible governance. It provides the Metro Council with an opportunity to carefully review and ultimately update Louisville's Land Development Code."

attribution · Paula McCraney

Kentucky Lantern

Moratoriums, a mugshot and tax breaks. Catch up on Kentucky data center news.

Liam Niemeyer

17 Aug 2026

Facts

More details are emerging about a hyperscale proposal in Mercer County.

More details are emerging about a hyperscale data center proposal in Mercer County.

Mercer County also passed a data center construction moratorium on August 11, but the moratorium doesn't include the bounds of a small city that's considering a potentially massive hyperscale data center project.

fact

It would sit next to a hyperscale campus Poe Companies and PowerHouse are building.

Lexington, which already has a pause, heard residents urge tighter limits or a ban.

In Kentucky's second largest city of Lexington, which has already passed a data center moratorium, the city council heard feedback from residents in late July urging them to go further with restrictions on data centers in Fayette County or outright ban them, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

fact

Burgin school leaders spent months advocating for a hyperscale project over tax revenue.

The Lantern reported that emails and text messages sent by the Burgin Independent School superintendent and school board detail months of efforts by the small school district to advocate for a proposed hyperscale data center project because of the potential for huge tax revenue.

fact

Lexington is considering banning data centers of 40,000 square feet or larger.

KCEP said the state could give away more than $1 billion in sales-tax breaks.

A founder threatened to post a protester's old mugshot, then apologized.

Burgin's council failed to advance an annexation ordinance for the site.

The think tank said developers could also claim local property-tax exemptions.

Burgin does not have a planning and zoning body.

Open records showed the state has received tax-break application materials from developers.

Opinion

A Kentucky think tank argues data centers could see massive tax breaks.

Jason Bailey said Kentucky needs a conversation about scaling back or eliminating the tax breaks.

Jason Bailey, the executive director of the think tank, told the Louisville Courier-Journal in an August 11 report that "there needs to be a real conversation about scaling them (tax breaks) back or even eliminating them."

attribution · Jason Bailey

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