Hopkinsville KY proposed data center zoning amendment (2026)

Hopkinsville, Kentucky (Christian County): proposed zoning text amendment on data centers, Sept. 21, 2026 draft, prepared by Community and Development Services and heard by the Hopkinsville-Christian County Planning Commission. STATUS: at the second public hearing on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026 (6 p.m., HCC Auditorium Building; first CDS hearing was July 28, 2026), the Commission made no recommendation and voted to refer the amendment to its Plan Review Committee. Planning official Britton said a recommendation could come in about 30 days and the regulations could reach City Council before year-end. The City Council has final authority. DRAFT PROVISIONS (as reported): definitions plus development and operating standards; district eligibility by size class. SMALL: 50-ft setback from property lines and 300-ft separation from adjoining property with residential, public or quasi-public uses, or property not zoned I-1/I-2. MEDIUM: 100-ft setback and 500-ft separation. LARGE: 150-ft setback and 500-ft separation. PROHIBITS hyperscale data centers with footprints of 150,000 sq ft or more (the footprint definition is disputed by Dark Horse Technologies' counsel). A conditional-use permit is required for every data center. Applicants must provide utility documentation showing sufficient electric, water, wastewater and related capacity without adverse effects on availability, reliability, quality, cost or safety for other customers, and improvements must be in place before operations at no added cost to existing customers. Data centers must meet the existing city noise ordinance, and the draft also covers cooling, screening and decommissioning. MORATORIUM: residents asked for a two-year moratorium; officials said one is unnecessary because data centers are not currently a permitted use. SIZE CLASSES (Sept. 18 draft, Kentucky New Era): small up to 25,000 sq ft footprint; medium >25,000-50,000; large >50,000-<150,000; hyperscale >=150,000. Data centers limited to I-1 and I-2 districts. Other Sept. 18 provisions: waste heat no more than 5 deg F increase at property line (60-minute average vs. control location); decommissioning within 24 months after operation ceases; clustering limit (1,000 ft) to apply to facilities not grid-connected. Context: Dark Horse Technologies / North Campbell Land Co. runs a ~15 MW computing site in HES's Holland Substation and proposes a 50 MW data center served by a new 65 MW substation. An earlier July 17 working draft used different (MW-based) tiers and larger setbacks; superseded. NOT ESTABLISHED: text amendment number; final text.