By Allyson Dix
For Glasgow News 1
As tornado sirens echoed across Austin Tracy Elementary on Tuesday evening, residents filing into the county’s second town hall meeting found themselves taking shelter from more than severe weather.
Inside, tensions mounted over proposed land use regulations and the possibility of future zoning in Barren County as large-scale data centers continued to dominate the more passionate discussions.
County officials have said that the town hall meetings were designed to allow citizens to ask questions, make suggestions, and provide feedback on countywide zoning.
The first town hall meeting was dominated by data center discussions as well, but the evening a week before at Temple Hill Elementary remained largely civil.
On Tuesday, some elected officials became frustrated, and some citizens said they felt attacked amid heated exchanges. Meanwhile, at about the same time as the town hall started, a tornado ripped through Rowletts in southern Hart County.
An attendee gesticulates while speaking to Judge/Executive Jaime Bewley Byrd during the second town hall meeting on planning and zoning on July 21 at Austin Tracy Elementary. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
As citizens push for county officials to declare a moratorium, or a temporary halt, on hyperscale data center development, the county attorney maintains the most legally defensible approach is to implement countywide zoning.
County Attorney Mike Richardson advises that moratoriums without zoning have no legal backing and can even be ignored by developers of otherwise legal businesses.
Earlier in the day, the Barren County Fiscal Court gave the green light to the planning and zoning commission to begin the process of drafting language for a countywide zoning ordinance, with a goal of potential zoning being implemented as early as September.
Landowners at town hall meetings are questioning how zoning itself will affect their property, especially agricultural operations in what is considered one of Kentucky’s leading agricultural counties.
Kevin Myatt, director of the Joint City-County Planning Commission, has explained to both Glasgow News 1 and town hall meeting attendees that agricultural practices will be protected at the local level and are also protected under Kentucky’s Right-to-Farm law.
Kentucky law provides broad protections for agricultural and forestry operations by limiting when they can be considered a nuisance or restricted by local governments.
Myatt said land use regulations can be as relaxed or restrictive as citizens and local officials want them to be.
Joint City-County Planning Commission Director Kevin Myatt answers questions during the second town hall meeting on planning and zoning on July 21 at Austin Tracy Elementary. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
All zoning classifications – residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural – will have permitted uses and conditional uses listed, and those uses will vary from one classification to the next.
Regardless of which zoning classification a land parcel may be designated, Myatt said most agricultural practices are exempt from restrictions and will continue to be protected if Barren County officially adopts zoning.
Some examples that could potentially fall outside of Right-to-Farm protections include things such as multi-family residential structures, like four-plexes; gun ranges; gas stations; and potentially large industrial, on-site manufacturing facilities producing agricultural-related materials, including metal T-posts, building materials, and tractor tire manufacturing, Myatt told Glasgow News 1.
Before any zoning regulations can have a legal effect, an ordinance, or local law, must be passed by the fiscal court to establish a Board of Adjustment with jurisdiction over land parcels in the unincorporated parts of Barren County.
Myatt said the planning commission currently acts as the Board of Adjustment in Barren County for variance-related issues, such as dimensional distances like setbacks and height restrictions. However, there are no conditional use matters to consider because the county does not have land use regulations.
An attendee asks questions during the second town hall meeting on planning and zoning on July 21 at Austin Tracy Elementary. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
If countywide land use regulations and zoning classifications are approved by the Fiscal Court, the local planning commission would no longer be able to serve as the county’s Board of Adjustment, and a separate board of adjustment would have to be established through a county-approved ordinance.
Officials continue to state that any practices or operations currently in place at the time the county approves land use regulations and zoning will be grandfathered in and exempt from any regulations unless a landowner seeks to make changes to the property.
There are two more town halls scheduled. The next one is Aug. 10 at Park City Elementary, and the other will be Aug. 13 at Hiseville Elementary.
Barren County Judge/Executive Jaime Bewley Byrd responds to attendees during the second town hall meeting on planning and zoning on July 21 at Austin Tracy Elementary. Auggie Brown/Glasgow News 1
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