Louisville Metro Planning Commission members met at the Old Jail Building on Thursday, Aug. 20.(Roberto Roldan / LPM )Louisville’s Planning Commission voted Thursday to recommend a stricter set of data center regulations than what was initially proposed.The commission, which is mainly made up of local realtors and business leaders, vets proposed changes to the city’s Land Development Code and makes recommendations to Louisville Metro Council, which has the final say. Commissioners voted 5-3 to send the proposed zoning rules to the council.Among some of the commission’s changes was requiring nearly all new data centers undergo a rezoning, which means there would be opportunities for public comment and final approval would be up to Metro Council.Speaking ahead of the vote Thursday afternoon, Commissioner Jim Mims recounted the many public hearings and online survey responses in which residents told the commission their concerns about data centers.“I think we have captured a lot of the essence of what we heard and we have put it into what I think is a well-crafted ordinance,” Mims said.The commission’s recommended regulations include the proposed ban on new data centers larger than 500,000 square feet, which is how Louisville officials are trying to define hyperscale facilities.While data centers have been around for a long time, many serving specific institutions or companies, it’s the massive, hyperscale data centers fueling the artificial intelligence industry that have drawn intense public scrutiny and pushback.In Louisville, a majority of residents who participated in public forums and city-designed surveys said they don’t want any data centers in Jefferson County.Responding to some of the public pushback, the Planning Commission members are recommending a handful of stricter rules than what Mayor Craig Greenberg’s administration proposed. They want the city to require, rather than encourage, data center developers to use a closed-loop cooling system, which will draw less water. They also want to ban data centers from locating within a quarter-mile of each other, or other hazardous or nuisance properties.Advocates with the group No Data Center 502, which has repeatedly protested against Greenberg over this issue, attended Thursday’s commission meeting.Dani Ray, a lead organizer with the group, said she disagreed with Mims’ assessment that the proposed regulations represent public sentiment.“There were some updates…but there were still a few holes in the recommendations,” Ray said. “It’s a step forward, but it's not enough.”Ray said listening to the public would have meant proposing rules that would make data centers all but impossible to build in Louisville Metro. She said No Data Center 502 will next take its advocacy to Metro Council.The Planning Commission’s recommendations will first go to the council’s Planning and Zoning Committee, which is expected to meet on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. at City Hall.District 9 Democrat Andrew Owen, who heads that committee, laid out the process for discussing the regulations and making their own changes, if any.“Depending on how that first meeting goes, we may have to extend that conversation into a second committee meeting,” Owen said at a press conference earlier in the day. “Or not, we’ll have to see how that goes.”Committee meetings are generally kept to an hour or less and do not include opportunities for residents to speak to the committee members.Asked by an LPM News reporter whether the process he’s outlined indicates the council will approve whatever comes out of the Planning Commission without changes, Owen said he believes there’s going to be “a robust discussion.”“It’s a very important issue,” Owen said. “It’s a focus for communities all over the country. We’re hearing about it in just about every news reel, so I expect there to be robust discussion.”Owen added that he thinks there isn’t any reason to rush the process.Residents may share feedback on the proposed data center regulations with Metro Council members by emailing their representatives. ...read more read less