Data centers qualify as High-Intensity Technological Infrastructure (HITI) when anticipated peak electrical demand is at least 15 megawatts; the threshold is measured at full buildout, including all phases and buildings on contiguous parcels under common ownership or control. A facility that later reaches the threshold must obtain a conditional use permit before expanding. HITI thresholds and full-buildout rule

HITI data centers are allowed only as conditional uses in the I-2 Heavy Industrial District and are prohibited in the AG, RR, R-1, R-2, R-3, RB, B-1, I-1, and P districts. HITI zoning-district restrictions

A site outside I-2 must first receive a zoning-map amendment; that amendment does not authorize the data center, which still requires a separate HITI conditional use permit. Separate zoning amendment and conditional-use requirements

Construction and operation require a conditional use permit, supported by a Community Impact Report, Site Review Plan, applicable state and federal permits, ownership and permitting information, professional technical reports, and a notarized certification that the submission is accurate and complete. Application requirements

The Board of Adjustment must hold at least one public hearing before deciding a HITI application, with mailed notice to owners of every parcel wholly or partly within one mile of the facility boundary at least 14 days before the hearing. Public notice and hearing requirements

Approval is available only if the applicant proves compliance and the Board makes written findings that the use is compatible with the Comprehensive Plan, will not harm public health or nearby property, and has adequate electrical, water, wastewater, transportation, and emergency-service capacity without unmitigated public-infrastructure burdens. Required findings for approval

The Board may impose continuing conditions, including time limits, construction or operating prerequisites, monitoring, reporting, financial assurance, and decommissioning obligations; the permit authorizes only the activities and demand levels specifically approved. Permit conditions and limits on approval

The Board may establish HITI application fees by resolution, including fees based on facility size, electrical demand, campus area, or utility demand; the draft lists fee tiers for 15–50 MW, over 50–250 MW, and over 250 MW, although the dollar amounts are left as placeholders. HITI application-fee provision

The Community Impact Report must evaluate full buildout and reasonably foreseeable expansion, including electrical, water, wastewater, telecommunications, transportation, emergency services, environmental, agricultural, housing, and public-service impacts. Community Impact Report scope

Facilities using groundwater-dependent infrastructure must submit a sealed hydrogeologic assessment, identify potentially affected wells and springs, evaluate groundwater and karst impacts, and propose mitigation; the Board must deny the permit if substantial evidence shows an unreasonable risk that reasonable conditions cannot adequately reduce. Groundwater assessment and denial standard

HITI infrastructure must be at least 300 feet from sinkholes, losing streams, springs, karst windows, and recharge features, unless a Kentucky-licensed professional engineer or geologist certifies under seal that a smaller setback is protective. Karst setback

Operational noise is limited at the receiving property line to 50 dBA daytime and 45 dBA nighttime for residential or agricultural property, with stricter limits for schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities; specified vibration limits also apply outside the project boundary. Noise and vibration limits

HITI facilities must maintain a 50-foot vegetated buffer along property lines adjoining residential, agricultural, or commercial property, and must comply with additional screening, lighting, and visual-impact review requirements. Buffers and screening requirements

HITI facilities must meet setbacks of 2,000 feet from non-participating property boundaries, occupied structures on non-participating property, residential zoning districts, specified sensitive uses, and incorporated-city limits; the required setback from public roads or railroads is 500 feet, and from specified watercourses and karst features is 300 feet. HITI setback table

Construction activities generating substantial noise are limited to 7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Saturday; routine construction is barred on Sundays and federal holidays except for specified emergency, public-safety, and utility work. Construction-hour restrictions

Before building permits are issued, the owner must provide financial assurance equal to 125% of the certified decommissioning cost estimate; it must remain effective until closure certification and include at least 60 days’ notice before cancellation or non-renewal. Decommissioning financial assurance

Decommissioning is required after permanent closure, abandonment, permit revocation, voluntary closure, or 12 consecutive months without operation unless the Board grants an extension for good cause; restoration must be completed within the approved schedule and no later than 18 months after the triggering event. Decommissioning triggers and deadline

Operators must submit a consolidated compliance report within 90 days after operations begin and annually thereafter, maintain compliance records for at least 10 years, and remain subject to annual permit review and site inspection. Annual reporting and record-retention requirements

Expansions or operational changes that materially alter water or electrical demand, wastewater, noise, thermal emissions, traffic, stormwater, emergency response, environmental risks, or community impacts require Board approval and a public hearing; examples include water-demand increases over 25%, electrical-demand increases over 25% or 10 MW, new substations, new data halls, or new cooling technology. Material-change approval requirements

Ownership or operational-control transfers require advance written notice and the successor’s written assumption of the permit, monitoring, and financial-assurance obligations; the transfer does not eliminate obligations accrued before the transfer. Ownership-transfer requirements

Failure to comply can result in notices of violation, corrective-action requirements, permit revocation, injunctive relief, penalties under KRS 100.991, and county action to terminate the activity or compel removal at the violator’s cost. Enforcement and remedies

Cave City separately adopted a one-year moratorium on accepting data-center development applications; this is a city measure described in the cited news report, not a provision of Article 17 itself. Cave City one-year moratorium

Data centers and other digital infrastructure facilities with an anticipated peak electrical demand of at least 15 MW are expressly recognized as conditional uses under the HITI framework.

HITI facilities may be approved as conditional uses in Heavy Industrial (I-2) districts. If a site is not zoned I-2, the applicant may first seek a zoning-map amendment and then apply separately for a conditional-use permit.

Facilities below the 15 MW digital-infrastructure threshold are not regulated as HITI facilities unless a later expansion raises the facility to or above the threshold.

Traditional manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, agricultural processing, commercial offices, conventional industrial uses, and similar uses are excluded from the HITI requirements, even if they may contain substantial technological infrastructure.

The HITI requirements are measured at full buildout, but the ordinance allows projects to be reviewed in phases and permits phased schedules for multi-phase facilities.

Applicants may submit a Technical Applicability Memorandum requesting that a study, report, plan, or monitoring requirement be found inapplicable, modified, or satisfied with equivalent information when the relevant infrastructure, operations, or site conditions are not proposed or reasonably anticipated.

A pending Technical Applicability Memorandum is treated as submitted for application-completeness purposes, allowing the completeness review to proceed while the request is being decided.

The Board may accept a state or federal permit, plan, monitoring report, or equivalent study in satisfaction of a HITI requirement serving the same purpose.

The Administrative Official must determine application completeness within 21 days after receiving all required material, subject to pending Technical Applicability Memoranda being treated as submitted.

The Board may approve post-approval submittals, such as final Site Review Plan components, before building permits are issued instead of requiring every engineering detail at the initial conditional-use decision.

HITI application fees are limited to recovery of reasonable administrative review costs and may be based on objective measures such as facility size, electrical demand, campus area, or utility demand. Unused funds may be refunded under Fiscal Court policy.

The ordinance does not authorize local regulation of utility rates or service terms, and ratepayer-impact disclosures are informational only.

The ordinance does not create different building or fire-code requirements from those adopted under Kentucky law, reducing the risk of separate local technical code requirements.

State or federal requirements control if compliance with a local HITI condition would conflict with an applicable state or federal permit or law.

The Board may not require a particular electrical-redundancy configuration, such as N+1, 2N, or distributed redundancy; the applicant may propose its own reliability strategy.

Conditions on a HITI permit must be reasonably related and roughly proportional to impacts identified in the record. Payments, property dedications, or community benefits cannot be required unless they meet that standard, although voluntary commitments may be incorporated with the applicant's consent.

The ordinance allows alternative compliance or technical justification for certain efficiency requirements, including PUE and WUE benchmarks, when the applicant explains operational necessity, alternatives considered, constraints, and implemented efficiency measures.

A stormwater pollution-prevention plan submitted for a Kentucky Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit may satisfy the HITI ordinance's water-quality and erosion-control requirements.

A licensed professional engineer or professional geologist may certify a reduced 300-foot karst setback as protective of the feature, and that certification is sufficient unless the Board finds otherwise based on substantial evidence.

Emergency operations and generator testing conducted during the permitted testing hours are exempt from the HITI operational noise limits.

Lighting required by federal or state law is exempt from the HITI lighting limits.

The Administrative Official may approve minor modifications in writing without a new Board hearing when they do not materially increase utility demand or environmental impacts, alter approved impact assumptions, or require substantial plan revisions.

Ownership, operational-control, and long-term leasehold transfers are allowed through written notice and successor assumption of the permit's obligations, rather than requiring an entirely new facility approval solely because ownership changes.

The ordinance exempts utility service facilities covered by KRS 100.324 from HITI review, including qualifying facilities of Public Service Commission-regulated utilities and municipally owned electric systems.