An interim moratorium adopted by the Mercer County Fiscal Court bars the acceptance, processing, and approval of data-center development applications in unincorporated Mercer County.

Data centers may be located only in an I-T district, and the permitted data-center use is limited to an applicant qualifying as a hyperscaler or an entity that works directly with and can demonstrate a relationship to a hyperscaler.

A water-services agreement must be fully executed before any I-T-zone development, including land clearing, may begin or site and building plans may be submitted.

The water-services agreement must be subject to a public hearing and must address water supply, wastewater, cooling-water systems, capacity, usage reporting, fees, enforcement, and other utility conditions.

The developer must finance required water and sewer infrastructure, including treatment capacity, distribution upgrades, reuse-water systems, and the present value of annual depreciation for the relevant assets.

A rezoning applicant must execute a performance or community-benefit agreement addressing protections for electric ratepayers and funding for infrastructure and increased police, sheriff, fire, and EMS staffing and equipment.

The developer must pay, at the request of the City, County, or applicable fire district, all costs for fire trucks, training, and other fire-department or fire-district expenses.

An environmental impact assessment prepared by an approved qualified third party is required for I-T rezonings and later applications, including building permits, zoning permits, and development-plan approvals or revisions; approved projects must update the assessment every six months during construction and annually afterward.

The environmental assessment must address air and water pollution, nuisance impacts, stormwater and erosion, comprehensive-plan consistency, alternatives, unavoidable impacts, critical-impact areas, and mitigation measures.

A three-dimensional viewshed analysis showing the proposed data center and surrounding properties is required during the zone-map-amendment process.

Minimum setbacks are 750 feet from residential districts, residential uses, habitable structures, and planned-unit developments; 250 feet from agricultural districts; 500 feet from commercial districts and public streets; and 50 feet from industrial districts.

Buildings in an I-T campus must be at least 25 feet apart, subject to limited allowances for covered walkways, while driveways, parking, and covered entrances remain subject to specified setback rules.

I-T buildings may not exceed 50 feet in height, and appurtenances and utility infrastructure are subject to additional height and screening restrictions.

Each I-T campus must contain at least 300 contiguous acres, while the combined I-T acreage in unincorporated Mercer County and Harrodsburg may not exceed 1,500 acres; Burgin campuses count toward the cap.

Unincorporated-county campuses must be in areas suitable for industrial development and generally within the specified 1.5-mile radius near the E.W. Brown power plant, with at least 60% of the proposed parcel inside the radius and all buildings, except a gate guard shack, inside it.

Land zoned A-1 as of the ordinance’s enactment, identified as prime farmland, is ineligible for rezoning to I-T.

Each campus must maintain a minimum 25-foot opaque perimeter buffer, plus additional plantings equivalent to an opaque buffer within the required setback area.

Each campus or contiguous group of commonly owned I-T parcels must maintain at least 20% open space; reduction to 10% requires prior approval and compliance with specified on-site stormwater treatment standards.

A licensed-engineer stormwater retention and management plan is required with the site plan and rezoning application, and discharges to waters of the Commonwealth require permits and potentially pretreatment.

Before a zoning or building permit, the applicant must submit a Kentucky-engineer-prepared floodplain impact analysis, including a no-rise certification.

Rezoning applicants must submit a subsurface investigation addressing karst groundwater channels and the site’s suitability for the required structural loads.

Data-center operations are limited to 60 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and 55 dBA from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.; persistent or repetitive noise is prohibited, subject to exceptions for construction, emergencies, and certain generator testing.

Third-party noise propagation studies meeting ISO 9613 standards are required before final site-plan approval, with pre-disturbance and post-development testing at nearby residential locations within 60 days after occupancy and annually for 10 years.

Post-development sound levels may not increase from pre-disturbance levels at the designated nearby residential locations, and violations require immediate mitigation and may trigger enforcement.

Cooling water must come from potable municipal water, reused municipal wastewater, or regulated waters of the Commonwealth, and water withdrawals and wastewater or stormwater discharges must comply with applicable Kentucky permits and limits.

The County or City may cap or throttle daily water use, and data centers are subject to the same drought restrictions as other commercial or industrial customers.

Data centers may use private roads or controlled commercial driveways, but they may not be accessed from City or County roads and must be accessed only from state-maintained routes.

Exterior lighting requires a lighting-engineer plan, full cut-off downward-directed fixtures, a maximum 25-foot height, specified lot-line illumination limits, and no illuminated signage; certain exterior lighting near residential development must be extinguished from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., except for necessary security or emergency lighting.

On-site generators must meet at least EPA Tier 4 standards.

Generators may be used only as backup power, not as the primary power source, and all backup generation must be enclosed in impermeable sound-buffer walls or buildings.

Building facades must include specified mass-breaking features at prescribed intervals, at least 5% fenestration on each visible facade, approved facade materials and Shaker Village-associated color schemes, and screening of mechanical and electrical equipment.

After a zone change is approved, the developer must escrow $50 million in an interest-bearing account at 3%; for projects exceeding 100 MW, the interest must fund full-time engineer and inspector positions costing at least $200,000 and up to $300,000 annually, subject to inflation, until decommissioning is complete.

Construction and trucking must comply with County quiet-hour rules, the developer must maintain and repair City and County roads within three miles of the job site, and construction traffic must be coordinated to avoid school-bus travel times.

Before a building permit, the applicant must submit a decommissioning plan covering removal of buildings, equipment, fuel systems, and impervious surfaces, legal disposal, site restoration, karst features, and an engineer-stamped cost estimate.

Decommissioning is triggered by 12 consecutive months without operations, written notice of abandonment, or expiration or revocation of required permits without active use; an operator has 45 days to rebut a determination that decommissioning has been triggered.

The owner or operator must provide financial assurance of $100 million in cash escrow or another approved amount equal to at least 150% of estimated decommissioning costs, with review and updating every three years or sooner after expansion.

If the owner fails to commence decommissioning within 90 days after a trigger, the County, City, or Planning and Zoning may draw on the security after 30 days’ written notice, enter the property, complete decommissioning, and recover costs.

The owner or operator remains responsible for subsidence, sinkholes, groundwater impacts, and contamination during operation and after decommissioning; that liability runs with the land.

Post-decommissioning groundwater and site-stability monitoring is required for at least five years, followed by certification by a Kentucky-licensed professional engineer that decommissioning is complete and no ongoing environmental hazards remain.

Data-center zoning or land-use violations may incur a penalty of $20,000 per day until remedied.

Data-center owners must log all complaints, conduct and pay for special focused studies after formal complaints, submit complaint logs to the zoning administrator at least twice yearly, and use a different accredited firm for complaint studies than for pre- or post-construction studies.

An unresolved complaint after 60 days may proceed to binding arbitration after the complainant pays a $500 fee; the owner must continuously fund a non-reverting arbitration fund containing at least $5,000.

Each data center must post 24-hour emergency-contact and community-liaison information at the access entrance.

Creates an Industrial Technology (I-T) zoning district where data centers and small data centers are permitted uses, subject to the applicant qualifying as a hyperscaler or demonstrating a direct relationship with one.

Allows supporting facilities as accessory uses, including water-treatment plants, sewage-treatment plants, self-generating power infrastructure, solar facilities, battery storage, cooling facilities, structured parking, security buildings, storage and maintenance facilities, cafeterias, and internal offices.

Allows electricity substations, transmission lines, and distribution infrastructure needed to support an I-T campus to be located in the I-T district, subject to consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.

Permits cooling water to come from municipal potable water, reused municipal wastewater, or regulated waters of the Commonwealth, giving projects multiple potential water sources.

Allows private roads and controlled-access commercial driveways within an I-T development to be exempt from applicable zoning and subdivision standards for streets, blocks, and road length.

Allows inter-parcel connection requirements to be waived when alternative emergency-access areas are available.

Permits covered walkways connecting buildings or parking structures within the required building setbacks, and permits driveways within those setbacks subject to the stated lot-line limits.

Allows perimeter buffer areas to count within required setbacks, except for setbacks from state and federal highways.

Allows natural topography and existing vegetation, supplemented by new vegetation and security fencing, to serve as an alternative to newly planted buffer yards.

Allows the on-site open-space requirement to be reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent when the project meets the ordinance's specified stormwater-compliance and on-site treatment conditions.

Permits backup generators for emergency use, including mobile or portable generators, provided they are not used as the primary power source and are housed in impermeable sound-buffer walls or buildings.

Exempts construction, repair, testing, alteration, demolition, required generator testing, and emergency operations from the ordinary noise limits, subject to the conditions stated in the ordinance.

Allows generator testing between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. without being subject to the ordinary noise restrictions, unless testing outside those hours is required by a state agency.

Allows each campus to include facilities under single or multiple ownership when they are within a contiguous area governed by a unified site or master plan.

A moratorium on data centers was adopted by the Fiscal Court on August 11, 2026; the source does not state an end date. Moratorium for Data Centers in Mercer County

Data centers may be located only in the Industrial Technology (I-T) district, and the permitted data-center use is limited to applicants that qualify as hyperscalers or work directly with a hyperscaler and can demonstrate that relationship. Data center or small data center

An applicant for a zoning permit must demonstrate that it neither qualifies for nor seeks an exemption from tangible personal property taxes. tangible personal property taxes

Before an I-T development may submit site and building plans to Planning and Zoning, the developer must execute a Water Services Agreement. before any development in the I-T zone may submit site and building plans

Rezoning applicants must execute a Performance Agreement or Community Benefit Agreement in a form acceptable to Mercer County and the City of Harrodsburg. execute a Performance Agreement

An Environmental Impact Assessment is required with every rezoning application, must be prepared by a qualified third party, and must be updated every six months during construction and annually afterward if rezoning is approved. updated, every six months during construction, and every year thereafter

Projects over 100 MW must reimburse the city and county for full-time engineer and inspector positions, at least $200,000 and no more than $300,000 annually, subject to inflation adjustment, for up to five years or until construction is complete. over 100MW of capacity

Every data-center project must enter a community-benefit agreement funding necessary increases in police or sheriff, fire, and EMS staff and equipment. fund necessary community investments

I-T campuses must contain at least 300 contiguous acres, total I-T zoning in the county and Harrodsburg is capped at 1,500 acres, and unincorporated-county campuses must fall within the specified 1.5-mile radius near Curdsville Road and the E.W. Brown power plant. minimum of 300 contiguous acres

Minimum setbacks are 750 feet from residential districts, residential uses, and planned unit developments; 250 feet from agricultural districts; 500 feet from commercial districts and public streets; and 50 feet from industrial districts. minimum setbacks

Buildings are limited to a maximum height of 50 feet, subject to restrictions on appurtenances and utility infrastructure. maximum height shall be no more than fifty feet

Each campus must maintain a 25-foot-wide opaque perimeter buffer, with specified fencing and tree, understory, and shrub planting requirements; additional equivalent plantings are required within the setback area. Opaque Buffer shall be established and maintained

Each campus must maintain at least 20% open space, although this may be reduced to 10% only with prior approval and specified on-site stormwater treatment conditions. minimum of twenty (20)% open space

Applicants must submit engineered stormwater plans, obtain any required discharge permits or pretreatment, provide a Kentucky-registered-engineer floodplain impact analysis and No-Rise Certification, and submit a subsurface investigation addressing karst groundwater channels and load-bearing suitability. Floodplain Impact Analysis

Data-center operations are limited to 60 dBA during the day and 55 dBA at night, measured at the campus boundary, with persistent or repetitive noise prohibited; generator testing is generally limited to 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 60 dBA during the day

A third-party engineer must prepare an ISO 9613 sound study before final site-plan approval, and post-development noise evaluations are required within 60 days after each certificate of occupancy and annually for 10 years, plus possible complaint-based testing. annually thereafter for a period of ten (10) years

Developers must maintain and repair city and county roads within three miles of the job site during construction and coordinate construction traffic to avoid school-bus travel hours. maintain and repair all city and county roads within three miles

Data centers may not be accessed from city or county roads and may be accessed only from state-maintained routes. only be accessed from State-maintained routes

Temporary potable water for industrial cooling is allowed only through a Water Services Agreement, which may limit daily quantity and duration; the developer must finance and construct any reuse-water system and fully fund required water and sewer infrastructure and treatment-capacity expansions. fully fund all water and sewer infrastructure required

A Water Services Agreement must be subject to a public hearing before adoption, and any withdrawal from or discharge into Herrington Lake requires Kentucky Division of Water approval. subject to a public hearing prior to adoption

On-site generators must meet at least EPA Tier 4 standards, may be used only as backup rather than the primary power source, and must be housed inside buildings or impermeable sound-buffer walls. generators as back-up power sources

Exterior lighting requires a lighting-engineer plan, full cut-off downward-directed fixtures, a maximum 25-foot height, lot-line illumination limits, and no illuminated signage; certain adjacent-residential uses must extinguish non-security lighting from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Lighting plan

Visible building facades must use architectural breaks at specified intervals, include at least 5% fenestration, use specified primary materials and Shaker Village-associated color schemes, and screen mechanical and electrical equipment from streets and adjacent properties. differentiation that breaks the mass of the facade

The proposed I-T zoning ordinance requires formal zoning action through the statutory process, including first and second readings; the source states that no official action could be taken at the first reading. first reading, and no official action could be taken

Data centers are expressly permitted in the Industrial Technology (I-T) district for qualifying hyperscalers and entities that work directly with a hyperscaler, subject to demonstrating the required relationship.

Electrical substations, transmission lines, and distribution facilities needed to support an I-T campus may be located within the I-T district, subject to substantial consistency with the comprehensive plan.

Data-center campuses may include accessory water-treatment plants, sewage-treatment plants, self-generating power, utility-scale solar, battery storage, elevated water tanks, telecommunications facilities, central heating or cooling, employee food service, security buildings, storage and maintenance facilities, structured parking, and internal administrative offices.

An I-T campus may use private roads or commercial driveways with controlled access, and those private roads are exempt from applicable zoning and subdivision standards governing streets, blocks, and road length.

Inter-parcel road connections may be waived when alternative emergency-access areas are available.

Data centers may be accessed from state-maintained routes rather than City or County roads.

A Water Services Agreement may authorize temporary potable water for industrial cooling while an industrial reuse-water cooling system is constructed.

The Water Services Agreement may establish treatment, distribution, collection, wastewater-capacity, reuse-water, usage-reporting, fee, and term provisions for serving the data center.

The ordinance allows a data center to construct and use water and wastewater infrastructure through agreements with the County, City of Harrodsburg, Lake Village Water Association, or another applicable utility, although the developer must fund the infrastructure and the utilities may cap daily usage.

Construction equipment, construction-related trucking, required generator testing, and emergency operations are exempt from the ordinary I-T noise limits, subject to the stated time, emergency, and other conditions.

Backup generators are allowed for emergency power, provided they are not used as the primary power source and are housed inside buildings or impermeable sound-buffer walls.

I-T properties may use fences up to eight feet high in all yards, with fencing allowed inside required buffer areas; barbed wire is permitted around electrical substations.

The on-site open-space requirement may be reduced from 20% to 10% when all stormwater best-management practices are designed to the specified 2% storm-compliance standard and all volume and nutrient treatment occurs on-site.

The ordinance establishes a maximum building height of 50 feet and allows appurtenances and utility infrastructure subject to the listed aviation, floor-area, screening, and legal limits.

The ordinance allows I-T campuses of at least 300 contiguous acres and permits cumulative I-T zoning of up to 1,500 acres across unincorporated Mercer County and Harrodsburg, subject to the specified infrastructure-suitability and location limits.