Ludlow has reached a major milestone in its attempt to become a certified local government by the Kentucky Heritage Council.
The Kenton County Planning Commission recommended changes to Ludlow’s ordinance, which would enable the certification, this week after two months of tabled votes.
Getting the local government certification will make the city eligible for certain matching grants to help bankroll preservation projects. It will also give the city access to expert consultations from both the Kentucky State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service.
Finally, it will give the city a formal role in National Register of Historic Places nomination review processes, enable its input in establishing regional and state historic preservation objectives and create partnerships with various national historic organizations.
In order to get the certification, the city had to amend its regulations around historic preservation. Yet, the planning commissioners were concerned about some of the language in the initial draft of the ordinance amendments, and as a result, the commission tabled a vote on their recommendation twice while the city prepared revisions.
Attempts to take a more active approach to historical preservation in the city date back to the late 2010s. The city established a board to review preservation projects, created a historical preservation overlay zone and adopted various ordinances laying out historical preservation guidelines in 2025. These measures carried over when Ludlow updated its city zoning ordinance last year.
“Becoming a [certified local government] helps us tap into a resource for technical advice, a diverse network of partnerships, and upgraded education standards for the board, created to assist in historic tax credits, and also possible funding in the form of grants, all of which are critical to support the historic preservations we have,” said Andy Corn, who’s acting as the city’s historical preservation coordinator.
The ordinance changes brought before the planning commission this week establish conflict-of-interest regulations, criteria for National Register review and historic designation, public hearing processes and expectations around annual reports, among other provisions. It also cleans up some of the language and definitions the planning commission took issue with when the amendments were first proposed in August.
The ordinance amendments will now return to the Ludlow City Council for a final vote. You can read the proposed revisions, set off in yellow, below.
