- Council unanimously approved plans for a 3,500-square-foot Jaggers drive-thru restaurant on Houston Road.
- Members voted 4–2 to adopt new zoning rules regulating standalone truck parking and freight terminals.
- Updated regulations restrict freight terminals from residential areas and add buffering, height and operational standards in Florence.
The City of Florence approved two zoning measures this week that were previously recommended by the Boone County Planning Commission: one related to the addition of a fast-casual drive-thru restaurant and another to update commercial truck parking zoning regulations.
Jaggers
The first approval concerns Jaggers, which required the backing of the city council to proceed with plans to construct a 3,500-square-foot drive-thru restaurant. Ultimately, the council voted unanimously in favor of the proposal.
Jaggers is a fast-casual restaurant franchise that primarily sells burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, salads and milkshakes. The franchise has 14 locations in the United States and one in South Korea.
Jaggers, which is owned by Louisville-based Texas Roadhouse, plans to open its Florence store on a 1.55-acre lot along the northwest side of Houston Road, between Family Allergy & Asthma and Texas Roadhouse, with frontage on Houston Road and access through Spiral Drive and Thoroughbred Boulevard. The Florence store would be the franchise’s third in Kentucky, following openings in Lexington and Louisville.
Prior to the vote, Councilwoman Lesley Chambers expressed concern about potential traffic congestion within the busy parking lot, though she acknowledged that the property owner has the right to develop the site.
“My comment is that I was just over there yesterday, and knowing that parking lot and all the businesses that are that are in there, it’s quite amazing to me that we’re going to fit another restaurant right there, but that is their property, and that is their right to do that,” she said.
Additionally, Chambers said she supported the inclusion of a provision that allows the city to limit drive-through operations if traffic backs up onto roadways.
Commercial Truck Parking
After the Jaggers vote, Florence formally approved the Boone County Planning Commission’s recommendation to revise the commercial truck parking rules. Four councilmembers supported the ordinance, while two opposed it.
The city council previously discussed the regulatory changes at a Feb. 3 caucus meeting. Todd Morgan, Florence’s director of community development, explained that the city was considering zoning text amendments to create new definitions for commercial parking, freight containers, and motor freight terminals within the county’s zoning code.
Questions about the issue first arose at a Boone County Fiscal Court meeting in December 2024, where the legislative body tasked county staff with reviewing whether to establish a new definition of commercial parking within its zoning code. These public conversations continued at fiscal court meetings throughout 2025 and into early 2026.
Morgan explained that, under the proposal, the definition of ‘commercial parking’ would apply only to passenger vehicles and exclude truck parking.
The proposal would also introduce new definitions for freight terminals and their related uses, distinguishing standalone truck parking facilities from warehousing and distribution uses.
Furthermore, under current zoning regulations, motor freight terminals–properties primarily used for truck parking–are classified as warehousing and distribution uses. Motor freight terminals are permitted in Industrial 1, Industrial 2, and Airport zoning classifications without requiring specific use standards.
The proposal establishes a distinct use category for freight terminals and outlines specific operational and design standards.
Going forward, freight terminals will be restricted from agricultural, recreational, conservation or residential zones. In Florence, they will be allowed mainly in the Industrial 1 and Industrial 2 districts, and only as a conditional use in airport zones. They will, however, be prohibited in Commercial 3 districts, which are generally highly visible commercial areas in the city, Morgan said.
“The City of Florence is prohibiting them in C3 or commercial services zones, so these use standards would not apply,” Morgan said. “And the reason for that is C3 districts are high-visibility, high-access areas in the county. So for example, this is one of many examples. This is Turfway Road in the interstate, which is a highly visible area.”
In addition, Florence added seven city-specific use standards for Industrial 1 and 2 zones to the proposal, which are listed below:
- Prohibiting locations adjacent to residential or agricultural zoning.
- Requiring enhanced buffers with landscaping and three- to four-foot berms.
- Access is permitted only from a sub-collector, collector or arterial street.
- All trucks, trailers, or semi-trailers shall be operable and road-ready.
- Requiring a 100-foot setback for stacked containers from public rights-of-way and limiting stacked freight containers to two containers, or 17 feet high.
- Trucks or truck tractors shall not idle while parked.
- Refrigerated trailers or semi-trailers shall not be in operation unless they are entering or exiting the freight terminal
Morgan noted that the changes would primarily impact unincorporated Boone County, as Florence has fewer affected areas.