The Boone County Planning Commission recommended denying Kroger’s request to rezone a 20-acre property at its meeting on Sept. 2.
The zone change would apply to property at the northeast corner of Frogtown Connector Road and Paddock Drive for commercial use, intended for large, master-planned employment centers.
Since 2023, Cincinnati-based Kroger has opened stores in Newport, Union and Edgewood, is constructing another in Cold Spring, and has approved another in Alexandria.
Kroger’s expansion efforts come as Publix continues its own push into Northern Kentucky. Over the past three years, the Florida-based grocer has opened stores in Richwood and Cold Spring, with additional locations in Union and Independence under construction.
Kroger’s Union development proposal, titled Richwood Pointe, calls for a 99,000-square-foot grocery store, a 7,565-square-foot wine and spirits store, a fuel center with seven double-sided gas pumps, and a 51,840-square-foot multi-tenant retail and restaurant building with approximately 231 parking spaces.
The planning commission’s primary objection to the development was the proposed connection with Paddock Drive, arguing it would send additional traffic through a nearby subdivision. They also raised concerns about traffic stacking near the proposed signal on the Frogtown Connector, as well as noise from loading docks positioned near the suburban homes.
“We discussed cut-through traffic, and we did also discuss the potential for U-turns in people’s driveways and how that would conflict with pedestrians,” Planning Commissioner Corrin Gulick said. “Another concern that I had that’s not traffic related was the orientation of the site and how the loading docks are right next to the residential. It’s right there, and I was concerned about the noise impacts from that.”
Planning Commissioner Chairman Charlie Rolfsen clarified that the commission’s job is to decide whether a proposed zoning change is appropriate under applicable land-use criteria, not to approve or reject a development based on public support or opposition to a specific project or business.
“We need to look at, ‘Is the current zoning appropriate? If not, ‘is what they want to do appropriate?’” he said.
The planning commission’s recommendation will now move to the Boone County Fiscal Court, which will make the final decision at a future meeting.
