The Boone County Planning Commission recommended against a zoning change Wednesday night that could allow Drees Homes to construct 335 housing units.
The recommendation came down in a split 6-5 vote by the planning commissioners. The final decision on the zoning change request will now go to the Boone County Fiscal Court.
The land in question is about 185 acres on the west side of US-42 between Rice Pike and Bleu Yacht Lane, according to planning commission documents. Drees had sought a recommendation to change the area from its current agricultural estate zone to a suburban residential one with a planned development overlay.
Matt Mains, a development manager with Drees, previously told the planning commission that the planned development overlay would allow a variety of housing types on the acreage, according to a planning commission committee report.
Our region, according to a housing strategies report released in 2025, lacks sufficient housing for young adults forming their first household; for essential workers like nurses, teachers and first responders; and for older adults. A teacher with a median annual income of $43,740, for example, can afford only 26% of the rental and 16% of the for-sale housing in the region, according to the report. For a restaurant server, only 1% of the region’s rental housing is affordable.
An older person relying on Social Security can also afford only 1% of rental housing in the region, according to the report.
The report, called Home for All: Northern Kentucky Housing Strategies, came to be thanks to more than 90 leaders and experts from across NKY who spent hours studying the region and its urgent housing challenge. Their goal was to close the housing gap across income levels and provide a place for everyone.
Click here to learn more about the shortage and how NKY leaders and community members are stepping in to find solutions.
Understanding NKY’s housing shortage
Mains had presented to the planning commission in August, where he said the proposal called for 219 single-family residential units and 29 townhome buildings, for an overall density of 1.81 units per acre, according to provided documents. The development would also include a community center with a swimming pool and an accompanying pool house, an internal sidewalk system and a small system of walking trails.
In March, Mains pitched a larger development on the same properties, seeking a zoning change to allow a 377-unit residential development consisting of 247 single-family homes and 130 townhome units. The earlier proposal had a much higher density at 2.05 units per acre.
Ultimately, the applicant withdrew the zone change proposal, sending Drees Homes back to the drawing board.
Minutes from a public hearing in August showed that residents had expressed concerns about traffic and safety on US-42. Boone County Planner Lauren Elliot stated at this week’s meeting that a planned development zone overlaid over a suburban residential zone would not be consistent with the county’s current comprehensive plan.
Moreover, she noted that “KYTC has identified this section of US-42 as a uniquely dangerous road and is currently conducting a Highway Safety Improvement Program study to determine what improvements are necessary to improve the existing conditions of the roadway.”
Finally, she pointed out that the proposed development only had one point of emergency access and that there was currently no landscaping proposed for the development’s patio homes facing away from US-42.
In this case, the zoning recommendation from the planning commission is not final. The final decision on whether to enact the zoning change will be made by the Boone County Fiscal Court in the coming weeks.
Kenton Hornbeck contributed reporting to this story.
