Written by Brant Owens, 2026 Candidate for Campbell County Commissioner District 3
Campbell County is growing, but anyone paying attention knows we’re not growing well. Families feel squeezed by rising housing costs. Small businesses lose time and money navigating outdated rules. Sprawl creeps farther into rural land while existing neighborhoods—built on strong bones and public infrastructure—sit underused.
People tell me often: “It feels like the county is just doing the bare minimum.”
And they’re right.
Growth isn’t our enemy. Our lack of modern, consistent, transparent governance is.
That’s a major reason I’m running for Campbell County Commissioner. A county this dynamic deserves leadership that doesn’t wait for problems to arrive at its doorstep. Nothing happens if you do nothing—and right now, too many things are happening to our residents instead of for them.
Zoning Designed for the Past Won’t Solve Today’s Problems
Most of our zoning was written decades ago for a single kind of home on a single kind of lot. That pushes prices up and pushes families out. Meanwhile, younger adults want walkable districts, seniors want options to age in place, and workers want to live closer to their jobs. Our code makes that unnecessarily hard.
Across the country, communities are modernizing their zoning to allow “missing middle” housing: duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, cottage courts, and small multifamily buildings that fit the character of existing neighborhoods and expand options for seniors, young families, and workers.
If we want Strong Cities and Smart Suburbs, we must stop treating thoughtful infill as a threat and start seeing it as an opportunity.
The County Should Lead on Standardizing the Rules
Right now, zoning and permitting rules change dramatically depending on which side of a city boundary you’re standing on. That creates confusion, delays, and unnecessary cost.
The county can—and should—lead an effort across cities and county-governed areas to standardize expectations so residents, small businesses, and builders understand the rules no matter where they are in Campbell County.
Partnering with cities, we should modernize:
Parking minimums that inflate the cost of housing
Minimum lot sizes that prevent smaller, more affordable homes
Height and setback rules written for cars instead of people
Floor-area caps that make good projects financially impossible
This isn’t anti-development. It’s pro–smart development—the kind that builds on the neighborhoods we already value.
Grow Where the Infrastructure Already Exists
Every subdivision pushed to the edges of the county comes with long-term costs: new roads, utilities, police and fire coverage, and longer emergency response times. Taxpayers absorb that bill.
Meanwhile, our river cities, suburban corridors, and areas around NKU have the infrastructure and demand to grow responsibly and affordably.
Directing growth inward—where services already exist—is fiscal responsibility, not ideology. And it’s the heart of Rural Conservation, which protects farmland and green spaces by reducing pressure for sprawl.
Replace Red Tape With Real Transparency
Too many small businesses and homeowners run into a permitting process that takes too long, costs too much, and gives too few clear answers. Residents feel blindsided by decisions that should have been communicated earlier.
A well-run county should operate differently.
We need:
By-right approvals when a project meets the rules—no games
A unified digital permitting portal cities can join voluntarily
Shot clocks to guarantee timely decisions
Public dashboards so residents know where delays occur
Express lanes for affordable housing, ADUs, small businesses, and projects inside existing buildings
This is what a functioning county government looks like. Predictable, fair, transparent—and focused on serving residents, not slowing them down.
Why I’m Running
I’m running because Campbell County deserves more than a bare-minimum approach to the future. We deserve a commission that plans ahead, tackles regional challenges with regional cooperation, and builds a county where our kids and grandkids can afford to stay.
My platform—Strong Cities. Smart Suburbs. Rural Conservation.—is about making Campbell County stronger at every level: vibrant urban centers, choice-filled suburbs, and protected rural land. It’s about replacing rubber-stamp governance with active leadership and community partnership.
Nothing happens if you do nothing. It’s time to do something.
About the Author
Brant Owens is a Newport resident, financial advisor, community leader, and candidate for Campbell County Commissioner (District 3), running on the platform of Strong Cities, Smart Suburbs, and Rural Conservation. Learn more at BrantOwens.com