Many living in the remaining rural areas of Northern Kentucky are facing threats from their county governments which want to change zoning or approved land uses to allow new developments ranging from high-density housing to factories, warehouses and data centers. So it’s not surprising that candidates running for county commissioner in 2026 are being asked about it. Some candidates say they oppose converting rural and farming areas to other uses without local residents’ approval, but others contend that farmland and rural properties offer the best opportunities for new developments.
One example is Kenton County government’s Site Readiness Initiative (SRI) which would prepare some of the last remaining farmland in the county for transition to industrial uses. Another example is the Mason County government encouraging certain farmers to sell their land to an unnamed developer so it can be converted to industrial zoning for a hyperscale data center. In both situations a huge amount of new infrastructure would be needed to make the rural land suitable for industry – upgraded roads, new sewers and water lines, way better access to electricity and natural gas, etc. In both situations local residents don’t know what companies are interested in their area but they do know no current commissioner on their county’s Fiscal Court lives in the rural areas being targeted.
Situations like these are causing many residents in and around the targeted areas to rise in opposition to their counties’ plans. Some are even deciding to become candidates for county government, trying to give their area a vote on such matters. And the candidates who oppose plans to convert rural and farm land to industrial are not just coming from one political party. In both Kenton and Mason counties, the citizens and candidates in opposition include plenty Republicans and Democrats.
A few candidates who are not opposed to their county’s rural development plans have sometimes been heard saying they do not want to restrict any landowners’ right to sell or use their land howsoever they want. But that’s just a nice talking point which has nothing to do with the issue.
What can be done on or with most properties is already described in zoning regulations which usually apply to large swaths of properties in an area, forming the physical standards and characteristics for how things look and how land is used in the community. Most zoning regulations describe acceptable land uses and criteria describing the kinds, sizes and locations of structures that can be build on a property. In A1 zoning where I live in Kenton County, pre-approved land uses include agriculture, single-family homes, mobile homes, greenhouses, roadside stands or farmers markets to sell farm or garden produce, home-based businesses, stables and riding academies, B&Bs, owner-occupied short-term rentals and other things. A1 zoning also includes “setback” requirements – how far built stuff must be from property lines. Unlike most other zones, A1 has no noise or odor restriction ordinances because farming can sometimes be noisy and/or smelly.
Cities and suburbs have far more zoning regulations than rural areas because structures are much closer together and populations are much more dense in cities and suburbs. Before moving to a rural area we lived in a city and then a couple suburbs. But we moved away from those because we wanted a more relaxed lifestyle, more land and more natural surroundings. Like most rural properties in an A1 zone, ours is larger than what is typical in cities and suburbs. One reason is that rural properties usually need septic wastewater systems because there are no public sewers. Septic system leach fields for rural homes require much larger lot sizes, like at least 2 acres. Another reason is more homes in A1 include crop farming, large gardens and/or animal pastures, all of which require much more land. We’re not farmers, but our larger property made it possible to plant enough trees to convert a once-pasture into a woods – we love woods!
So zoning regulations define the physical characteristics and standards of a community, even in rural areas. Since the same zoning applies to all who live in the zone, the zoning regulations provide assurance to all who live there that there won’t be high-rise hotels and office buildings, factories, race tracks or amusement parks built nearby. Most landowners want their zoning regulations to be durable and long-lasting because that maintains their community’s standards and physical characteristics. Most landowners do not want their zoning regulations changed by their county government, unless a majority living in the neighborhood agree and approve! They certainly don’t want county leaders who don’t live in or anywhere near the rural area to make top-down decisions without local input which will substantially change the rural community’s standards and physical characteristics!
Durable zoning regulations do not restrict anyone’s right to sell their property or buy more. Durable zoning just means new owners are expected to comply with the existing zoning regulations which define the community’s standards and physical characteristics. If individual owners desire changes to their land’s zoning regulations or land uses, they are expected first to inform and seek approval from neighbors, not to seek or get special permission from a county’s government over the objection of a majority of neighbors! And if a county government wants to change zoning or land uses in a community, it should first inform and seek approval from the community’s residents. But this is not how things were done in Kenton or Mason counties. And that’s why the matter has now become an important issue in the 2026 elections.
So when candidates questioned about Kenton County’s SRI plan or Mason County’s data center plan answer by saying they do not want to restrict any landowners’ right to sell or use their property howsoever they want, just remember that zoning regulations already do that, defining the acceptable physical characteristics and standards of a community. Citizens in rural Kenton and Mason counties, who are now opposing the zoning and land use changes proposed by their county governments to allow or encourage industrial development on what now is farm or rural land, are just trying to protect and maintain their community’s standards and physical characteristics. After all, those standards and characteristics are a large part of why they chose to live there.
Please support candidates who say they oppose government-imposed zoning and land use changes when a majority of residents in the impacted area oppose them! We in the South Kenton County Citizens Group and We Are Mason County KY ask citizens to vote for candidates who say they will not vote to change zoning or land use regulations unless the changes are agreed to and approved by fully informed residents in the impacted area. We also ask that our remaining rural and farming areas be valued as county assets to be preserved and protected, not just seen as opportunities for counties and companies to locate new high-dollar developments on cheaper, less regulated land outside the cities and suburbs.