A rendering of the proposed data center on Campground Road in west Louisville.(Courtesy Poe Companies)The vast majority of Louisville residents who responded to a survey on data centers said they don’t want to see any built in Jefferson County.The survey was part of a public engagement push by pl anning officials late last year, which included five in-person and one online open house event. The feedback from residents is supposed to inform rules officials will propose for where data centers can be built in Louisville and what forms they can take.The survey results, obtained by LPM News through an open records request, showed 81.5% of respondents chose “Nowhere in Jefferson County” when asked where developers should be allowed to build data centers. A similar percentage of people said data centers of any size are inappropriate for Louisville.City officials, meanwhile, appear hesitant to completely shun tech giants and data center developers.During an interview in December, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he's heard residents' concerns about potential impact on the environment and energy costs, but he also sees some upsides. He pointed to a planned data center off Campground Road in west Louisville that's promising $40 million per year in new tax revenue for the public schools system."That's something that I think should be considered," Greenberg said. "I think all of those things need to be weighed."The city’s decision to draft new regulations comes as the U.S. is experiencing a boom in the artificial intelligence industry that’s driving a rush to build hyperscale data centers..At one of Louisville's public hearings last year, most of the residents who showed up expressed opposition to data centers. They said they’re concerned about pollution and how much water and energy data centers use, potentially driving up utility costs for everyone.The city’s survey received 3,600 responses from across Jefferson County. Slightly less than half of respondents live in the city’s urban core, where hyperscale data centers are least likely to be located.Ninety-two residents responded to the survey from the 40216 ZIP code, where a local developer has already received approval for the 150-acre data center campus Greenberg mentioned. Those residents expressed similar skepticism to the group overall, with about 82% saying they want to ban new data centers in Jefferson County.The survey responses track with national polling that shows most Americans don’t want data centers near their homes.Asked for their top concerns about data centers, more than 90% of the residents who filled out the survey selected “electricity/power consumption,” "water usage” and “pollution.” A majority also registered concerns about noise and light pollution for nearby residents.If local leaders decide to allow more data centers in Jefferson County, residents would like to see strict limits on development, the survey shows.Only 73 respondents, or about 2%, said they think hyperscale data centers, which are larger than 100,000 square feet, are appropriate for Louisville. Most would rather see smaller data centers under 50,000 square feet allowed by law.Most respondents also said they think data centers should be limited to industrial areas and at least 30 miles from nearby homes. Seventy percent indicated that building a data center should require a conditional use permit, which would require an extensive public input process.So, how will city officials use these survey results?Keith Hatten, a spokesperson for Louisville’s Cabinet for Economic Development, said in a statement Monday that public feedback is “a meaningful part of the process.”“The intent is to create regulations that responsibly protect the public and support long-term community needs,” he said. “The feedback we've received will help inform our ongoing work and evaluations.”Hatten said staff at the city’s Office of Planning are currently in “the early stages” of writing draft regulations, combining public feedback with research about how other cities are handling new data center proposals. The city is also watching to see what legislation, if any, the Kentucky General Assembly passes this session that would impact data center construction.Once draft regulations are developed, Hatten said there will be another opportunity for public input before city planners submit them to the Planning Committee for a technical review. Then the ten-member Planning Commission will hold additional public hearings before making recommendations to the Louisville Metro Council.Any new data center regulations will have to be approved by council members. Whatever rules they pass will apply across Jefferson County, except for within the 12 suburban cities with their own zoning laws.The survey officially closed on Dec. 21, 2025, but the city is still accepting general comments on data centers through an online form. ...read more read less