08/25/2026
I originally made this post to share with some of the other Kentucky and national data center groups, but I wanted to share it here with all of you as well.
We still receive a lot of questions and suggestions about our court case, and we truly appreciate them. But I don’t think everyone realizes that before we can move forward with the other issues in our case, we first have to overcome this one major legal hurdle, standing under KRS 100.347.
If the court determines that we do not have standing, we cannot move forward with the rest of our challenge.
That is why Judge Mark Thurmond has such an important decision before him. How this law is interpreted could potentially affect the rights of Kentuckians facing planning and zoning decisions for years to come.
Please take a few minutes to read the post below, and feel free to share it.
Thank you all for your continued support of FCRD. 🙏
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‼️TODAY - FRANKLIN, SIMPSON COUNTY KENTUCKY‼️IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM OUR COURT CASE TODAY
We wanted to share an important update with our fellow Kentucky data center groups, as well as the national groups following what is happening here.
We had a phone conference with the judge today, August 24, in our ongoing court case concerning the proposed hyperscale data center in Simpson County, Kentucky.
The judge has not made a decision. He is continuing to research several issues in our case.
For those who aren’t familiar with our story, I’m going to try to explain this as simply as possible.
Here is basically what happened:
1. The property is in Simpson County.
2. The property was annexed into the City of Franklin at the request of the proposed data center owner.
3. The proposed hyperscale data center was classified by the city’s zoning administrator as a “Service Establishment” in an I-2 Heavy Industrial zone.
4. The City treated the project as a permitted use under that classification, rather than requiring it to go through a Conditional Use Permit process. That decision is one of the issues we are challenging in court.
And this isn’t a small project.
From information presented to us, the proposed project includes three approximately 200,000-square-foot buildings, a closed-loop cooling system, and potentially 42 natural-gas-powered turbines along with separate power-generation (power plant) infrastructure.
5. We believe the public had very little opportunity for input.
When citizens tried to ask questions, we were told some of our questions were “out of scope.” At later meetings, public comment was not permitted, and attendees were advised that anyone who spoke when public comment was not allowed could be asked to leave.
6. So we went to court.
And this is where KRS 100.347 becomes incredibly important.
Kentucky changed this law in 2025. The change affects who has legal standing to appeal certain planning and zoning decisions.
The property involved in the development is zoned I-2 Heavy Industrial.
The property of the party challenging the decision is zoned B-1.
Because the zoning classifications are different, the defendants argue that the 2025 change to KRS 100.347 means there is no standing to bring the challenge and the case should be dismissed.
7. And THAT is why today’s hearing was so important.
The judge specifically questioned whether the new law could potentially create a situation where a zoning decision is made and no one has standing to appeal it.
Think about that for a minute.
A property can be annexed into a city.
The city then has zoning authority over that property.
A major development can be approved.
But if the people directly affected don’t meet the new requirements for standing under KRS 100.347, who gets to challenge that decision in court?
That question doesn’t just affect data centers.
It could potentially affect communities facing warehouses, factories, industrial developments and other major projects throughout Kentucky.
The judge ordered our Planning & Zoning Commission to file the administrative record within 10 days. He may also ask the attorneys for additional arguments before making his decision.
He said he has a pretty good idea where he is headed, but there are still issues he wants to research more carefully. He also acknowledged that whichever side does not prevail will likely appeal.
Our next status conference will be sometime in October. The date has not yet been determined.
This started with a proposed data center in Simpson County, but the legal question has become much bigger:
If a planning or zoning decision directly affects you and your property, should you have the right to challenge that decision in court?
That is why we believe every Kentuckian should be paying attention to what happens with KRS 100.347 and our case.
Until the court resolves this standing issue, we cannot move forward to the other issues we are challenging in our case.
This decision comes first.
We will keep you updated.🙏
