Fiscal Court discusses zoning ordinance amendment to help build more houses

The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their first meeting of the month Tuesday.

The court approved the second reading of end-of-fiscal-year amendments for the 2023-2024 county budget. The court also approved the first reading of an amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance that would reduce the size of a Rural Residential, or R-2, lot from 3 acres to 1.8 acres. 

“Folks are still building homes out in the county, it’s just we’re consuming more farmland with that 3 acre minimum than we need to,” said Hardin County Planning Director Adam King. “In fact, as busy and bustling as E-Town’s getting, there’s a lot of folks that may want to move from E-Town and move out to the county to kind of have their little slice of heaven or piece of the pie.”

That’s Hardin County Planning Director Adam King. He said recent studies show that 8,811 housing units are projected to be needed by 2025 to accommodate area growth anticipated with the opening of BlueOval SK, and Hardin County is 4,578 housing units short of what is currently needed.

Hardin County Emergency Management Director Joey Scott and Hardin County Coroner Pat Elmore presented certificates of appreciation to members of the Valley Creek Fire Department for their assistance responding to a death investigation that was hampered by a hazardous material spill. Hardin County Sheriff John Ward recognized several officers for rescuing a man from a burning vehicle after a wrong-way collision on the Western Kentucky Parkway in May.

“It’s my distinct honor to have the opportunity to publicly express my gratitude and commend Deputy James “Opie” Sherrard, Deputy Nick Krone, and Lieutenant Taylor Miller for their extraordinary act of bravery and quick thinking that resulted in saving a life,” Ward said.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet June 25.