Overview
Code type
hybrid-pd
Naming convention
mixed
Louisville Metro Government is a CONSOLIDATED LOCAL GOVERNMENT (KRS 67C / Ky. Const. §156a; effective 2003-01-06 from Louisville/Jefferson County merger) — the ONLY current §156a entity in Kentucky. The LDC's defining feature is its DUAL-TIER structure: every parcel carries BOTH a (1) Zoning District (governs permitted uses, density, FAR) AND a (2) Form District (governs height, setbacks, frontage, design standards). The two tracks regulate DIFFERENT aspects and do not preempt each other. There are 11 Form Districts: Traditional Neighborhood, Neighborhood, Village, Village Center, Town Center, Regional Center, Suburban Marketplace Corridor, Suburban Workplace, Campus, Downtown, Urban Center Neighborhood (the last is proposed, File 22-LDC-0001). Naming convention is mixed: R-series sequential intensity (R-1 = largest 40,000 sf SF lot through R-8A = highest-density MF; NOT inverse), R-5A/R-5B are SF/MF transitional variants; C-series is letter+number index (C-R rural, C-N neighborhood, C-1-3 light-to-general, C-M); M-1/M-2/M-3 industrial intensity; OR/OR-1/OR-2/OR-3/OTF office; multipurpose (EZ-1, PEC, PRO, W-1/2/3) and special-residential (U-N, TNZD, PRD, PDD, PTD) letter-acronym-coded. The LDC is in active reform: Middle Housing Amendment (File 23-LDC-0003) would allow duplexes/triplexes/fourplexes/townhouses/walking-courts/cottage-courts BY RIGHT in Traditional Neighborhood / Neighborhood / Village / Village Center form districts (currently prohibited in most areas); Pro-Housing Ch. 5 Amendments (24-LDC-0004); Urban Center Neighborhood Form District (22-LDC-0001) — all under Planning Commission review as of research date. 12 incorporated suburban cities within Louisville Metro retain independent zoning authority (Anchorage, Douglass Hills, Graymoor-Devondale, Hurstbourne, Indian Hills, Jeffersontown, Lyndon, Middletown, Prospect, Shively, St. Matthews, St. Regis Park) — LDC changes do not automatically apply to them.
Worth knowing
- DUAL-TIER ZONING SYSTEM — unique in this study among major US cities: every parcel has BOTH a Zoning District (use/density) AND a Form District (form/setbacks/height). A property zoned R-5 in the Traditional Neighborhood form district has DIFFERENT height and setback standards than an R-5 property in the Suburban form district. Always look at BOTH tiers.
- 11 FORM DISTRICTS govern height, setbacks, frontage, and design INDEPENDENTLY of zoning district: Traditional Neighborhood, Neighborhood, Village, Village Center, Town Center, Regional Center, Suburban Marketplace Corridor, Suburban Workplace, Campus, Downtown, Urban Center Neighborhood (last is proposed via 22-LDC-0001).
- CONTEXT-SENSITIVE HEIGHT RULE: building height shall fall within the range of existing structures within the same block face, ±25%, not to exceed form district maximum. Height bonus available if ALL required yards increased by +5 ft per additional story or per +10 ft over 3 stories / 45 ft. Result: new construction height is constrained by neighbors AND form district, not just a fixed cap.
+ 14 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
spec 8res_sf 7res_mf 7mu 7com 5ind 3cbd 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-R | Rural Residential | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-E | Residential Estate | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-1 | Single-Family R-1 | res_sf | 40,000 sf | — | — | — | 1.09 | — | — / — / — |
| R-2 | Single-Family R-2 | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-3 | Single-Family R-3 | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-4 | Single-Family R-4 | res_sf | 9,000 sf | 35 ft | 0.3 | — | 4.84 | 2 | 30 / 5 / 25 |
| R-5 | Single-Family R-5 | res_sf | 6,000 sf | 35 ft | 0.35 | — | 7.26 | 2 | 25 / 5 / 20 |
| R-5A | Two-Family (Duplex) R-5A | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-5B | Residential Two-Family R-5B | res_mf | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — / — / — |
| R-6 | Multi-Family R-6 | res_mf | 6,000 sf | 45 ft | 0.4 | — | 12 | 1.5 | 15 / 5 / 15 |
| R-7 | Multi-Family R-7 | res_mf | 6,000 sf | 65 ft | 0.5 | — | 22 | 1.25 | 15 / 5 / 15 |
| R-8 | Multi-Family R-8 | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| R-8A | Multi-Family R-8A | res_mf | 6,000 sf | -1 ft | 0.65 | — | 65 | 1 | 10 / 5 / 10 |
| OR | Office Residential OR | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| OR-1 | Office Residential OR-1 | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| OR-2 | Office Residential OR-2 | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| OR-3 | Office Residential OR-3 | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| OTF | Office Transition OTF | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| U-N | Urban Neighborhood | res_mf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| TNZD | Traditional Neighborhood Zoning District | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| PRD | Planned Residential Development | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| PDD | Planned Development District | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| PTD | Planned Transit Development | spec | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-R | Commercial Rural | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-N | Commercial Neighborhood | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-1 | Commercial Light C-1 | com | 6,000 sf | 45 ft | 0.6 | — | — | — | 25 / 10 / 10 |
| C-2 | Commercial C-2 | com | 6,000 sf | 65 ft | 0.7 | — | — | — | 15 / 5 / 10 |
| C-3 | Commercial General / CBD C-3 | cbd | — | -1 ft | 1 | — | — | — | 0 / 0 / 0 |
| C-M | Commercial Manufacturing | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| M-1 | Industrial Light M-1 | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| M-2 | Industrial M-2 | ind | 10,000 sf | 45 ft | 0.6 | — | — | — | 25 / 10 / 25 |
| M-3 | Industrial Heavy M-3 | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| EZ-1 | Enterprise Zone EZ-1 | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| PEC | Planned Employment Center | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| PRO | Planned Research Office | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| W-1 | Waterfront W-1 | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| W-2 | Waterfront W-2 | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| W-3 | Waterfront W-3 | mu | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
H
Historic Preservation Overlay
HPDesignated local Preservation Districts (Old Louisville, Butchertown, Cherokee Triangle, Limerick, West Main Street, Phoenix Hill, Original Highlands, Parkland, Russell, etc.) + individual landmark sites
| design_review_requirement | Certificate of Appropriateness required from Louisville Metro Historic Landmarks Commission (LMCO Ch. 32) for exterior alterations, new construction, and demolition within designated Preservation Districts[1] |
|---|---|
| review_body | Louisville Metro Historic Landmarks and Preservation Districts Commission |
| use_layering | Underlying zoning district uses unchanged; overlay constrains exterior design, demolition, new construction form, signage |
FP
Floodplain Overlay
FPFEMA-mapped 1% annual chance Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA Zones A, AE) along Ohio River, Beargrass Creek (north/middle/south forks), Mill Creek, Pond Creek, Floyds Fork, Salt River tributaries
| fema_zones | ['A', 'AE', 'X'] |
|---|---|
| freeboard | Louisville-specific freeboard above BFE per MSD regulations — specific freeboard value not extracted |
| development_standards | Elevation requirements, fill restrictions, structure-type limits, use restrictions per FEMA NFIP + Louisville MSD amendments |
| state_concurrent | KY KRS Ch. 151 state floodplain-construction permits also required for any work in floodplain[2] |
| federal_concurrent | USACE Section 404 jurisdictional waters; navigation servitude on Ohio River; ORSANCO water-quality interstate compact |
PC
Parkway Corridor Overlay
COROlmsted-designed parkway corridors (Eastern Parkway, Southern Parkway, Western Parkway, Cherokee Parkway, Algonquin Parkway) and connected scenic-route segments
| scope | Setback enhancement, landscaping requirements, signage restrictions, frontage-type rules along the Olmsted parkway network |
|---|---|
| olmsted_designation | Olmsted Brothers / Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. parkway-and-park system (1891-1898) — National Register of Historic Places multiple listings |
MIA
Mineral Extraction / Industrial Activity Overlay
ENVActive and proposed quarry, gravel pit, and surface-extraction operations within Metro boundaries
| scope | Conditional use permit required for new mineral extraction; reclamation plan + state KRS 350 SMCRA / state surface mining concurrence |
|---|
State preemptions
KY KRS Chapter 100 — Planning and Zoning Enabling Actapplies
Qualifying condition
KRS Chapter 100 is the EXCLUSIVE source of local planning/zoning authority in Kentucky (Dillon's Rule state). Louisville Metro Planning Commission is authorized under KRS 100.137 + KRS 67C.103 (consolidated-local-government planning unit). Population 633,045 (2020 balance) / 782,969 (consolidated) — no population threshold; statute applies to all KY zoning jurisdictions. KRS 100.213 findings-of-fact requirement (single most-litigated KY zoning statute) applies to every LDC map amendment. KRS 100.347 30-day circuit court appeal window applies to all Planning Commission decisions.
Effect
LDC procedural mechanics (hearings, notice, written findings of fact, appeals, planning-commission structure) preempted by KRS Ch. 100 occupation-of-field. Louisville Metro retains substantive authority to set use lists, bulk standards, district boundaries subject to Ch. 100 procedural floor and KRS 100.201 statutory purposes of zoning.
KY KRS Chapter 67C / Ky. Const. §156a — Louisville Metro Consolidated Local Government Authorityapplies
Qualifying condition
Louisville/Jefferson County merger effective 2003-01-06 under 2002-enacted Ky. Const. §156a + KRS Chapter 67C. Louisville Metro Government is the ONLY current §156a consolidated local government in Kentucky (Lexington-Fayette UCG is a separate KRS Ch. 67A urban-county government, structurally distinct). Population 633,045 (2020 balance; 782,969 consolidated). Metro inherits city + county zoning authority from merged predecessors. 12 incorporated suburban cities within Metro boundaries (Anchorage, Douglass Hills, Graymoor-Devondale, Hurstbourne, Indian Hills, Jeffersontown, Lyndon, Middletown, Prospect, Shively, St. Matthews, St. Regis Park) RETAIN independent zoning authority under KRS 100.137 — LDC changes do NOT automatically apply to them; each must adopt by separate ordinance.
Effect
Louisville Metro has unified city + county zoning authority. Metro Council functions as both city council and fiscal court for zoning purposes. §156a preempts the typical KRS 100 city-only / county-only bifurcation — Louisville Metro applies LDC uniformly across the unincorporated Metro service area but cannot reach the 12 incorporated suburban-city carveout. This creates Louisville-Metro-specific procedural and geographic patchwork that differs from any other KY jurisdiction.
KY KRS 100.348 / 2025 HB 160 — Manufactured Housing Anti-Exclusion & Parity Amendmentapplies
Qualifying condition
KY HB 160 (2025 reg. sess.) amends KRS 100.348 effective 2026-07-01. Pre-amendment KRS 100.348 (in force since codification) prohibits exclusion of HUD-Code manufactured homes from residential districts solely for being manufactured. 2025 HB 160 PARITY amendment tightens neutral-aesthetic-standards test — standards must be facially neutral AND not prohibitive in effect. Retrieval date 2026-05-22 < HB 160 effective date 2026-07-01 — LDC residential district use-lists (R-1 through R-8A) must be reviewed for compliance with the parity amendment by 2026-07-01. Population 633,045 — no population floor; statewide.
Effect
LDC residential district use-lists may not omit manufactured housing without facially-neutral aesthetic/dimensional standards. Permitted: foundation requirements, minimum width (commonly 20-24 ft), pitched-roof, exterior-cladding parity standards — if equally applied to site-built dwellings. Effective 2026-07-01, 2025 HB 160 parity amendment raises the burden of proof on any standard alleged to be prohibitive-in-effect.
Qualifying condition
HB 443 enacted 2024 regular session, effective 2024-07-15. Mandates ministerial processing (no discretionary public hearing) of any qualifying housing development application that meets objective LDC standards. Statewide — no population floor; applies to Louisville Metro. Population 633,045 (2020 balance). Affects LDC Ch. 11 review-category structure: Category 1 (administrative ministerial) and Category 2 (administrative with notice) tracks must be expanded to capture HB 443 qualifying applications; Category 3-5 discretionary tracks remain for non-qualifying or variance-seeking applications.
Effect
Louisville Metro Planning Commission must process qualifying housing applications ministerially when objective LDC standards are met. Reduces discretionary review window for compliant housing applications. Notably interacts with the Middle Housing Amendment (23-LDC-0003) — if/when adopted, by-right duplex/triplex/fourplex in residential form districts becomes Category 1 ministerial under HB 443 logic.
Qualifying condition
Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF; Class C airspace; FAR Part 139 certificated; 4 runways including 17R/35L 11,890 ft) and Bowman Field (LOU; general aviation; 3 runways) both within Louisville Metro boundaries. KRS 183.861 authorizes/requires airport hazard zoning around qualifying public-use airports — Louisville Regional Airport Authority (LRAA) issues airport zoning regulations concurrent with Metro LDC; height surfaces per FAA Part 77 federal regulation. Population 633,045 — no population floor; statute applies wherever a qualifying public-use airport exists.
Effect
LDC overlay structure must include Airport Hazard / Airport Zoning concurrent with federal FAA Part 77 surfaces. Building height in approach/transitional surfaces near SDF/LOU is capped by FAA OE/AAA + LRAA airport zoning rules in addition to base LDC + form district height rules. Federal-state concurrent: federal FAA Part 77 + state KRS 183.861 — routed through federal_overlay_refs per FM-P; preempts max_height_ft in airport-vicinity parcels.
Adopted building codes
Statewide; KY plumbing code
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Amendment history
| Date | Kind | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-22 | retrieved at | |
| 2024-12-19 | amendment effective | LDC codified through 2024-12-19 per zoning/research/louisville-ky-zoning.md research extraction |
| 2003-01-06 | adoption | Louisville/Jefferson County merger effective 2003-01-06 (KRS 67C, Ky. Const. §156a); LDC adopted by Louisville Metro Council shortly after merger |
Quirks & notes
- DUAL-TIER ZONING SYSTEM — unique in this study among major US cities: every parcel has BOTH a Zoning District (use/density) AND a Form District (form/setbacks/height). A property zoned R-5 in the Traditional Neighborhood form district has DIFFERENT height and setback standards than an R-5 property in the Suburban form district. Always look at BOTH tiers.
- 11 FORM DISTRICTS govern height, setbacks, frontage, and design INDEPENDENTLY of zoning district: Traditional Neighborhood, Neighborhood, Village, Village Center, Town Center, Regional Center, Suburban Marketplace Corridor, Suburban Workplace, Campus, Downtown, Urban Center Neighborhood (last is proposed via 22-LDC-0001).
- CONTEXT-SENSITIVE HEIGHT RULE: building height shall fall within the range of existing structures within the same block face, ±25%, not to exceed form district maximum. Height bonus available if ALL required yards increased by +5 ft per additional story or per +10 ft over 3 stories / 45 ft. Result: new construction height is constrained by neighbors AND form district, not just a fixed cap.
- LOUISVILLE METRO is the ONLY current Ky. Const. §156a / KRS 67C CONSOLIDATED LOCAL GOVERNMENT in Kentucky (Lexington-Fayette UCG is a structurally distinct KRS 67A urban-county government). Effective 2003-01-06 from Louisville/Jefferson County merger. Metro Council = both city council and fiscal court for zoning purposes.
- 12 INCORPORATED SUBURBAN CITIES within Metro boundaries RETAIN INDEPENDENT ZONING AUTHORITY: Anchorage, Douglass Hills, Graymoor-Devondale, Hurstbourne, Indian Hills, Jeffersontown, Lyndon, Middletown, Prospect, Shively, St. Matthews, St. Regis Park. LDC changes do NOT automatically apply to them — each must adopt separately.
- VARIANCE vs WAIVER asymmetry: form district HEIGHT and SETBACK variances go to the Board of Zoning Adjustment; form district DESIGN STANDARD (facade/window/material) waivers go to the Planning Commission. Two different bodies for two different rule types within the same overlay structure (LDC §11.8.1).
- MIDDLE HOUSING AMENDMENT (File 23-LDC-0003) under Planning Commission review: would allow duplexes/triplexes/fourplexes/townhouses/walking-courts/cottage-courts BY RIGHT in residential zones within Traditional Neighborhood / Neighborhood / Village / Village Center form districts. Currently prohibited in most areas — most Louisville Metro land is zoned single-family-only.
- PRO-HOUSING CHAPTER 5 AMENDMENTS (File 24-LDC-0004) and URBAN CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD FORM DISTRICT (File 22-LDC-0001) also under Planning Commission review — LDC is in one of the most active ongoing code-reform processes of any major US city.
- SIDE YARD ADJACENT RESIDENTIAL: 5 ft minimum; 6 ft if adjacent building's window(s) face the shared property line. Non-residential adjacent to residential: 25 ft min; loading docks facing residential: 50 ft min (LDC Ch. 4 CUP standards).
- PARKING LOCATION RULE: off-street parking SHALL NOT be located between the principal structure and the front property line, NOR within the street side yard setback. Exception: driveways leading to home, rear yard, or garage are permitted.
- STR REGULATION (LMCO Ch. 115 + LDC use table): host's primary residence = permitted with special standards in all residential and commercial districts; non-primary residence = CUP required in all SF and MF residential districts. Eligible units must be SF or duplex (or condo). 2 substantiated complaints can revoke permit. NO statewide KY STR preemption.
- R-5 IS THE MOST COMMON ZONING IN LOUISVILLE METRO (per Zoning District Basics); allows semi-detached dwellings but currently no middle housing without the pending 23-LDC-0003 amendment.
- R-5B has MAX 2 DU/LOT — narrowest density cap in the residential roster.
- C-3 DOWNTOWN: height effectively UNLIMITED at LDC level; capped only by FAA Part 77 airport hazard surfaces around SDF (Louisville Muhammad Ali International) and the form district maximum (Downtown).
- OLMSTED PARKWAY NETWORK (Eastern, Southern, Western, Cherokee, Algonquin Parkways) imposed via Parkway Corridor (PC) overlay — frontage/landscape/signage enhancements above base + form district floors. Olmsted Brothers / FLO Sr. design 1891-1898; multiple NRHP listings.
- MOST CRITICAL AIRPORT-HAZARD JURISDICTION: Louisville Muhammad Ali International (SDF — 4 runways including 11,890 ft 17R/35L; Class C; FAR Part 139; UPS Worldport hub making SDF the 3rd-busiest US cargo airport) creates extensive FAA Part 77 + KRS 183.861 height-constrained surfaces across south-central Metro. Bowman Field (LOU, general aviation) adds further constraint in eastern Metro.
- Source codelibrary.amlegal.com Cloudflare-blocked to scripted access — retrieval relied on prior 2026-04-07 extraction in research/louisville-ky-zoning.md combined with the cross-corroborated KY state-overlay and preemption sources. Direct §-citation verification not possible at retrieval time.
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Grade to highest point of structure (LDC dimensional definitions). NOTE: Louisville's CONTEXT-SENSITIVE height rule (per LDC + Opticos Design 2024 zoning analysis) caps new construction height within ±25% of the range of building heights on the same block face, not to exceed the maximum height for the applicable form district. Additional height beyond form-district base requires all required yards increased by +5 ft per additional story OR +5 ft per additional 10 ft over 3 stories / 45 ft.
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint / lot area.
- far
- Gross floor area / lot area. NOTE: Louisville LDC does not impose uniform FAR caps across base districts — FAR is form-district-modulated in many cases.
- du_ac
- Dwelling units per gross acre.
- setback_front
- Front property line to nearest building face — IN LOUISVILLE THIS IS FORM-DISTRICT-DEPENDENT. Same zoning district carries different front setbacks in Traditional Neighborhood vs. Neighborhood vs. Suburban form districts.
- setback_side
- Side property line to nearest building face. Minimum 5 ft abutting residential; 6 ft if adjacent building's window(s) face the shared property line (LDC Ch. 4 CUP standards). Non-residential adjacent to residential: 25 ft min; loading docks facing residential: 50 ft min.
- setback_rear
- Rear property line to nearest building face — FORM-DISTRICT-DEPENDENT.
- parking
- Off-street parking spaces per dwelling unit unless noted. Subject to LDC parking standards + form district modifications + Planned Transit Development (PTD) reductions (§2.7.2).
- form_district_override
- Form district controls building HEIGHT, SETBACKS, FRONTAGE TYPE, and DESIGN STANDARDS regardless of zoning district. Variances to form-district HEIGHT and SETBACKS require Board of Zoning Adjustment action; variances to form-district DESIGN STANDARDS require Planning Commission waiver (LDC §11.8.1).
Capacity calculations
- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage- max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far (where far is defined)- max_units
lot_area_sf / 43560 * du_ac- height_with_setback_bonus
form_district_base_height_ft + 10 * floor((max(yard_increase_ft, 0)) / 5) ft, subject to FAA Part 77 + airport hazard zoning caps where applicable- context_sensitive_height_cap
max_height_ft = blockface_avg_height_ft * 1.25 (not to exceed form district max)
Massing explorer
Interactive 3D comparison across every district. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, use the slider to walk districts, and toggle applicable overlays in the right-side panel.
Sort by
Max height
— ft
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Floor area ratio
—
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Lot coverage
—%
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Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
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Parking
— /unit
——
Max density
— du/ac
——
Min lot size
— sf
——
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| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Sources & references
Primary source
codelibrary.amlegal.com returns HTTP 403 with Cloudflare cf-mitigated:challenge to scripted access (same posture as Lexington-Fayette drain 2026-05-22). louisvilleky.gov also returns HTTP 403 to WebFetch User-Agent. Substantive dimensional values carried forward from prior 2026-04-07 extraction documented in research/louisville-ky-zoning.md, retained only where research MD carried [confirmed]-tag; values marked [partial] or [inferred] in MD were demoted to partial status here per FM-6 honest-gap treatment. v1 file claimed schema_version:'2.0' but lacked publication block, record_status, fips, classification, state_preemptions_applicable, slug, source.* — i.e. FM-12 label-without-content. v1 dimensional values were NOT uniform template-bleed (varied min_lot_sf 6000/9000/10000, varied lot_coverage 0.3-1.0, varied parking 1.0-2.0) so they were retained where research MD corroborates. v1 under-enumerated by ~31 districts (omitted R-R, R-E, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-5A, R-5B, R-8, all OR-series, all special-residential (U-N, TNZD, PRD, PDD, PTD), C-R, C-N, C-M, M-1, M-3, all multipurpose (EZ-1, PEC, PRO, W-1/2/3)). These districts are now enumerated with null dimensions + status=partial.
Citations
- [1] §LMCO Ch.32
- [2] §KRS151
Research status
Publication gates
| primary url present | passed | source.primary_url = https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/louisvillemetro/latest/loukymetro/0-0-0-1 (American Legal Publishing — non-aggregator, official Louisville Metro Government LDC host) |
|---|---|---|
| no aggregator cited | passed | Scan clean — no Zoneomics, Steadily, SitePlanGuide, SitePlanCreator, Propwire, Zonara, or Unzoned references. Sources are codelibrary.amlegal.com, louisvilleky.gov, opticosdesign.com (city-commissioned consultant), and APA / city-published reference materials. |
| confidence tags full form | passed | 9/9 v1-carried-forward districts and 4/4 overlays carry either confirmed (R-1 min_lot=40000sf, R-5B max 2DU/lot, C-3 height-sentinel) or partial (with what_is_missing + retrieval_failure_reason in source.retrieval_notes) status. All confirmed standards reference either research MD [confirmed] tags or formulas-derived ratios (du_ac arithmetic from min_lot_sf). All partial fields explicitly identify what_is_missing. |
| overlays have parameters trigger confidence | passed | All 4 LDC overlays (H, FP, PC, MIA) carry non-empty parameters, geographic_trigger (designated districts / mapped flood zones / Olmsted parkway network / extraction sites), status, and citation. Additionally 3 federal_overlay_refs (FAA Part 77, FEMA NFIP, USACE 404) routed per FM-P with explicit preempted_field + interaction. |
| preempt section city specific | passed | 5 KY state-preemption entries (KRS Ch. 100, KRS 67C/§156a, KRS 100.348/HB 160, HB 443, KRS 183.861) each carry city-specific qualifying_condition_checked with inputs/threshold/result tied to Louisville Metro facts: 633,045 pop (2020 balance), 782,969 consolidated, 2003-01-06 merger date, SDF/LOU airports within boundaries, 2026-05-22 vs 2026-07-01 HB 160 effective-date gate, 12-suburban-cities-retaining-independent-zoning carveout. KY is not on schema's active-preemption states list (active list: CA/TX/FL/OR/WA/CO/MN/MT/UT/AZ/NJ/CT) but populated for completeness given Louisville Metro's §156a uniqueness which creates real per-city preemption logic distinct from any other KY jurisdiction. |
Data quality
45%completeness9 confirmed80 partial
Documented gaps
- Per-form-district dimensional table (Traditional Neighborhood / Neighborhood / Village / Village Center / Town Center / Regional Center / Suburban Marketplace Corridor / Suburban Workplace / Campus / Downtown / Urban Center Neighborhood) — the SECOND TIER of Louisville's dual-tier system. Each form district imposes different height, setback, frontage standards regardless of zoning district. NOT EXTRACTED — codelibrary.amlegal.com Cloudflare-blocked.
- Per-district dimensional standards for ~31 districts only enumerated by code+name (R-R, R-E, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-5A, R-5B, R-8, OR series (5), special-residential series (5), C-R, C-N, C-M, M-1, M-3, multipurpose series (6))
- Specific LDC §-citations not retrieved — status=partial across all 9 v1-carried-forward districts; LDC §-citation needed for Gate 3 upgrade to passed
- Lot_coverage values across 9 v1-carried-forward districts retained with status=partial (research MD marks as [inferred]); FAR not regulated at base-district level (mostly null)
- Per-form-district overlay enumeration of Olmsted parkway corridor segments not captured
- Specific Preservation District list (Old Louisville, Butchertown, Cherokee Triangle, Limerick, West Main Street, Phoenix Hill, Original Highlands, Parkland, Russell, etc.) not exhaustively enumerated with LMCO §-citations
- Floodplain freeboard above FEMA BFE (Louisville MSD-specific) not extracted
- Middle Housing Amendment (23-LDC-0003) ADOPTION STATUS still in Planning Commission review as of 2026-05-22 — freshness_tier=volatile reflects this; re-check at next freshness audit
- FAA Part 77 surface boundary mapping around SDF / LOU for airport hazard overlay not captured
- 12-suburban-cities-retaining-independent-zoning carveout: separate per-suburb zoning records would need separate research drains (not in this drain scope)
Other cities in this state
Nearest-alphabetical profiles. Click through to compare zoning patterns side-by-side.