KRS 100.193 / 100.201 — City and County Zoning Authority & Statutory Purposes (KY)

Tracked preemption from the Kentucky overlay bundle.

Overview

Effective
1966-01-01
Sunset
Authority
state
Scope
state:KY
Primary-source summary
KRS Chapter 100 is the **exclusive source** of local planning and zoning authority in Kentucky. A city, county, or consolidated local government may regulate land use **only** via the powers expressly delegated in Chapter 100. Cities without a planning commission under KRS 100 have **no independent zoning authority**.

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

always true

Preempted fields

3 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
zoning_purposes.statutory_flooroverridehealth_safety_morals_general_welfare_per_KRS_100_201KRS 100.201: zoning regulations must promote public health, safety, morals, and general welfare and may regulate use, height, area, bulk, lot coverage, density, and population
county_zoning.unincorporated_territory_onlyoverrideTrueKRS 100.201 / 100.137: county zoning applies to unincorporated areas where an independent or joint city-county planning unit has been formed
agricultural_use.exemption_in_unincorporated_countywaiveKRS 100.111(2) / 100.203(4) / 100.987: agricultural uses on tracts of 5+ acres in unincorporated counties are exempt from county zoning except for setback/screening; cities may regulate ag uses inside corporate limits

Citation

Authority source
KRS 100.193 (city zoning enabling); KRS 100.201 (purposes and scope); KRS 100.111(2) (agricultural definition); KRS 100.987 (agritourism, 2024 HB 18 amendments)
§ KRS §§100.193, 100.201, 100.111(2), 100.987
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=3681

Research notes

KRS 100.193 confers zoning enabling authority on cities; KRS 100.201 sets the substantive scope and statutory purposes that every regulation must serve. The agricultural exemption is load-bearing in rural counties — 5-acre tracts in unincorporated territory are functionally outside county zoning except for narrow setback / screening requirements. 2024 HB 18 clarified the agritourism component of KRS 100.987 but did not narrow the underlying exemption.