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Research & Public Engagement

Comprehensive Plan Updates

The Comprehensive Plan guides growth and development in Kenton County and outlines goals, objectives, and implementation strategies aimed at making Kenton County a great place to live. This Comprehensive Plan update will be centered around public input, so residents’ needs and desires can help shape the future of their community and create a vibrant, sustainable, economically competitive place to live and work.

The comprehensive plan serves as a guide for public and private actions and decisions to ensure the development of property is in the most appropriate relationships.  The comprehensive plan is only a guide for zoning decisions and should be used in all of the decisions a city/county makes regarding development.  The policies, goals, and tasks of the comprehensive plan are not all zoning related.

Click on the links below for more information about this update.

2024 CPU FAQ

Direction 2030 is the comprehensive plan for Kenton County. The plan  guides growth and development in Kenton County and outlines goals, objectives, and implementation strategies aimed at making Kenton County a great place to live. Direction 2030 is centered on public input, so residents’ needs and desires essentially shape the future of their community to create a vibrant, sustainable, economically competitive place to live and work.

This update is an opportunity to educate the public on planning and hear from the public.  In addition to the items listed below, we will take a close look at housing in Kenton County to determine if any changes are necessary and remove any barriers or impediments to decent and attainable housing.  This will not be a complete re-write of the current plan.

What will be updated….What will NOT be updated…
Demographics & DataRecommended Land Use
TrendsGoals & Objectives
Maps
Branding & Website
Technology Update

Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS)

Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) Chapter 100 is the state law that governs planning and zoning in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is the foundation of all planning and zoning activities that local communities pursue, including preparing and adopting comprehensive plans.

KRS 100.197 requires that the elements of the comprehensive plan shall be reviewed by the planning commission at least once every five (5) years and amended if necessary.

Chapter 100- Planning and Zoning Statutes

Public input is important for obtaining feedback from the people who live and work in our county and communities. Feedback from the public, special interest groups, and your Planning Commissioners will be used to determine if there is a need for new or updated recommendations, and for updating the Public Research Report of the comprehensive plan. Informed and driven by Kenton County residents, the comprehensive plan addresses major issues relating to the county’s future growth, prosperity, and well-being.

  • PUBLIC INPUT SURVEYS & ENGAGEMENT
  • SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
  • KENTON COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION (KCPC)
  • KCPC COMMITTEES
  • PDS PLANNING STAFF

Over the course of the next year, KCPC staff will be conducting outreach in many different areas of the county and in many different forms in order to hear from you and your residents.  This page will  include new/upcoming public engagement events and public input survey links.  Be sure to check back often!

The Kenton County Planning Commission (KCPC), which includes appointed representatives from legislative bodies in Kenton County has the final authority to adopt the Comprehensive Plan.

Research & Public Engagement

Kenton County encompasses urban, rural and suburban environments and boasts a diverse population spanning all age groups and ethnicities; thus, public input is all the more valuable in order to effectively meet the many and varied needs of Kenton County residents. Informed and driven by Kenton County residents, the comprehensive plan addresses major issues relating to the county’s future growth, prosperity, and well-being.

Over the course of the next year, KCPC staff will be conducting outreach in many different areas of the county and in many different forms in order to hear from our residents and communities.

KCPC Comprehensive Plan – DRAFT Elements

* Per KCPC Implementation Committee Meeting 6/25/2024

Please send comments via email to kcpc@pdskc.org

2024 CPU Research Reports

2024 CPU Public Input

The 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update project was a community planning initiative centered on public input – your ideas and your opinions on a wide range of issues facing Kenton County in the coming years.  It truly encompassed the ideals of “Your Voice.  Your Choice.” through public meetings, focus group discussions, and online collaboration.  Click on the items below to learn more about how the community was involved with the plan throughout its creation.

This project involved a community planning initiative centered on public input – your ideas and your opinions on a wide range of issues facing Kenton County in the coming years. There were multiple ways to be involved:

  1. Public Meetings:  One of the first steps in the creation of a comprehensive plan is holding public meetings to discuss the issues facing our area and ideas for solutions or improvements. This stage was completed in two phases spanning from 2023 to 2024.
  2. Ongoing Input:  ​Public input on the issues is critical, and any feedback received throughout the planning process whether through social media, email, website comments, surveys, or face-to-face conversations was considered.
  3. Final Meetings to Review Plan:  After the plan was written, a public meeting was held to review the plan overall and make any last-minute changes before submitting to the Kenton County Planning Commission for official approval.

Public meetings are the cornerstone of every planning effort and speaking with the public is one of the most important parts of the planning process.  Numerous meetings were held throughout Kenton County to learn about what is needed and desired in Kenton County directly from the public. Below are the two phases of the public input timeline.  Click on the headings to view the meeting list and input summaries.

Phase 1-June 2023 to December 2023

Community Engagement Events

  • NKY Pride, June 4, 2023
  • Crestview Hills Summer Concert, June 23, 2023
  • Kenton County Fair, July 10-15, 2023
  • FIESTA, September 23, 2023
  • Crescent Springs/Villa Hills Fall Festival, September 30, 2023

 Stakeholder Meetings

  • Suburban Communities and Organizations, September 28, 2023
  • All Communities and Organizations, September 29, 2023
  • Rural Communities and Organizations, October 3, 2023
  • City of Covington, October 4, 2023
  • Urban and First-Ring Communities and Organizations, October 5, 2023
  • All Communities and Organizations, October 5, 2023
  • City/County Administrators, October 10, 2023
  • Building Industry of Northern Kentucky, October 10, 2023
  • Building Industry of Northern Kentucky, October 30, 2023

Phase 2-March 2024 to June 2024

Community Engagement Events

  • Kenton County Administration Building, May 7, 2024
  • Erlanger City Building, May 8, 2024
  • Independence Community and Senior Center, May 9, 2024
  • Piner Baptist Church, May 13, 2024

Stakeholder Meetings

  • Northern Kentucky NAACP Branch, March 6, 2024
  • First Baptist Church of Elsmere, March 17, 2024
  • 100 Black Men Conference, March 30, 2024
  • Eastside+ Neighborhood, April 10, 2024
  • Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission Senior Employment Program, April 17, 2024
  • Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky, May 8, 2024
  • Covington Business Council, May 9, 2024
  • Housing Stakeholder Meeting, May 15, 2024
  • Community Partners, May 21 & 23, 2024
  • City/County Administrators, May 30, 2024

Housing Ad Hoc Committee

A housing task force was formed to specifically review and develop recommendations for the Housing Element.

  • Commissioner Kareem Simpson, Kenton County Planning Commission
  • Mayor Chris Reinersman, PDS Management Board Chair & Mayor of the City of Independence
  • Tara Johnson-Noem, Executive Director, Northern Kentucky Area Development District
  • Pat Crowley, Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Apartment Association
  • Joe Schlimm, Vice President, Sr. Business Banker, Republic Bank
  • Jason Finch, Market President, Fischer Homes
  • Heidi Ollish, Vice President of Property Management, DMG Companies

Virtual discussion with committee members & PDS Staff

  • Introduction & purpose
  • Committee member introductions
  • Comprehensive Plan overview
  • NKADD Housing Data Analysis highlights
  • Housing recommendations discussion
    • Round-table discussion regarding industry needs/research/professional experiences
    • Ended meeting by dispersing the current Direction2030 recommendations to the members for review for discussion for the next meeting

Round-table discussion with committee members & PDS Staff

  • Housing Recommendations discussion
    • Line by line review and recorded draft changes per members’ professional/industry viewpoints
    • Introduction was edited slightly
    • Recommendation 1 as well as Tasks 2, 3, 4, 5 were edited
    • Recommendation 2 & 3 edited
    • First draft completed

  • Round-table discussion with key stakeholders to include Planning Commissioners, City Administrators, Mayors, Economic Development Directors, Builders/Developers, Financial Services, and PDS Staff
  • Engagement board placed by the sign-in table to gauge the attendees’ knowledge of housing trends, supply and demand in the county. Seven responded that their knowledge is to a great extent, three responded somewhat, and one responded very little.
    • Introduction & purpose
    • Comprehensive Plan Update process overview
    • NKADD Housing Data Analysis highlights
    • Current draft changes to the Housing Recommendations
    • Facilitator generated notes from Stakeholders’ feedback
      • Feedback presented and notes recorded on Recommendation 1 & all associated tasks (except Task 4)
      • Feedback on Recommendation 1, Basis section as well as Recommendation 2, Task 5 were presented via notes or email correspondence & recorded following the meeting

  • Discussion on subsidized housing
    • Data from Kentucky State Data Center Subsidized Housing Study (2017)
    • Covington 15.9% of occupied subsidized housing whereas rest of county is only 1.8%
    • County should consider these options especially close to employment and transit as the County expands

  • Round-table discussion with committee members & PDS Staff
    • Housing Recommendations discussion
      • Discussed draft changes & Stakeholder feedback
      • Edited draft based on Stakeholder feedback
        • Edits to Recommendation 1 & all associated tasks (except 4)
        • Edits to Recommendation 1, Basis section as well as Recommendation 2, Task 5