District 17 Newsletter

Louisville Metro Government sent this bulletin at 10/24/2025 03:39 PM EDT

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October 24, 2025

Friday Thoughts

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week and are excited about the fall season (or did we jump straight to winter?!?). This week, I was able to spend a few days in Milwaukee on Greater Louisville Inc.'s annual GLIDE trip where civic, education, and business leaders visit a comparable city and learn things we might model locally. In years past, this has brought ideas like the Ohio River Bridges Project, a talent attraction campaign, how to capitalize on bourbon tourism, and more.

For me, one of the key takeaways from Milwaukee is their focus on addressing homelessness. They have a nationally recognized model that has led to the street homeless population dropping from several hundred a few years ago to virtually zero today (though, they have seen a small uptick this year).

Their process aligns philanthropic organizations, law enforcement (including the district attorney's office), housing resources, outreach workers, and support providers to get people into housing and then ensure they have the resources needed to stay housed.

One of the things they mentioned that several of us found interesting is an incentive for landlords to encourage renting to more marginalized applicants (who often struggle to pass the screening process due to rent history or other issues). This was particularly helpful in expanding the amount of housing available for these individuals.

In Louisville, this has been a challenge. Our historical approach has been to build permanent, supportive, multi-unit developments that are expensive and take years to complete. Their model of incentivizing landlords has created multiple, scattered site options that came online quickly and provided much needed capacity - something we desperately need.

Another impactful idea was guaranteeing damage support for a unit rented to a formerly homeless individual. Remarkably, this incentive is needed only about 12% of the time - meaning 88% of the time that incentive ends up costing nothing because the tenant doesn't damage the unit. This is something we will work with the administration to explore and possibly put into practice.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Milwaukee's experience is that it is possible to solve the problem. Too often, the challenges we face seem intractable or we take an approach to 'make things better' but don't actually resolve anything. The work that's happened in Milwaukee makes me hopeful we can find a solution locally. It will take work and partnership across the public and private sector, but it is something we should and will pursue.

I hope you have a great weekend. As always, don't hesitate to call my office if we can be of service. 

Contact the District 17 Office

Markus Winkler
17th District Councilman
Louisville Metro Council
502.574.1117
Contact Councilman Winkler

Kip Eatherly
Legislative Aide
502.574.3462
Contact Kip

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Important Numbers

Animal Services  473-7387
Charmoli NP  574-5787
Codes & Regulations  574-2508
EACM  426-2824
Health & Wellness  574-6520
Jefferson Co. Clerk  574-5700
KY Science Center  561-6100
LG&E  589-1444
LMPD (8th Division)  574-2258
Louisville Water  583-6610
Louisville Zoo  459-2181
Mayor's Office  574-2003
Middletown Library  245-7332
MSD  540-6000
NE Regional Library  394-0379
Parks & Recreation  574-7275
Planning & Design  574-6230
Public Works  574-5810
TARC  585-1234

Data Center Public Comment Opportunities

data centers


As you may know, I sponsored two pieces of legislation last month related to data centers. One of those directed the Planning Commission to undertake a review of our Land Development Code and recommend potential amendments where these facilities are concerned. Planning staff was asked to look at best practices from comparable jurisdictions, consider the various impacts of data centers, evaluate whether different sized telecommunications facilities should be regulated differently, etc.

Another part of this process is gathering community input. Five different sessions are scheduled to do just that. I hope you'll be able to participate in one of these to share your thoughts. Click here to learn more about data centers or our process for reviewing them.
     

Office of Planning Weekly Activity Report

Each week, the Metro Office of Planning creates a report listing all new land use applications in Jefferson County. These applications typically include requests for changes in zoning, conditional use permits, variances, and more. There is one new case in this week's report involving property in District 17, a Category 2B application for a 12,000 square foot warehouse/contractor workshop at 800 N. English Station Road. Please let me know or contact the case manager listed in the report if you have any questions or comments. 
 

EACM Gift Card Collection

EACM


Interested in making someone's holiday season a little bit brighter? Every holiday season, Eastern Area Community Ministries (EACM) distributes gift cards to some of our neighbors in need. This year, EACM is collecting $25 gift cards for Walmart and Target. The donation deadline is December 15. I hope you'll be able to help! 
 

Public Hearing - Proposed Haunz Lane Development

Haunz Lane


The Development Review Committee will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, November 5 to consider, among other cases, a request for a revised detailed district development plan involving property along Haunz Lane. The proposal would include a 196-unit apartment complex, the majority of which would be in Oldham County. The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. and continue until all cases are heard. Please contact the case manager listed above with any questions or comments. 
  

Cookies With Cops - October 28

LMPD
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