LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton says she will veto the Urban County Government’s solar zoning ordinance amendments, her second veto as mayor.
Creating a pathway for solar energy in Lexington is something the Urban County Council worked on for months. The council approved the amendment on Sept. 10 in an 8-7 vote, capping large-scale solar projects at 1% of the county’s total acreage, or about 1,800 acres. The rule would also require solar sites in agricultural areas to continue supporting farming or grazing as dual-use.
Gorton said that even though she supports solar projects, the ordinance would industrialize what she called “precious” farmland. She said the ordinance would allow the first industrial use of Fayette County farmland since 1958.
“I know our Council worked very hard on this, and spent many hours discussing it, and I appreciate that. I’m sure they have the best intentions for our community,” Gorton said. “However, in their commendable desire to support solar projects, Councilmembers unfortunately set a gigantic precedent, opening the door to industrial use of our farmland. It may seem like a small step today, but once that door is opened, it’s hard to close.”
Gorton pointed to existing solar projects in the city, including those on top of fire stations and at the Haley Pike Landfill, that don’t occupy agricultural land.
“This is why I’m such a proponent of keeping agriculture only in the ag and rural land; it’s a big business,” Gorton said.
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Council members push back
District 4 Councilmember Emma Curtis said she’s not surprised by the Mayor’s veto, but she is disappointed.
Curtis said the ordinance created guidelines for individual solar cases, and that any other type of industrial development would have to go through the same process. She believes misinformation was spread about what the amendments would do.
“I personally would not want to see our agricultural land used to develop, say, a data center. That’s not what the ZOTA was doing. This ZOTA was hyper-specific for that reason so that it did not open a door,” Curtis said.
District 10 Councilmember Dave Sevigny, who voted for the ordinance, is also disappointed. He said he disagrees that it would have opened the door to more industrial use, but instead introduce a supportive component.
Sevigny said supporters of the ordinance respected the urban service boundary and were seeking a compromise.
“We were looking for an opportunity to do two things at the same time on a piece of land to provide food and fiber, to provide green energy, and it’s unfortunate that this administration doesn’t see it that way,” Sevigny said. “I find it tends to be a little short-sighted if you can’t think of new and innovative ways to use land and still do all the things that you want to do with that land.”
What comes next
The ordinance would’ve automatically taken effect September 20.
The Urban County Council can override Gorton’s veto. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said the council must do so within “a reasonable amount of time” and needs 9 of the 15 votes.
Gorton’s opponent in the 2026’s mayor’s race, Raquel Carter condemned Gorton’s veto saying:
Linda Gorton’s veto of this solar ordinance is not surprising because her major donors wanted her to veto it. A few deep-pocketed donors is all it takes to get this mayor to stand in the way of moving Lexington toward a more energy-sustainable future. The council members, working families and environmental champions who support this ordinance deserve better.
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