Kenton County, Kentucky, and the 19 constituent cities that lie within its 164-square-mile footprint, have a unique, coordinated approach to planning and development in their communities.
As early as the 1950s it was recognized that coordination of planning and development activities among communities across the region was a beneficial approach. In 1960, home builder’s associations, local chambers of commerce and elected officials came together to design a bill to coordinate and streamline the planning and economic development initiatives for all the jurisdictions. The bill passed the Kentucky General Assembly, and the coalition established a centralized agency in 1961 that is Planning & Development Services (PDS) of Kenton County today.
The role of PDS is the same as a traditional local planning department. It provides the leadership and manpower required to support centralized planning and development services for the unincorporated areas and for every city within the county. PDS handles long range planning and plan implementation support services to the Kenton County Planning Commission; conducts small area and county-wide studies addressing, among others, mobility/traffic, zoning, land use, redevelopment, and recreation; and is responsible for administering the countywide Direction 2030 Comprehensive Plan, subdivision regulations, the Kentucky Building Code, and LINK-GIS.
