Montessori School Light Poles Survive 4-2 Vote After City Website Error Fuels Marathon Debate

Louisville's Board of Zoning Adjustment spent nearly half its March 2 meeting on a single case — 30-foot light poles at a Montessori school on Old Henry Trail — before narrowly approving the variance over organized neighborhood opposition. The board also denied a private event space in a residential zone, greenlit a four-story Marriott hotel in the NuLu district, and approved a major church expansion on Bardstown Road.

• Montessori school's 30-foot light poles narrowly survive as board votes 4-2, adding conditions on hours and shielding after finding the applicant relied on an erroneous city website

• Private event space denied at 7801 Delightful Way after deadlocked prior vote; adult care center approved at the same address

• Four-story Marriott hotel unanimously approved for NuLu, preserving a historic retail building at 901 East Jefferson St.

• Eastland Church of Christ expansion cleared for a 14,663-square-foot addition and 275 new parking spaces on Bardstown Road

• Two non-owner-occupied short-term rental permits approved without opposition

The basics: The board's longest and most contentious hearing involved case 26-VAR-0003, a variance to allow 30-foot light poles — 10 feet above the 20-foot maximum — at the Primrose School Montessori campus at 14015 Old Henry Trail. Poles emitting more than 1,800 lumens at that height require board approval under Louisville's Land Development Code. The case was continued from a Feb. 2 hearing where the board requested additional testimony.