Planning Commission Advances Senior Housing, Splits on Baxter Ave. Rezoning

Louisville's Planning Commission moved unanimously to send a 22-unit affordable senior apartment project in Smoketown to Metro Council, then fractured 7-2 over whether to rezone a long-vacant Baxter Avenue building for commercial use without a confirmed tenant. The May 7 session also green-lit a new Verizon cell tower in Valley Station, wrapping three public hearings in under two hours.

• 22-unit affordable senior housing project in Smoketown clears every vote unanimously, advancing to Metro Council with a zoning change, height variance, and development plan

• Baxter Ave. rezoning to C-2 commercial passes 7-2 after commissioners add hours-of-operation and outdoor-music restrictions — chair and one member dissent over approving without a known business

• New 185-foot Verizon cell tower approved 9-0 to fill a wireless dead zone in southwest Jefferson County

• Property owner tells commission vandalism and homelessness plague vacant Baxter Ave. building, urging swift action

Grace Hope Presbyterian Church — a 128-year-old congregation in Louisville's historic Smoketown neighborhood — took its affordable housing vision to the Planning Commission and left with four unanimous votes clearing the path to construction.