2008 Comprehensive Plan - Hardin County Government

PLANNING BACKGROUND 1-1PLANNING BACKGROUNDCHAPTER IHardin County was established in November of 1792 and became an official county onFebruary 20, 1793. The first court house was constructed at a cost of $220.00 in 1795.Forty men chopped down enough trees to build the "round log" court house in one day.Elizabethtown was established as the county seat in 1797. That same year, the courtdecreed that a new jail be constructed along with a whipping post and stocks for thepunishment of minor crimes.The county is named after Colonel John Hardin, an Indian fighter who had been killed bythe Indians while on a peace mission with the Miami tribes in Ohio. Original HardinCounty encompassed 4,000 square miles. All or parts of twelve other counties have beenformed from this original area. Breckinridge, Daviess, Grayson, Hancock, LaRue, Meade,and Ohio Counties were formed from original Hardin County, as well as parts of Butler,Edmonson, Hart, Henderson, and McLean Counties. The boundaries of the original areawere the Ohio, Salt, Rolling Fork, and Green Rivers. Today Hardin County consists ofmore than 600 square miles and is the fourth largest county in Kentucky in terms of landarea. The County is bordered on the north by the Ohio River, Bullitt County and MeadeCounty; on the west by Breckinridge, Grayson, and Meade Counties; on the south byLaRue, Hart, and Grayson Counties; and on the east by the Salt and Rolling Fork Riversand by Bullitt, Nelson, and LaRue Counties.The Hardin County Planning and Development Commission was established by FiscalCourt in 1979 and initiated planning activities with the adoption of subdivision regulationon 1 August 1979 as set forth by KRS Chapter 100. The first land use regulations wereestablished in 1984 then in 1995 the first zoning ordinance and zoning map were adoptedfor implementation. In 1984, the original COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT GUIDANCESYSTEM was adopted by the Hardin County Fiscal Court and was revised in July of 1995.This 2007 update of the Comprehensive Plan sets the goals and polices to guide the futuregrowth and land use in the unincorporated area of Hardin County. Additionally, theComprehensive Plan outlines future land needs, rural development and preservationprograms and the proposed Planning Guidelines.The significant recent events that have occurred include:• Glendale Industrial Property purchased for a single manufacturing facility• Metropolitan Planning Organization established for Hardin and Meade Counties tocoordinate transportation planning• Source Water Areas identified and mapped by the Water Districts• BRAC announcement that changes would be implemented at Fort Knox• Regional Wastewater Facilities Plan initiated by Hardin County Water District No.22008 Comprehensive Plan