LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An East End community is spearheading a petition to become one of the largest cities in Jefferson County, behind Jeffersontown.
It's possible thanks to a law passed in 2022, which brings back the ability for neighborhoods to form their own cities or join another one. This hasn't been allowed since before the city and county merged in 2003.
Bob Federico's the chairman of the Eastwood Incorporation Committee, and former chairman of the Eastwood Village Council. He's leading the efforts to incorporate Eastwood, which runs along Shelbyville Road, between the Gene Snyder and the Shelby County line.
It's an area booming with new neighborhoods and commercial properties, including a future Publix.
"The urban sprawl, it's the belief it's a little bit out of control, and then traffic infrastructure is not there to support it," Federico said.
State Representative John Hodgson, who represents District 36 encompassing a large swath of eastern Jefferson County, agrees the current road infrastructure doesn't meet the current demand.
"All the connectors from Shelbyville Road, north and south are basically paved over 100-year-old farm roads," Hodgson said. "A lot of them are not even wide enough to merit a white line down the center."
Come July, Eastwood residents could have more say in what goes into their neighborhood and how it's managed, by becoming the first Louisville neighborhood in decades to incorporate. Douglass Hills was one of the last.
"In 2003, when the merger came along, there were 120 cities in Jefferson County. What they realized was that was entirely too many to govern. Several blended themselves in together. Douglass Hills was one that was large enough that we stood on our own," Douglass Hills Mayor Bonnie Jung said.
What does a city within a city look like?
Jung said Douglass Hills residents not only pay Jefferson County taxes, they also pay a city tax to Douglass Hills.
"They get full service garbage, every single week, they get all of their [street] lights. And they get their roads paved," she said. "They have a city hall -- we have an open door, they can see the mayor within two minutes. They are heard. They have six council people that are nonpartisan."
Then, there's the added security of extra officers in the streets. Douglass Hills contracts out with off-duty officers from other departments.
"They average anywhere from 60 to 120 hours a month and they will do specific times, such as I'm having them come back on for the night shift now. And they're here within moments," Jung said.
But Rep. Hodgson said that's not the case for the unincorporated communities he represents.
"The city annexed us, increased our taxes and basically reduced our services from what we were getting," he said. "The area outside the Watterson Expressway provides 80% of the tax dollars in the Metro government and gets less than half of the services."
Potential city benefits
A big concern among residents is policing. Federico said there is one Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) officer for every 350 residents in the department's First Division, which covers much of downtown Louisville.
"If you look at Division Eight, which is where we are out here, there's one police officer for almost 3,000 residents," he added. "So you can see that discrepancy. They are truly understaffed, overstretched, overcommitted, and it's time for us to have our own local police department again, like a Middletown, or Prospect or J-Town."
If Eastwood becomes a city, Federico says residents would benefit from a number of services:
- Its own police department, along with LMPD's continued coverage
- Garbage and snow removal
- Planning and zoning authority
- State highway funds diverted to Eastwood
This would come at a cost: a separate city tax, on top of residents' Jefferson County tax. Federico said a home worth $400,000, for example, would pay roughly $500 a year. But he points out many in the area already pay hundreds a year for trash collection alone.
If the City of Eastwood absorbs that cost, the additional out of pocket cost might be closer to $100.
"To most of us, that feels like that's a pretty good trade off," Federico said.
Who would the proposed City of Eastwood include?
The current proposal expands its borders north and east to the Shelby County line, south to Taylorsville Road and west just before the Lake Forest neighborhood.
If all goes as planned, neighborhoods like Lake Forest can be annexed into Eastwood at a later point.
Click here to find the proposed boundary map.
"Right now we're looking at roughly 28,000 residents," Federico said. But, here's the catch: 66% of Eastwood's qualified registered voters have to be on board to make this happen.
Federico and a large team of volunteers will be out in these neighborhoods in the coming months asking for residents' signature on a petition.
"The single most important thing now is to get the word out to everybody," he said. "After that, we go into the signature phase and that's going to be a grassroots door-to-door."
If you choose not to sign the petition, it's considered a 'no' vote. If the majority of residents approve, Metro Council, by law, must do so, too.
"Give me one good reason why Eastwood cannot or should not become a city. That's what local government is all about. That's what your neighbors want. Why should we not allow it?" Jung said.
She added that other communities are watching these efforts closely.
"Take a look at Pleasure Ridge Park. Take a look at Fern Creek. There are a lot of folks out especially in the southwest, southeast end that are looking to go the same way," Jung said.
Current law allows the formation of a city that includes at least 6,000 people, none of whom reside within the Urban Services District. Neighborhoods can also petition to annex into an adjoining city. The change takes effect July 15, 2024.
If you'd like to get involved, you can go to the incorporation project website or contact info@cityofeastwood.com.
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