By David Rotenstein
NKyTribune reporter
As the number of tractor-trailers grows on Northern Kentucky highways, so does the demand for dedicated truck parking. The City of Florence is poised to approve a zoning text amendment (also known as a ZTA) that would define and regulate types of commercial truck parking to the city’s zoning code. A split council voted four to two to approve the ZTA first reading.
“The current regulations do not contain anything dealing with a motor freight terminal,” Florence Director of Community Development Todd Morgan said before the Feb. 10 council meeting. “Right now, motor freight terminals are kind of combined with warehousing and distribution. So anywhere we allow warehousing and distribution we would also have to allow a motor freight terminal.”
The ZTA clarifies the definition for commercial parking that it does not include trucks and trailers. It also adds a new use category that distinguishes commercial passenger vehicle parking, truck parking and warehousing and distribution.
“The county fiscal court asked the planning commission to dig into this further because they’re experiencing truck parking issues throughout the county,” Morgan told the NKy Tribune.
The Boone County Planning Commission recommended approving seven use standards, including minimum distances from agricultural and residential districts, screening, maximum heights for stacked containers and prohibitions on idling while parked.
Florence Planning Commission amended the restrictions inside the city limits. These modifications included reducing the height of stacked containers from the four approved by Boone County to two.
The ZTA comes at a time when Florence’s codes and the ways they are enforced are under fire. In November, council member Angie Cable charged that codes enforcement officers had unfairly targeted her home, issuing citations for having a dead tree, items in her yard and on her porch and for having a trailer parked in her driveway.
Cable alleged that she had been issued “courtesy citations” as a codes enforcement officer overlooked similar conditions on neighboring properties.
Responding to Cable during the council’s Nov. 11, 2025, meeting, Florence Public Services Director Eric Hall explained how the city’s codes enforcement system works.
Residents are issued courtesy notices when issues are flagged by enforcement officers. They can appeal or correct the conditions. If nothing is done, the city can issue citations that come with fines attached to them.
Cable told the NKyTribune that some of the issues at her property were related to her husband’s work. “My husband’s a contractor in the summer months, he has a trailer,” Cable said in an interview. “Well, he uses that trailer on a daily basis. If it rains, it sits in our driveway for a minute and code enforcement comes by and it gets us.”
Hall later said that he had discussed the issues with Cable and her husband. For Hall, the issue is resolved. For Cable and other Florence residents, concerns remain about cumbersome and outdated municipal codes. The codes, Cable asserts, reflect a Florence that existed in the past and that don’t reflect the city today.
Hall conceded that the codes are “large.” But, he said, “they truly are user friendly.” He said it was the council’s responsibility to determine whether the codes need updating.
Council members Cable and Lesley Chambers believe Florence’s codes are overdue for an overhaul. That’s why the pair voted against the ZTA Feb. 10.
“The concern is the increasingly restrictive nature of these codes and the additional burden they place on individuals who already struggle to find lawful places to park their trucks,” Cable texted after the vote. “Without conducting further research and fully understanding the impact, I do not feel comfortable supporting more restrictive language.”
Chambers explained her vote against the ZTA after the Feb. 10 meeting. “I think my general stance is that we don’t need to be more restrictive than the county,” she said. “I already know that we have ordinances on the books right now the city is kind [has] their foot is on the neck of truck drivers. So I worry that this will cause unnecessary burdens on them.”
The ZTA comes up for a final vote later this month. Meanwhile, debates about Florence’s codes will continue.