2020 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE Hart County Comprehensive Plan Update 2020
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HART COUNTY 2020 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE Hart County Comprehensive Plan Update 2020 Prepared for the Hart County Planning Commission Presented by Kentucky League of Cities Community Development Services Hart County Fiscal Court Joe Choate, County Judge Executive Gary Gardner, Magistrate Ricky Alvey, Magistrate Ronald Riordan, Magistrate Doug Wells, Magistrate Lee Miles, Magistrate Lisa Hensley, County Clerk Hart County Planning Commission David Paige, Interim Chairperson Luther Avery Luther Goldsmith Virginia Davis Jay McCoy Greg Nichols, Administrative Officer City of Munfordville John T. Johnson, Mayor Ricky Line, Councilmember Ronnie Huff, Councilmember Glenn Thomas, Councilmember i Kenny Shepperd, Councilmember Jeremy Atwell, Councilmember William Belt, Councilmember City of Horse Cave Randall Curry, Mayor Larry Bunch, Councilmember Velpha Hatchett, Councilmember Maronda Gibson, Councilmember David D. Lindsey, Councilmember Perry Martin, Councilmember Vickie Rogers, Councilmember City of Bonnieville Dale Schoenbachler, Mayor Sherman Bowman, Councilmember Fran Bowsher, Councilmember Larry Srygler, Councilmember Colby Smith, Councilmember Danny Thompson, Councilmember Marie Whitlow, Councilmember ii Abstract To comply with KRS Chapter 100, the Hart County Planning Commission directed that a five- year update be accomplished in 2020. The Hart County Planning Commission contracted with Community Development Services, a member services program of the Kentucky League of Cities to conduct research and discover changes that should be made to the 2014 Hart County Comprehensive Plan. During the updating process, Hart County residents participated in dialogue through public meetings and one-on-one interviews and their ideas for the future of Hart County are incorporated herein. The 2020 Comprehensive Plan Update for Hart County provides updated information to the existing conditions and needs of the community. The 2020 Hart County Comprehensive Plan Update is the document that the Hart County Planning Commission will rely upon for making land-use policy decisions. iii 2020 Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update Table of Contents I. Introduction……………………………………………………………... 1 II. Local History and Historic Preservation……………………………… 2-6 III. Goals and Objectives………………………………………………... 7-17 IV. Population Characteristics Analysis………………………………...18-30 V. Economic Analysis………………………………………………… 31-54 VI. Environmental Analysis……………………………………………. 55-58 VII. Land Use Element………………………………………………….. 59-60 VIII. Transportation……………………………………………………… 61-63 IX. Community Facilities and Services and Future Needs…………….. 64-92 X. Housing…………………………………………………………….. 93-96 Attachments A. Local History and Historic Preservation a. Hart County Historic Resources………………………………………….. A1-A15 b. Horse Cave Historic Preservation Plan, 2012…………………………… A16-A43 B. Population Characteristics a. 2010 Hart County Census………………………………………………….. B1-B5 b. 2017 American Community Survey – 5-year Demographic and Housing Estimate……………………………………………………………………. B6-B8 c. 2018 U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts – Hart County…………………….. B9-B10 C. Economic Analysis a. 2010 Harty County Tourism Inventory…………………………………... C1-C13 b. County-located Industries List…………………………………………... C14-C16 c. List of Attractions, Lodging, Major events, Local shops, Eateries, and Key Partnerships……………………………………………………………… C17-C26 D. Transportation a. Hart County KYTC Funded Road Plan (FY2018-24)………………………… D1 b. Hart County KYTC Unfunded Road Priority Needs…………………………... D2 c. Calendar Year 2018 Accident Report Map…………………………………….. D3 d. 2019 Traffic Count Map……………………………………………………….. D4 E. Community Facilities and Future Needs a. Hart County Schools KDE Future Plans…………………………………… E1-E3 b. Caverna Independent Schools KDE Future Plans………………………….. E4-E5 c. Barren River District Health Department Strategic Plan 2018-2022……... E6-E58 d. Dart Horse Cave Wellness Center Information Release……………………… E59 e. Addiction Recovery Brochure, w/ List of Mental Health Facilities……... E60-E61 f. List of Health Services, Hart County…………………………………………. E62 I. Introduction II. Hart County History and Preservation II. History Hart County is located in the south central part of Kentucky in the Pennyroyal region. Pioneers found the land to be covered with prairie grass and almost surrounded by tree-covered knobs. Early legend says that the area was used by Native American tribes as a hunting ground. Buffalo were in abundance, traveling through from grazing grounds to watering areas of the Green River to the north. Hart County was the 61st county to form in Kentucky on January 28, 1819. The county was formed from neighboring counties of Hardin and Barren. The Green River cuts a path through the county and the Nolin River forms Hart’s border with Grayson County. Hart County is named for Captain Nathaniel G. T. Hart, a Lexington lawyer, and brother-in-law of Henry Clay. The City of Munfordville is the county seat of Hart County. Settlers began to arrive in Hammonsville and Bacon Creek area around 1782. By 1794, settlers had built their homesteads in the area that would eventually become Horse Cave. They were likely attracted to the area because of the fertile land and abundance of game. But equally important was the attraction of the cave. Hunters referred to meetings at the “horse cave.” In the early nineteenth century, more settlers moved into the area and the City of Munfordville was established in 1816. It was incorporated in 1858. At the time the county was formed, Munfordville was the largest town in the new county and was designated as the county seat for this reason. Currently, the largest city in Hart County is Horse Cave. Hart County has had three courthouses. The first was built in 1820 and then torn down 75 years after construction. The second courthouse, constructed in 1893, burned on January 3, 1928. That same year a new courthouse was constructed in Munfordville, which is still standing.3 In 2006 the Kentucky General Assembly approved funding for a Judicial Center in Hart County. The $11.3 million project was completed in 2008 and holds both the district and circuit courts.2 It is in approximately the same location as the second and third courthouse, and the third courthouse, constructed in 1928, now contains the clerk’s office as well as the judge/executive. Farming, grist and sawmills were the major sources of support and income for pioneer families. Burley tobacco was the cash crop, being shipped by flatboat down the Green River to New Orleans. At one time in their history, the market in Hart County grew to become the fifth largest burley tobacco market in the world. Horse Cave developed as a railroad town. In the 1840s and 1850s, Major Albert Anderson purchased all the land that is now Horse Cave and laid out the town. He plotted the right-of-way of the railroad and began to sell lots. Anderson was not a surveyor and yet laid out the town using a 100-foot linen tape line. The city reflects his lack of training, “…with crooked streets, no back alleys in rear lots, sharp corners and other monstrosities now past remedy.”1 1 Cyrus Edwards, a surveyor and son of a surveyor, Stories of Early Days 2 Administrative Office of the Courts, https://courts.ky.gov/courtprograms/judicialconstruction/Pages/Hart.aspx, accessed 6-14-2019 2 The City of Bonnieville, originally known as Bacon Creek Station, was founded in 1849, changing the name to Bonnieville in 1880. On December 12, 1955, the City of Bonnieville was officially incorporated as a sixth class city. The Louisville and Nashville Pike was a well-traveled road through the county during the early 1800s. Legend has it that President Andrew Jackson stayed at the Munfordville Inn, one of three important country inns in Kentucky at the time. The railroad was still underway in the 1850s. In 1857, a train that left Louisville for Munfordville could only be turned around to return to Louisville upon arrival. With the completion of the Green River Bridge in 1859, trains could now pass through Bonnieville, Munfordville and Horse Cave. This strategic positioning of the railroad spelled trouble for these communities during the Civil War as both North and South fought for its control. Hart County is noted for its role in the Civil War. Several attempts were made by Confederate raiders to disrupt the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, the Union supply line that crossed the Green River at Munfordville. November 1861 saw the first destruction of the Bacon Creek Bridge. On December 5, 1861 Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan disrupted Union supply lines by burning the L&N Bridge over Bacon Creek, near Bonnieville. The Battle of Munfordville was one of the more important Civil War engagements in Kentucky. On September 13, 1862, Col. John T. Wilder, commander of the Union troops in Munfordville received a demand to surrender from Confederate Col. John Scott. Wilder refused and his position was attacked the next morning. Senior officer, Col. Cyrus L. Dunham then took command. Union troops held Munfordville until the arrival of the main Confederate army from Glasgow, under the command of Gen. Braxton Bragg. At the request of Confederate Gen. Simon B. Buckner, a resident of the Munfordville area, Bragg surrounded the city and prepared for a siege instead of a direct assault. Dunham and Wilder surrendered the Union force as they were so outsized in opposition.4 On September 15, 1862, Morgan sent a detachment from Upton to the new bridge at Bacon Creek. A brief firefight with a detachment of the 2nd Michigan Volunteer Cavalry