LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — LDG Development is suing the city of St. Matthews less than two months after its city council rejected its apartment development proposal.
According to our partners at Louisville Business First, LDG filed the lawsuit June 11 in the Jefferson County Circuit. The lawsuit accuses the city council and its mayor of improperly blocking the development of the complex, despite its compliance with zoning ordinances.
The complex, called Gilmans Pointe, was proposed by LDG to be built on roughly 7.5 acres of land where Ridgeway Avenue meets Westport Road. Plans included four buildings, along with amenities such as a clubhouse, pool and dog park.
The proposal originally called for up to five buildings and access from both Westport Road and Ridgeway Avenue, but that was altered when LDG requested a zoning change in 2022 and heard concerns from the public.
Even with the changes, community members continued to oppose the development, arguing the complex didn't fit with the neighborhood, and that it would add to the already confusing traffic patterns in the area, a claim LDG pushed back on.
The council ultimately rejected the development at a meeting in April. At the time, LDG said it respected the council's vote but said it did "not feel that this decision is lawful."
"This complaint reflects our belief that the City of St. Matthews acted unlawfully by enacting and enforcing an ordinance aimed at Gilmans Pointe and allows the St. Matthews City Council to arbitrarily deny businesses and homeowners the right to build in accordance with the law," LDG said in a statement to LBF. "Throughout the planning process, our team worked with and listened to various stakeholders to propose a development that complies with all legal ordinances, improves existing traffic patterns, and would create nearly 200 units of high-quality housing in part of our community that has limited housing options."
The lawsuit also claims St. Matthew adopted an ordinance in 2024 specifically aimed at stopping the project.
According to LBF, the ordinance made it so the St. Matthews city council would be required to review plans for larger developments and consider factors such as compatibility with the surrounding developments, traffic, drainage, open spaces, natural resources and consistency with the comprehensive plan.
"For more than 30 years LDG has remained committed to creating innovative solutions that help address our region's growing housing crisis and support our community’s economic development goals," LDG's statement said. "The actions, like those taken by the St. Matthews City Council, hurt these efforts and deny families access to housing that they can be proud to call home."
LDG is asking the court to rule the ordinance as invalid and declare that Gilman's Pointe is not required to secure a letter of compliance from St. Matthews.
The lawsuit names St. Matthews mayor Richard Tonini, city attorney John Singler and councilmember Bernie Bowling as defendants. According to LBF, Singler had no comment, and Tonini and Bowling did not respond.
Copyright 2026 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
