City of Bellemeade: A History

City of Bellemeade

In the early 1950’s, two bedroom communities were growing up together along Shelbyville Road. They were Bellemeade and Moorgate;  both had neighborhood associations.

On September 24, 1956, Bellemeade petitioned the Commonwealth of Kentucky to become  the sixth class City of Bellemeade. The General Assembly (state legislature) voted to approve and the Governor signed it into law. Bellemeade soon began to annex areas from the west border of Moorgate to Wood Road.

The Moorgate neighborhood association began to feel the threat of being annexed by Lyndon or Hurstborne so they worked out an agreement to join Bellemeade but kept the Moorgate identity as a neighborhood. On December 1, 1973, Moorgate was annexed by Bellemeade.

By April 1976, the present boundaries of the City of Bellemeade were completed with the annexation of homes along Wood Road and Whipps Mill Road.  Bellemeade is bordered by Shelbyville Road, Wood Road, and Whipps Mill Road.  Those streets are not Bellemeade streets.

In November, 2000, Jefferson County voters approved  a merger of  City of Louisville and Jefferson County governments.  However, eighty three (83) independent incorporated suburban cities, ranging from Second Class through Sixth Class city status based on population, survived the merger.  Bellemeade, at that time a Sixth Class City, was one of those independent cities.  The law provided that change in classification had to be approved by the Kentucky General Assembly.  That soon became an aggravation for the state lawmakers and changes came soon.  As of January 1, 2015, the  classification system with six classifications changed to two classes: First Class (Louisville) and Home Rule cities (all other cities including Bellemeade).

To retain independent city status and continue current services provided, Bellemeade must maintain a a full, functional City Commission.  

2010 Census Information

As of the census of 2010, there were 865 people and 412 households, residing in the city. The population density was 3,065.8 people per square mile (1,201.1/km²). There were 431 housing units at an average density of 1,517.1/sq mi (594.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.51% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.11% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races.

There were 412 households out of which 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.9% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.58.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.5% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 18.7% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 34.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53 years. For every 100 females there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $54,375, and the median income for a family was $66,477. Males had a median income of $48,269 versus $32,031 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,651. About 1.4% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Home Rule Class City Government

The City of Bellemeade is a “Home Rule Class” independent city governed by a City Commission with a Mayor and and four Commissioners. The mayor, who is elected to a four-year term, is the presiding officer and can also make motions and vote.  Commissioners are elected to two-year terms of office.  Each commissioner is assigned an area of responsibility for each term of office. Presently, the major areas of responsibility are Public Events, Public Lands,  and Public Safety.  

The current budget reflects a real estate tax rate of about 7 cents per $100 of property value.

Waste Pick-up

Garbage, Yard Waste, and Re-cycle are picked up on Tuesdays except when Monday or Tuesday is a major holiday. Then it is picked up on Wednesday.  This is a Bellemeade service, not a Metro service, provided weekly the year around.

You may sit your garbage, yard waste, and re-cycle by the street the night before pickup and then move the empty containers out of sight the night of the pickup.  Please do not sit the containers on the pavement.