A sample from this collection
A few sources to start with.
Kansas City region · Missouri
KSHB 41 News (Kansas City), by Isabella Ledonne · October 21, 2024 (updated October 23, 2024) · News article
Reports that Peculiar, Missouri's Board of Aldermen unanimously removed the "data center" definition it had added to the light industrial zoning code, blocking a proposed 500-acre data center campus next to homes and businesses. An alderman said staff had compared data centers to software and computer equipment manufacturing, and residents in Peculiar and Raymore organized for four months against the speed of the code change. The mayor's statement and residents' comments on trust and on getting zoning in place first are quoted.
- “The Board of Alderman reversed that decision on Monday by removing the definition from the ordinance.” (body)
- “Small rural communities aren't ready for this and they need to get their zoning stuff in place first” (resident Chad Buck)
Who should read it:
Small-town officials in the Kansas City region considering adding a data center use to an existing district.
Limitations:
News report, not the ordinance itself; the ordinance text was not located.
Cite as:
KSHB 41 News (Kansas City), by Isabella Ledonne. “Peculiar reverses zoning for data center after cries from neighbors.” October 21, 2024 (updated October 23, 2024). https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/peculiar-reverses-zoning-for-data-center-after-cries-from-neighbors
National guidance: planning associations
American Planning Association (Planning magazine), by Jacques Fluet · July 22, 2021 · Web article
A Planning magazine primer, written by the data center technology program director at the Telecommunications Industry Association, explaining traditional versus edge and colocation data centers for planners. It notes that traditional facilities range from 10,000 square feet to more than a million and need large amounts of electricity, water and redundant fiber. It notes that remotely monitored facilities need security fencing and outdoor lighting, flags cooling fan and backup generator noise near residential areas, and notes that on-site diesel or gas fuel storage can be problematic where local ordinances do not permit it. It recommends defining data centers as a distinct use rather than relying on ad hoc use determinations, and cites Loudoun County, Virginia as an early example.
- “relatively few local zoning codes define and regulate data centers” (section introduction)
- “By making data centers a distinct use, cities ensure clear zoning requirements are well defined” (Zoning, permitting, and regulation)
- “some facilities can make significant noise, whether it be cooling fan systems or backup generators”
Who should read it:
Planning staff and commissioners in places whose code does not yet define a data center use.
Limitations:
Written in 2021 with an emphasis on 5G and edge facilities; the author is from an industry association, the Telecommunications Industry Association.
Cite as:
American Planning Association (Planning magazine), by Jacques Fluet. “Data Centers Evolved: A Primer for Planners.” July 22, 2021. https://www.planning.org/planning/2021/summer/data-centers-evolved-a-primer-for-planners/
Adopted local ordinances: Arizona
City of Chandler, Arizona, City Council · December 8, 2022 (adopted; Planning and Zoning Commission hearing October 19, 2022) · PDF
Amends Chandler's zoning code to define data centers and to bar them unless explicitly approved as part of a Planned Area Development zoning district; small ancillary enterprise data centers (no more than ten percent of the building footprint, not leased to third parties, not stand-alone) are allowed. Before building, the owner must mail notice to all addresses and HOAs within a half mile, hold two neighborhood meetings with a decision-maker present, post signs, and commission a third-party baseline sound study. The design must keep sound from exceeding the baseline ambient levels, with post-construction noise studies annually for five years, an on-site neighborhood liaison from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on request, and backup generator testing limited to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays with 24 hours of public web notice.
- “Data Centers are not permitted to operate in the City of Chandler unless explicitly approved as part of a Planned Area Development zoning district.”
- “sufficient to prevent the sound levels emanating from the Data Center ... from exceeding the ambient noise levels that were observed in the baseline study”
- “backup generators may operate between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays”
Who should read it:
Councils and planners in suburban communities where data centers may abut neighborhoods; staff drafting noise and notice rules.
Limitations:
Applies only within the City of Chandler, Arizona.
Cite as:
City of Chandler, Arizona, City Council. “Ordinance No. 5033 (Data Centers), City of Chandler, Arizona.” December 8, 2022 (adopted; Planning and Zoning Commission hearing October 19, 2022). https://www.chandleraz.gov/sites/default/files/departments/development-services/PLH22-0053-Ordinance-No-5033-Data-Center.pdf
