Johnson City amends code to allow data centers with new restrictions after public concern over crypto mining

The Johnson City Commission on May 1 approved on first reading a zoning text amendment that adds a definition for "data centers" and allows digital data operations only in the I-2 heavy industrial district subject to new siting and screening requirements.

The change matters because the ordinance is the city's first explicit set of rules for data centers and related activities, including cryptocurrency mining, and it sets conditions — indoor operations, a 200-foot setback from residential districts, a 60-foot front setback from public streets, and a requirement for type 4 buffer yards where industrial land abuts single-family zones — intended to limit noise and other neighborhood impacts.

City planner Bryce McNamer told commissioners staff had reviewed ordinances from other jurisdictions and concluded the heavy-industrial district was the appropriate location. "We do not currently have regulations on data centers," McNamer said during the…