Jackson County commissioners recommend denying special-exception for proposed data‑mining site after public outcry

Jackson County zoning commissioners recommended on March 17 that the Board of Supervisors keep a contested agricultural parcel zoned A‑1 and deny a special-exception application for a proposed Bitcoin/data‑mining facility, after more than an hour of public comment on noise, fire risk, power use and potential effects on property values.

The commission concluded in a formal motion that the type of use proposed by the applicant is "best zoned under M‑1," an industrial classification, but that the particular site is not suitable for rezoning to M‑1. For those reasons the commission voted to "recommend the board of supervisors keep this zone A‑1 and deny the application for special exception use." The vote was recorded as unanimous by the commission members present.

Residents who live within several hundred feet of the proposed site spoke during the public-comment period and urged denial. Ranger Owen, who said he and his wife are among the closest residents, said the operations he inspected elsewhere were noisy and raised…