Planning commission recommends allowing data centers and private power plants in airport industrial zone, 4-3

The Provo City Planning Commission on Feb. 26 recommended approval of a zoning text amendment that would add data centers and self‑serve power plants to the list of permitted uses in the Airport Industrial zone, approving the measure 4‑3 and attaching conditions that public works and the city’s power officials must resolve emissions, water use and fuel‑source issues before the change goes to the City Council.

The amendment, requested by John Jensen, would allow data centers on approximately 30 acres now zoned AI in the city. Nancy Robinson, planning staff, told commissioners the city’s review found the proposal "a reasonable land use request if the significant infrastructure impacts and needs can be met" and recommended the Planning Commission forward the proposed ordinance to City Council with conditions on emissions, low water usage and confirmation of sufficient utility infrastructure.

Why it matters: the change would clear a land‑use hurdle for large computing facilities that require unusual amounts of power (and historically have required significant water for cooling). Commissioners and staff described the proposal as an opening for major private investment but said the city, Provo Power and the joint action agency UMPA must resolve whether the electric grid and water resources can meet a data center’s needs without harming reliability for residents or violating FAA and air‑quality constraints.

Staff summary and conditions Nancy Robinson told the commission the AI zone was written differently from other zones and currently covers roughly 30 acres in Provo. She said the applicant asked only to add "data centers" to permitted uses; staff raised the related issue that power substations and privately operated power plants (so‑called self‑serve plants) would also need to be permitted for a data center to operate there. Robinson recommended approval "if the significant infrastructure impacts and needs can be met," including that "all issues regarding emissions and low water usage be addressed and resolved with public works" and that sufficient utility infrastructure be confirmed.

Infrastructure and regulatory concerns Representatives from the city’s power and regional power entities told the commission the technical challenge is large. Tad Smalcom, introduced in the record as an engineering manager at Doval Power, urged caution, saying Provo’s peak system load had reached about 90 megawatts last summer and that some data centers seek 50–100 megawatts or more. "We're not built for that," he said, describing requirements from UMPA and interconnection needs with Rocky Mountain Power and FAA height restrictions where transmission lines approach airport property.

Applicant and technical response Applicant John Jensen described the developer’s interest in the airport‑adjacent site, said his group has invested more than $20,000,000 in the property and said the project team expects to use reciprocating engines with emission controls and a closed‑loop cooling approach called absorbers that the company says reduces potable water consumption compared with traditional evaporative cooling. Jensen acknowledged outstanding issues about connecting to the grid and said the amendment is intended to begin a longer technical and regulatory conversation rather than to guarantee immediate construction.

Engineers and consultants who spoke at the hearing described the closed, recirculating absorber approach in technical terms and offered preliminary claims about water use and emissions. Civil engineer Bob Patty explained absorbers as a technology that captures and transfers heat in closed loops and said the system requires several thousand gallons to fill but does not rely on continuous evaporative losses. An air‑quality consultant, Brian Ventsinger, said the team had modeled emissions and expected the project to meet permitting thresholds; he noted that permitting would rely on state and federal permitting rules under the Clean Air Act and state air‑quality programs.

Points of disagreement and uncertainty Commissioners pressed for specifics. Several asked whether a privately operated power plant would be connected to the city grid or operate as an island, how excess generation would be handled, and how much water an operating facility would need. Staff and applicants offered differing estimates: the applicant team described the cooling approach as producing negligible net potable water use beyond ordinary domestic needs (toilets, drinking fountains and occasional topping), while one commissioner cited a local Salt Lake‑area data center report (the Nova facility in West Jordan) that had monthly water use in the hundreds of thousands of gallons as evidence that water risk should be examined closely. Commissioners also cited FAA concerns about visible plumes near air traffic and asked staff to ensure aviation compatibility.

Commission action and conditions The commission voted 4‑3 to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance text amendment to the Provo City Council, attaching conditions that: all emissions and low‑water‑usage issues be addressed to the satisfaction of public works and the power department; the city have input on allowable fuel sources used for any privately operated generation; and applicants demonstrate sufficient utility infrastructure (transmission, substation capacity, interconnection agreements with UMPA/Rocky Mountain Power) before final approvals. The commission’s recommendation forwards the text change to the City Council; it does not itself change the code.

What’s next The recommendation moves the matter to the City Council for final consideration. Staff, public‑works engineers, Provo Power and UMPA will be expected to review technical submittals and permits; FAA and state air‑quality permitting processes were identified as separate regulatory pathways that the applicant must clear. Several commissioners said they wanted explicit documentation of projected water and emissions numbers from the applicant before City Council action.

Votes and formal action The Planning Commission’s recommendation carried 4‑3. The motion as announced asked that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the text amendment to Provo City Council (adding data centers and self‑serve power plants to permitted uses in the AI zone) with conditions that public works resolve emissions and water‑use issues and that the city confirm sufficient utility infrastructure and fuel‑source approvals. The motion passed by a 4‑3 recorded vote; the file will be transmitted to City Council with staff’s recommended conditions.