Taylor commissioners press staff on public-notice letters and consider expanding notice radius after data center concerns

The Taylor Planning and Zoning Commission on the evening of a regularly scheduled meeting pressed city staff for faster action on public-notice letters, and agreed to put a discussion item on next month’s agenda to consider tightening local notice rules after neighbors raised concerns tied to a proposed data center.

The issue surfaced during citizen communication when an unnamed resident told the commission the problem has persisted for years. “We've been asking for that for more than 2 years and we get kind of brushed off,” the resident said, adding they had expected a staff report on the issue at this meeting.

Commission Chair Amy Everhart said she had raised the issue on a preparatory call and was told city staff was working with the city attorney. City planning staff told the commission they had met after the last meeting, had drafted a few options and submitted those to the city attorney for review. A planner said staff had already implemented a small change to mailed notices and receipts, adding clearer language and contact information so recipients know how to provide comments and how to attend or call about an item.

The substance of the commissioners' response focused on whether the city should require broader notification than the state minimum. One commissioner suggested amending the city code to expand the notification radius to 500 feet; that proposal was tied directly to neighbors' complaints about a proposed employment/data center that some nearby residents say would increase noise and light near homes. Commissioners agreed to place the notice-distance issue on next month’s Planning and Zoning agenda, and to consider forming a subcommittee to work with the city attorney on draft language.

Staff also told the commission that the city has solicited consultants to update the zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan; the consultant selection is scheduled to go to City Council on July 24, and those consultant-led public meetings would be an appropriate time to propose broader notice or zoning changes. The staff presentation noted that any change to notice rules that goes beyond state law would be enacted by city ordinance.

In an update later in the meeting on matters the commission had referred to council, commissioners were told the council held the employment-center plan for the proposed data center and asked the applicant to conduct a workshop with neighbors. City staff said the city is not hosting that workshop because once an application is filed, the city does not typically run applicant-led neighborhood meetings; the applicant and residents are communicating to set the meeting. A city staff member responded to concerns that environmental and noise questions had not been considered, saying engineers had reviewed environmental impacts and that site-specific issues such as noise, lighting and landscaping would be enforced at the site-plan stage.

Next steps: the commission will add a discussion item to its next meeting agenda to consider drafting an ordinance on public notices (including a proposed 500-foot radius) and will explore forming a small group to work with the city attorney on language and timing.