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Jones County work session weighs M‑3 zoning, water limits and decommissioning rules for data centers
Summary
At a Jones County Board of Commissioners work session, members debated a proposed M‑3 zoning category and tightened data‑center rules focused on water use, closed‑loop cooling risks and whether large facilities should be confined to the county industrial park. No vote was taken; staff will redraft and return.
Jones County commissioners spent a work session on a draft ordinance and citizens’ proposals that would tighten rules for large data centers, consider a new M‑3 zoning district to contain the biggest projects, and add environmental and decommissioning requirements.
The discussion centered on where mega‑data centers should be allowed and what protections the county should require. Speaker 2, who led the session, said the aim is to write data‑center language that can be folded into a proposed M‑3 zoning district so the largest, most resource‑intensive facilities would be directed to the industrial park and subject to stricter controls. "The very first thing I said is a 100% support a data center in the right place under the right conditions," Speaker 2 said, adding that the county must "make sure we got the risk covered first."
Why it matters: commissioners are weighing a large potential tax revenue…
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