Jackson County zoning commission advances draft regulating data centers and crypto mining, debates farmland protections and noise limits

Jackson County zoning commissioners on an unspecified date completed a full work session on a draft ordinance for high‑density computing facilities — a category the draft defines to include data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations — and directed staff to tighten language on agricultural protections, enforcement and technical standards.

Speaker 2 summarized changes in the revised draft, saying, "Cooling systems now require air cooled or closed loop," and listing added structural standards, deferral of sanitary systems to the health department, clarified board of adjustment language, and newly drafted sections on road use, decommissioning, enforcement and penalties. The draft requires a decommissioning plan "prepared and sealed by a licensed professional engineer" that must include a step‑by‑step dismantling sequence, estimated decommissioning cost (excluding salvage value) and erosion control and site restoration methods.

Why it matters: county officials said the ordinance is intended to allow scrutiny of large computing‑intensive uses while protecting public health, farm resources and infrastructure. Commissioners repeatedly raised farmland impacts: Speaker…