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Planning commission recommends text amendment to allow data centers in M‑2, 2‑1 vote after heated public comment
Summary
The Jones County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 2–1 to recommend a text amendment that would allow data centers as a conditional use in the M‑2 district, after hours of public testimony raising water, noise, health and transparency concerns. The measure now goes to the Board of Commissioners for final action.
The Jones County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended a draft ordinance that would allow data centers in the county’s M‑2 industrial district as a conditional use, voting 2–1 after an extended public hearing in which residents and experts pressed the panel for stronger safeguards.
County‑retained attorney Ken Gerard, who presented the draft, told commissioners the ordinance would require both M‑2 zoning and a separate use permit approved by the Board of Commissioners. Gerard said the ordinance includes performance standards he described as strict: a minimum lot size of 100 acres, a 75‑foot height cap, a 200‑foot impervious setback, minimum 100‑foot buffers, landscaping rules, noise modeling and limits, an environmental impact…
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