Provo planning panel backs Novell-campus data center; rezoning recommendation to council passes 5–2

The Provo City Planning Commission on Feb. 11 recommended that the City Council approve a zone-map amendment to allow a data center overlay at 1507 South 180 East and unanimously approved the project's plan, subject to conditions including updated CRC-approved plans, a combined final plat moving the parcel so a nearby charter school is not within 200 feet, and a Transportation Demand Management agreement to allow 72 parking stalls.

The commission voted 5–2 to forward the rezoning recommendation and approved the project plan 7–0. The applicant—who identified himself to the commission as Steven Steiler—said the proposal is a small-scale facility that would start at about 5 megawatts of grid power and could scale up if Provo Power and UMPA secure more supply. "This is very, very, very small," Steiler told the commission, distinguishing the proposal from hyperscale centers.

Why it mattered: Commissioners and members of the public pressed for protections on several fronts—power procurement, water use, noise and emergency generator testing, and long-term land use for East Bay. The mayor's office had submitted a letter urging…